Slinky new Volvo XC60

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It also goes without saying that these cross-over trendies simply have to have an engine with plenty of grunt, lots of safety features, acres of space for people, leisure toys and bags, plus lots of fancy features for their owners to brag about.

It also helps if these new-age compact SUVs aren't too heavy on expensive forecourt juice and that they don't spew too much gunky emissions because, after all, low-emission is the new organic.

Like all expensive fashion items, the price of a cross-over is not all that important because it's class, style, good looks, badging, technology and safety that do the talking in this particular category.

And because it is the biggest growing and most competitive market segment catering for the “look-at-me-I-can-afford-it” set, nearly all the top car brands are in the fray, trying to out-fancy, out-gun and out-brag the opposition.

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Now even the rather reserved Volvo family has joined the party with its new full-house Volvo XC60 which wears labels such as “the most sporting car Volvo has ever created”, “muscular capability”, “sporty charisma of a coupe”, “a car that stops the traffic” and “the safest Volvo yet”.

Buzz words? Marketing speak? Exaggeration? Or the real, honest truth?

Well, somewhere in between really, but certainly more fact than fable.

Yes, the XC60 is much nicer to look at than the older, bigger and more expensive Volvo XC70 and XC90.

It also handles better than the bigger models on the tar (I didn't get round to playing in the dirt with it on the short suburban launch drive).

The ride is more comfortable and the steering feels a little more positive, although I don't think Volvo will ever produce a vehicle with pin-sharp steering and good driver feed-back.

As cross-overs go the XC60 is quite striking and clearly the visual volume has been turned up although I wouldn't quite call it beautiful. Stylish, imposing, an even a tad cool, yes.

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Bram van der Reep, managing director of Volvo Car South Africa, says the XC60 sets itself aside from its rivals through its “honest, functional design that is ergonomically correct, and yet, at the same time, comfortable and beautiful” and he believes it will distinguish itself through its “substantial off-road capabilities, its roominess and its class-leading safety features”.

So let's look closer at the XC60's safety features, for this is the main reason why people buy the Volvo badge.

Although bristling with passenger protection features, the most impressive new safety gizmo in the XC60 is something called City Safety - a revolutionary system that will stop the car by itself to help the driver avoid or reduce the effects of low-speed impacts that are common in city traffic and traffic tailbacks.

And Volvo deserves a pat on the back because it is the first manufacturer in the world to offer this type of feature as standard.

Surveys indicate that 75% of all reported collisions take place at speeds of up to 30km/h. In 50% of all rear end collisions the driver has not braked at all before the collision, mainly due to distraction. In these cases, City Safety could make a crucial difference.

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City Safety brakes the car automatically if the driver is about to drive into the vehicle in front. A collision can thus either be entirely avoided or, if this is not possible, damage to cars and personal injuries can be reduced.

City Safety is active at speeds of up to 30km/h. If the vehicle in front brakes suddenly and City Safety determines that a collision is likely, the brakes are pre-charged.

If the driver remains inactive, the car applies the brakes automatically.

If the relative speed difference between the two vehicles is less than 15km/h then City Safety may help the driver entirely avoid the collision. Between 15 and 30km/h the focus is on reducing speed as much as possible prior to the impact.

City Safety keeps an eye on traffic in front with the help of a laser sensor that is integrated into the top of the windscreen at the height of the rear-view mirror. It can detect vehicles and other objects up to 10m in front of the car's front bumper.

It's quite an unnerving experience, initially, to leave the braking action up to the car. I tested it, which was not easy, because one tends to either take avoiding steering action or to stomp on the brakes at the last second.

The only way I could do it (even though the “victim” was a blow-up plastic car) was by travelling at about 20km/h and looking sideways.

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And if the blow-up car was real, my CX60 would not have had a scratch on it, nor would there have been a fender-bender insurance claim by either party because the XC60 stopped a good metre away from the decoy car.

Very comforting, particularly for Mum's Taxi Operators (and in South Africa, rather unfortunately, also for non-hands-free cell-phone yakkers, coffee-drinkers, lipstick appliers, hair combers, and radio dial fiddlers).

The list of other safety features, both standard or as optional extras, is detailed and long, so best you nip down to your nearest Volvo dealer and let the sales staff earn their salaries by explaining the benefits of front and side airbags, collapsible steering column, roll-over protection, body strengthening, Trailer Stability Assist (TSA), Dynamic Stability and Traction Control system, All-Wheel Drive, Hill Descent Control and all the rest.

The new XC60 is available with a choice between two engines:
A 3-litre turbocharged petrol engine that kicks out 210kW and 400Nm which is good enough for a performance of 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds, and a top speed of 230km/h, and a 2.4-litre turbo-diesel D5 which produces 136kW and 400Nm, enough for 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds and a top speed of 200km/h.

Both models have a 6-speed Geartronic transmission (manual shift is an option) and a 70 litre fuel tank. Volvo claims 11.9 litres/100km/h for the petrol version and 8.3 litres/100km/h for the diesel.

Prices range from R465,900 and R515,000 and there are zillions of attractive but pricey optional extras to choose from.

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Features of the new XC60 that I particularly liked (and some of them are extras) include the zippy two-tone seating fabric, large 18-inch alloys, attractive and airy cabin, LED lights set into the tail lamps, which light up like a Christmas tree under braking, the slim centre stack which is angled towards the driver and, best of all, a sound system to beat all sound systems.

How's this for class? The highest level, the optional Premium Sound system, features 12 Dynaudio loudspeakers and an amplifier with Dolby Pro Logic II Surround delivering 5 x 130 Watt.

For more blast power Volvo offers an optional additional digital subwoofer (which goes under the floor in the load compartment) which gives a whopping 260 Watt extra.

The sound can be optimised to suit three different situations - driver's seat, both front seats, or rear seat.

But even the mid-level High Performance sound system which is standard equipment in the XC60 range in South Africa is quite phenomenal. It is made up of eight High Performance loudspeakers, a 4 x 40 Watt amplifier and an integrated 6-disk front-loading CD player.

Both sound system levels are MP3 and WMA-format CD friendly and techno freaks will be thrilled that both systems provide an auxiliary (AUX) input jack for connecting equipment such as a portable MP3 player or iPod, and a USB port also makes it possible to plug in an iPod, MP3 player or USB memory stick with music tracks.

Way to go, man....

So, to sum up the XC60: Bags of ritz and glitz, spunky performance, good looks, high specification levels, reassuring safety features, rock solid build, spacious, comfortable and lots of high tech kit all wrapped into an attractive bling box.

But the XC60 is expensive, make no mistake, particularly if the shopping list contains a few of the really fancy wanna-have optional extras.

All important though is that the XC60 has grabbed Volvo by its grey suit lapels and is dragging it (quite happily and without struggle or screams) into a buyer's market no longer dominated by baldies with boeps, and blue-rinse grannies carrying knitting bags emblazoned with pictures of their grand-children.