After updating its S60, Volvo has booked the same fate for the family version, the V60. We were driving her to her home country, Sweden.

Volvo Cars started 2019 on a strong note after the company posted a 16.7 per cent growth in global sales for January, compared to the same period last year, as all the key regions of US, China and Europe contributed to the increase.

In January, Volvo Cars sold a total of 50,679 cars, as demand for its award-winning SUV line-up continued to be strong. The company’s newest cars, the V60 estate and the S60 sedan, also contributed to the strong sales increase.

In China, sales grew by 3.6 per cent to 11,957 cars in January, compared with the same month last year, driven by demand for the locally assembled XC60 and S90 models.

Sales in the US grew by 5.2 per cent to 5,854 cars in January, compared with the corresponding month in 2018. XC60 was the bestselling model in the region during the month, followed by the XC90.

Volvo Cars’ European sales grew by 24.4 per cent in January to 26,195 cars, compared with the same period last year. The robust performance was on the back of high demand for the XC60, XC40 SUVs and the new V60.

Family cars have been part of Volvo’s tradition for decades. In this marginal segment, few players are present. We can think of the BMW 3 Series Touring that will soon disappear from our market, the Mercedes-Benz C family class as well as the Audi A4 allroad. By stretching the elastic, one could even include the most opulent versions of the Subaru Outback.

The manufacturer, who now belongs to a Chinese company, has not been content with a simple refresh. Indeed, the car has been completely remodeled. It is 12.5 cm longer and 5 cm lower.

While the older generation gave the impression of being in search of identity aesthetically, the new V60 is a pure family. It’s hard to restrain myself from proclaiming loudly that I find her madly beautiful.When we tried the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, we criticized his too small autonomy of 35 kilometers. Regarding the announced autonomy of about twenty kilometers of the V60 T8, we let you guess what we think …

To this electric motor is paired a 2.0L four-cylinder turbocharged block that develops a total of 303 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The T5 engine is also available. With a displacement of 2.0 L, this turbocharged block generates 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. In North America, we must deprive ourselves of diesel engines.

Although one might be inclined to believe that an atmospheric six-cylinder engine is more suited to this type of vehicle, one must face the obvious. Either of these versions go well with the eight-speed automatic transmission. That said, the lever of the V60 T8 is unpleasant. Double manipulation is required, for example, to move from position D to R.

Despite this inconvenience that we get used to, I guess, the V60 is an impressive road. Throwing kilometers at the wheel is not worrying. She is comfortable and extremely quiet.

While consumers currently have only eyes for SUVs, some would benefit from taking a look at the family. Not only do they offer all-wheel drive, but they provide more cargo space. Indeed, the trunk of the V60 can accommodate 658 L while that of the XC40 is limited to 586 L.

It was in 1998 that the “Cross Country” principle was born at Volvo. Introduced formerly with the V70, it has been applied on a series of models and the V60 does not escape it. Roughly speaking, this is an elevated 60mm version of the V60.

This version, which is recognized by its dark plastic body covers, has an off-road mode. When activated, it makes it possible to go down a hill without having to touch the accelerator or the brake.

A screen through which everything passes

In the center of the dashboard, there is a huge touch screen of nine inches. If you’re born with a tablet in your hands, it should not be a problem. However, sweeping the screen to change menus can be dangerous while driving. We would have appreciated more physical buttons to facilitate manipulations.

A detailed regional break-up of sales for January is given below.

In January, Volvo’s XC60 was the top selling model with sales reaching 15,593 cars (2018: 11,656), followed by the XC40, with total sales at 8,113 cars (2018: 395 units), and the Volvo XC90 at 6,520 cars (2018: 6,772 units). The Volvo V40 and V40 Cross Country sold 4,921 units (2018: 6,043 units) and new V60 Estate sedan sold 4,097 units in January.