Volvo

Review: 2010 Volvo XC60 T6

Family Friendliness: 7.8

Recommended: Yes

Specifications apply to this model only.

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By Keith Buglewicz

The words "family friendly" and "Volvo" seem to go hand-in-hand. Since its earliest days, Volvo has emphasized solidity, durability, and of course safety. But it has been nearly two decades since "boxy but good" described any of Volvo's lineup of sedans, wagons and crossovers, and even longer since many of the safety innovations that made Volvo famous -- crumple zones, three-point seatbelts for all passengers, side-impact airbags and many others -- have been co-opted by the company's competition. That, coupled with the company's ever-growing premium image prompted us to wonder: Just how family friendly is Volvo these days? To find out, we sampled a 2010 Volvo XC60 T6, one of Volvo's newest vehicles, which is equipped with City Safety, the company's latest safety innovation.

Model & Pricing

The XC60 T6 is the top-of-the-line of the XC60 crossover range, and not surprisingly, it's on the pricey side. Our test vehicle's base price was $37,200, and various options ballooned that to a total of $42,250, including the $825 destination charge. The additional sums were mostly the cause of the $2,700 Multimedia Package, which included an upgraded audio system, navigation system with traffic data and a backup camera. There was also a $1,000 climate package, which added heated front and rear seats, a headlamp cleaning system, automatic windshield wipers and an interior air quality system. Then there was the extra $525 for metallic paint. However, what really surprised us was what was missing. The price didn't include parking sensors (they're part of a $1,000 package that also includes a garage door opener and power hatch), Volvo's nifty pop-up child booster seats (they're a $500 option), or Volvo's blind spot detection system, which is an additional $700. You do get a more powerful engine, standard all-wheel drive, standard leather and all of it wrapped up in a package that could very well be the prettiest that Volvo has thus far ever made. Still, even keeping in mind that the Volvo XC60 T6 is a premium model of a premium brand, the price seemed a little dear.

Safety

City Safety is the most obvious safety innovation on the Volvo XC60. This low-speed collision avoidance system (19 mph or less) monitors traffic ahead of the XC60 with a laser sensor; when it detects a possible collision, it doesn't just alert the driver, it actually stops the vehicle to avoid a collision. It's intended to help distracted drivers in city traffic. While it's easy to get on an "I always pay attention" high horse, think about the last time you couldn't find your cell phone, or had to glance down for your coffee, or had to turn to tell Junior that he'd better stop throwing Cheerios at his sister right now and that you really mean it this time. In any of those situations, City Safety could potentially help you avoid a rear end collision that could cause injuries, or at the very least thousands of dollars in repair bills and increased insurance premiums. To see how it works, check out this short video.

In addition to all that, the XC60 comes standard with stability control, roof and seat-mounted side impact airbags, head restraints designed to reduce whiplash, and roll stability control. In crash tests, the Volvo XC60 gets Good ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and is also one of the Institute's Top Safety Picks.

Utility & Comfort

Any wagon-shaped vehicle like the XC60 is partly workhorse, regardless of how pretty it may be. In this capacity the XC60 excels, as long as your family doesn't outstrip its five-passenger capacity. While the XC60 is a midsize crossover, it's on the smaller end of the spectrum, so we were able to carry three teenagers without complaint in the rear seat, but things get very snug when two child seats were used. Headroom in all positions is generous, even with the panoramic glass roof taken into account, and the driver and front passenger have no reason to complain about leg room, either. Rear passengers taller than about 5-feet 10-inches may not be very comfortable behind a driver of equal or greater height though. We also found that the rear seatback was too upright for some passengers, and unfortunately it neither slides nor reclines.

Cargo space in the XC60 was generous, flexible and easy to access. With 30.8 cu.-ft. on tap, even large loads are no problem for the Volvo. Extending it to the full 67.4 cu.-ft. is simple and quick, thanks to handy quick-release one-pull levers on the rear seatbacks. The XC60 boasts added flexibility thanks to the rear seat's 40/20/40 split, which allows you to fold the center section flat for long cargo while leaving plenty of space on either side for passengers. When all the seats are folded the load floor is flat and relatively seamless. We also liked the extra hidden cargo space under the floor of the cargo area, perfect for hiding a laptop bag or other small item you want to keep out of sight. In fact, the Volvo's storage capacity in front is quite good too, and we especially like the compartment behind Volvo's signature "waterfall" audio system panel.

Family Friendliness

The Volvo XC60 boasts many family friendly advantages. First and foremost, of course, is City Safety, but there are more, many of which weren't on our test car. If you have kids in booster seats, the flexibility of the $500 integrated boosters make them a must-have. We would also suggest the $700 BLIS blind-spot warning system, especially considering that the XC60's thick rear pillars are hard to see around. Even without additional options, the XC60 offers enough standard safety equipment that you can feel secure in a worst-case scenario. If you're a serious road-tripper, the entertainment package with its front headrest-mounted screens are a must-have, as is the active cruise control that maintains a set distance between the XC60 and other vehicles.

In day-to-day matters, we found that the large flat cargo area offered plenty of room for a week's worth of groceries with enough space left over for a stroller or other child-raising paraphernalia. Kindergarten-age kids have no problem scrambling into the rear seat thanks to the low floor, and the leather upholstery was unfazed by repeated treading of size 1 shoes. The LATCH points were a little snug between the rear seat cushions, although they were clearly marked on the upholstery, and the XC60's ample headroom made tightly cinching the anchors a snap. One feature we were particularly fond of is a small plastic tab that pops up if the seatback isn't securely latched, a nice touch since it can be hard to tell just from eyeballing it. Fuel economy came in at exactly the EPA's combined number (18 mpg) during our week with the XC60, although the "instant" economy meter tended to spend a lot more time in the lower teens than we like; we suspect a 200 mile highway run aided the Volvo's overall average.

While navigation systems, integrated Bluetooth and a USB interface for an iPod are nice, and expected in a luxury vehicle, the XC60 is one vehicle that could really benefit from the kind of voice recognition system that's available in many other manufacturers' vehicles. Without the ability to simply speak commands, the driver is forced to use steering wheel buttons to scroll through menus to find a phone number, program an address into the navigation system, or simply find a song on an iPod. While we gradually got used to it, and the display is high on the dash to help keep your eyes on the road, we still found it frustrating and distracting.

Conclusion

Even without City Safety, there's a lot to like about the Volvo XC60 T6. It looks great, is very pleasant to drive, has plenty of power and numerous safety and luxury features to keep a driver satisfied, with or without kids in the back seat. The fact that City Safety is standard across the board sweetens the pie considerably, as do options like the booster seats. More frugal buyers can get all the good stuff and save money by skipping the all-wheel drive and turbo engine of the T6 and get the standard 3.2, and get better fuel economy in the bargain. Regardless of model though, we have no problem Recommending the XC60 to buyers who are willing to pay a little extra for a luxury crossover.

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