Chunky Swedish ice maiden: Volvo XC60 D4 Manual EE Lux Nav

She's a big old unit and no mistake

Refined diesel gives a smooth ride

It’s big, it has presence. The top of the range Volvo XC90 might be the Range Rover rival so this XC60 needs to be seen as Volvo’s Discovery.

Chunky: It's certainly big enough to compare to a Disco

Unlike the Discovery the review car wasn’t four-wheel drive. I have to admit that I didn’t know that Volvo XCs came in front wheel drive, but as I pulled out at a junction there was that tell-tale squirm in the steering of something which pulls rather than pushes.

The Sniff-Petrol review of the Audi TT sprang to mind, and I decided that the friend-who-knows-about-cars who claimed that these days it was impossible to tell if a car was front-wheel drive, was wrong. That’s not to say it’s unruly.

The steering is fine, the weight is good although a little slow and the power controlled, but I didn’t have to peer at anything with a torch to work out that it was two-wheel drive. What did need more investigation was the fuel. It didn’t sound rattily like a diesel but I flipped open the door on the fuel filler to check and was surprised to see that it did indeed drink from the wrong pump. It’s diesel, just a really rather refined one.

Display: The usual electronic options are available

It’s high but there is no sense of being on tiptoes as you corner, the ride is smooth and there are options for comfort, sport and advanced. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this but I couldn’t see a difference between them.

You do get a bit of that king-of-the-road feeling an SUV engenders. And it’s a nice place to sit, the plastics are good, and the optional extra laden review car had £225 of Piano Black wood trim. The back being particularly nice, with a £1,495 dual 8” screen DVD player and Volvo headphones. The seats are good and supportive with electric adjustments