Volvo XC60 S D5

We hit road in Swedish firm’s safest-ever car

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The XC60 is being billed as the safest car Volvo has ever made. And a new system called City Safety promises to cement the firm’s reputation as a world leader in accident prevention.

City Safety’s main aim is to help limit low-speed collisions. The laser-based set-up works at speeds of up to 19mph, and it automatically applies the brakes if it senses an imminent impact. More impressively, at speeds below 10mph it will perform an emergency stop.

As well as City Safety, the XC60 gets a raft of other safety features as standard. These include the BLIS blind spot warning system – which sees electronics alert you when you are too close to the car in front – and lane departure warning.

The kit contributes to the XC60’s 1,825kg kerbweight, and with only 185bhp, the top-of-the-range D5 diesel feels sluggish. While the oil-burner has a 60Nm torque advantage over the petrol T6 model, a 0-62mph time of 9.4 seconds is a long way short of the latter’s 7.5-second figure.

Nevertheless, the XC60 has a lot going for it. A decent price, reasonable economy and emissions figures – plus sharp looks – mean the newcomer should follow in the successful footsteps of the larger XC90.