Nik J Miles

Posts Tagged ‘XC60’

Volvo XC60 R-Design

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Now in its third year the Volvo XC60 is one of our favorite premium compact crossovers.  From the dramatic styling to the world-class safety systems to the strong performance, the XC60 stands out in the crowded category.

For 2012, major changes include a new R-Design engine, new trim level and more features.  Adding more bite to the latest model, the 3.0-liter in-line six-cylinder engine gets the Polestar software treatment, and like the S60 version, horsepower and torque receive a nice bump to 325-hp and 354-lb.ft. of torque.  Essentially the same drivetrain as the S60 and about 400 pounds heavier, the XC60 can produce a 6.9-second 0 to 60 mph time and the same top speed electronically limited to 130 mph. The weight and less aerodynamic body drops the fuel economy numbers to 17 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

After more than 20 years of reviewing new cars, we know we can always count on a new Volvo to have several distinctive characteristics.

• It will be one of the safest cars on the road
• The seats will be the most comfortable
• The styling will be unique

Along with these givens, various models have other characteristics that may set them apart from the maddening crowd.  Nevertheless, with a few exceptions, Volvos have not been cars we would consider as high performance. Read the rest of this entry »

Bill, the Volvo XC70 and Team Gunnar

            Of the hundreds of cars I get to drive, I probably have more personal attachment to the Volvo XC70 than any other car.  A big part of this is because the XC70 and I have had some great adventures together, for example driving from Anchorage, Alaska to Prudhoe Bay in the middle of the winter and bouncing up the Mexican Baja peninsula on the trails and sections of the Baja 500 race course in the middle of the summer.  Ahhh, those were incredible trips, especially for a car that is more associated with soccer moms than challenging cross country drives.

When the email invitation to the Volvo XC Adventure, came, I was packing my bag and loading my radar detector even before I pushed “send” on the email reply accepting the invitation. Read the rest of this entry »

Barbara, the Volvo XC60 and Team Hord

            I don’t tweet or post on Facebook, but I do occasionally Google, but not from my flip phone.  To be honest, I even have trouble finding messages on my phone sometimes.  I have to confess, however, I now have a Facebook account since my grandson came to visit and signed me up.

My driving partner, Mary, is newbie to the smart phone world and her social media skills were more limited to texting a friend, about what we were doing, rather than blogging or posting.  So, we probably didn’t score too well on that section of the challenge that awarded points for social networking. Read the rest of this entry »

Volvo has had a tough go the last few years between the market crash and as the poor stepchild of Ford Motor Co.  As a result, the brand synonymous with vehicle safety has been in a state of limbo while parent company Ford looked for someone to buy the unprofitable Swedish brand.  The waiting is over and the Americans have sold the Swedish brand to a young Chinese company.

As new owner of Volvo, Geely Holding Group has only been building cars since 1998. Nevertheless, Geely’s chairman and founder, Li Shufu has great expectations saying, “We want to make more high-level cars that compete with the S class of Mercedes Benz and the 7 series of BMW.” Read the rest of this entry »