Warren Henry Automotive Group

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Driving Impressions

The XC60 is tuned more for cruising on the highway than flinging around on back roads. The XC60 is lighter than the XC70 and XC90, but its relatively high center of gravity combined with minimally bolstered seats and largish steering wheel, both seemingly designed more for comfort than control, establish the XC60 as a better fit for the all-weather, long-distance cruiser class.

The suspension does a decent job of taming different types and conditions of tarmac. The ride shows a bit of roughness around the edges at times, more so on its stiffest setting, of course, but the unsprung weight of the all-wheel-drive system's mechanicals bears more of the responsibility for this than any design or structural deficiency. The Infiniti EX35 delivers a quieter ride, the BMW X3 and the Acura RDX better steering feel. Traversing less-than-glass-smooth pavement produces some head toss, which is not uncommon in the class; however, the BMW X3 and the Acura RDX tame it better.

Its turbocharged engine delivers refreshingly linear acceleration performance, not what you'd expect of a turbocharged engine.

The transmission's well-executed Sport setting re-assigns shift points to beefier points in the engine's plentiful power curve and extends the transmission's stay in each gear. This suppresses unwanted hunting among gears when climbing or descending grades. Additionally, this suppresses the engine's tendency to surge unexpectedly as it acclimates to each gear change. The sport setting also allows a driver to select a specific gear when desired, overriding the system's preferred selection, although the system will not hold a gear either to redline or to an engine-lugging rpm, reasserting control to shift up or down a gear at pre-determined engine speeds. In full Auto mode, when the car is driven casually, shifts are smooth, if not invisible.

Three levels of steering effort and suspension firmness can be selected to allow some personalization for each of a family's drivers, although without measurably altering the XC60's handling dynamics. Most of the lane departure and other proximity warning systems can be suppressed or turned off, squelching the associated irritating and distracting beeps and buzzes.

The brakes shine, resisting fade, consistently and confidently slowing the XC60 from high double-digit speeds for first-gear corners.

City Safety is a feature intended to help avoid rear-ending the car ahead or at least to minimize the damage. This system works at speeds between 2 mph and 18 mph. Up to 9 mph, it can stop the car before it hits a car in front, from that speed up to 18 mph, it can reduce significantly the force of the impact. Tested at just under 9 mph in a parking lot outside Sausalito, it worked, albeit surprisingly sharply, jolting driver and front seat passenger smartly into abruptly snugged-up seatbelts.

Hill descent control adds some reassuring braking assist when navigating the way back down that dirt track that an hour earlier looked so benign.

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