ENGINE, HORSEPOWER

My test vehicle featured a 2.0 liter supercharged and turbocharged engine; paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Numbers on this engine are 316 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. (Note: Other powerplant options include a 250 hp base engine offering, and a hybrid offering with 400 horsepower)

The XC60 features AWD with instant traction, a double wishbone front suspension and integral link rear suspension. ABS with hill start assist is helpful and offers some actual utility.

Depending on your mood and road conditions, you can power the XC60 in either Eco, Comfort, Offroad or Dynamic drive modes. Eco is going to boost your mpg greatly but is pretty boring to drive, and Dynamic is the powerful opposite of that. Offroad doesn’t mean you should go too overboard, but it’s good when conditions are a bit rougher than usual. Comfort is the basic default mode without any extremes to it.

Especially when you drive in Dynamic, the XC60 offers a powerful responsive ride that ranks high among luxury competition. Be aware though that while exciting and responsive, it’s not quite the experience you might get in a more performance-oriented brand like Audi.

TECHNOLOGY, SAFETY

Sensus Connect is a large (9-inch), vertical tablet-like infotainment setup that I didn't really love as much as the systems in other luxury vehicles. It was confusing to use at times and involved too much scrolling.

Voice commands usually worked in the XC60, though there were some hiccups.

One strong safety/tech feature visible on that 9-inch screen was the Rear Park Assist camera with lines showing where you’re headed and multiple views to choose from -- including a bird’s-eye view from up top that was very helpful.
A Wi-Fi hotspot is offered (for a fee after the intro period), and there is integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone mirroring.

A high-quality symphonic-focused sound system is offered that’s unique from what you’ll here in other vehicles. Bluetooth connectivity lets you stream music and you get 6 months of satellite radio free.

Safety is Volvo’s wheelhouse, so I wasn’t surprised to see them excel in this area. They are pioneers here, and are among the industry leaders at keeping things safe as vehicles become more autonomous.

The Collision Avoidance by City Safety system lets the vehicle detects vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and large animals, and isn’t overly sensitive.

Also offered for your protection are features like blind spot warning lane-keeping aid, and oncoming lane mitigation.

Little things add to the experience too, like the ability of the vehicle to read road signs.

And of course you get lots of airbags; plus whiplash protection in front seats, a high strength steel safety cage, 3 point safety belts with pretensioners (will tighten up in case of an oncoming wreck), child safety locks in rear, emergency crash notification, and LED headlights.

MPG
Official numbers are 21 city/27 highway/23 combined. I averaged 21. This is a bit low for the class. It matches some competitors, but trails behind models (including the Audi Q5 and BMW X3). Either way, the the difference isn’t major and most luxury vehicle choices aren’t made based on fuel mileage.

PRICE
The XC60 T6 AWD Inscription I tested was decked out and came in at $63,290. It started at $44,900 but had lots of options added. Base price starts about $41,500 for the XC60.

Point blank … this is a great vehicle but it’s not cheap; you have to pay if you want the luxury, comfort and smart tech of the XC60.

BOTTOM LINE

The XC60 is comfortable. It’s powerful. It’s well-designed. And it’s very safe. Add all that up and you great a strong luxury competitor -- up there with the SUV offerings from Audi and BMW and Cadillac. My only notes of caution are that it’s very pricey if you let the options get best of you, so be careful what you ask for. And the infotainment system could use an update.
Outside of that, the XC60 shines throughout and is very worthy of its awards.

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Matt Myftiu can be found on Twitter @MattMyftiu.