What’s the Damage to My Wallet?
The XC60 D4 is available from Rs 46 lakh (ex-Pune) for the base Kinetic; still ticking all the safety boxes on the spec-sheet. The R-Design we have here costs Rs 55 lakh. That’s a lot of extra kit on offer, with special badging, door-sill plates and contrast-stitched premium leather seats. Of course, there are several ways to personalise your XC60, including some additional safety and security features. Colour, theme or feel, the XC60, whichever one you pick, will leave you content in your choice. It’s not perfect, but it sure makes you feel as close to perfect as it can.
What are the must-haves?
R-Design styling apart, the XC60 can be specified with a number of options. Premium audio, if you’re an audiophile, is money well-spent. The Harman/Kardon system packs 12 loudspeakers and an enclosed sub-woofer, and is a certified Dolby ProLogic II surround sound system. Adding the satellite navigation is a good choice too. The parking cameras, two for the front and one for the rear, also make sense if you usually park in tight spaces.
However, for a car of this calibre, the Personal Car Communicator (PCC) is the must-have check on the options list, if it isn’t standard already. With a proximity sensor set installed around the interior of the car, the XC60 will recognise the key and only needs you to pull on the door-handle to open the door, unlocking itself. Moreover, the car will unlock just the driver door, the front doors or all doors, depending on the user setting.
With two PCCs offered as standard, one can use the ‘key memory’ option that lets the car save the user’s seat and wing-mirror positions. This makes a lot of sense if the car has two users, maybe a husband and wife. Depending on whose PCC unlocks the car, the seat and mirrors will automatically switch to that user’s settings.
Furthermore, the PCC also allows the user to check the status of the car. Three lights – one green, one amber and one red – located at the extreme corners of the key indicate, at the touch of the ‘i’ button, whether the car is locked, unlocked or if the alarm has been triggered. If the user is within range – about 100 metres – the key will update in real time. If not, it will display the last known status.
What If I Want Petrol?
Unfortunately, the petrol variants are not yet available in India. While in Sweden, we drove the XC60 in two different petrol guises – T5 FWD and T6 AWD – both powered by the new Drive-E engine line of direct-injection turbocharged petrol engines.
Displacing two litres, the T5, with its turbocharged four in-line, produces 245 PS and 350 Nm of torque, and is available with the eight-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels. The T6 is the same engine, but, with a supercharger-turbocharger combination, delivers a heady 306 PS and 400 Nm. The same eight-speed automatic transmission drives all four wheels through the latest generation Haldex coupling.
Having sampled both at the Volvo test-track in Gothenburg, the T5 can be driven hard and easily tackles corners, albeit with me easing off entry speed for the tighter hairpins and a sharp right on the way up the hill. On the other hand, the T6 AWD had me smiling wide and confidently throwing the 1.9-tonne SUV into each and every corner, without a doubt that it could handle it. The nippy weather – this was December in Sweden, -2º C – ensured the cars were running as cool as cucumbers.
What If I Want More Power?
Want more power but want to stick with diesel? The D5 model, with the 2.4-litre five-pot diesel making 215 PS and 440 Nm is on offer. The Polestar Performance Upgrade will liberate a few more horses – up to 15 PS and 30 Nm more – for the performance-hungry. Alternatively, be prepared to wait for the all-new D5 – which is a twin-turbocharged Drive-E with 225 PS and 470 Nm – currently offered only in the XC90.
For the detailed road test report, please refer to the July 2015 issue of Car India.
