- 2018 #XC60 R-Design 720 Bursting Blue with 21" R-Design 5-triple spoke alloy wheels, front

2018 XC60. Better late then never.

When you drove the it back in August 2017 and only now found time to talk about it...

4y ago
7.9K

Raise your hand everyone, who has ever sat in the Volvo XC60. Now keep it up, if you got to drive it. There might be thousands and thousands of us by now, myself included. To my luck, I got to drive a mad looking one.

There's something special in R-Design, which according to history was referred to as 'Rocket' Design. Almost all recent R's come to the market in a was a special one, painted in gorgeous Bursting Blue Metallic (720 colour code). Each bend of metal form in this colour showed off its gorgeous sparkles. Hypnotising sea of blue made you immeadeatly fall for it.

While driving this beautiful car, I found myself smiling from ear to ear constantly. I was searching for long window displays to drive by, as the electrifying energy of the blue wanted to be the highlight of that cloudy day.

Tough look of R-Design front makes the car look aggressive, compared to quite relaxed looks of its SUV predecessor. The perfect balance between dominance and sophistication, ideal definition of Nordic luxury.

Love at first sight

Okay... I have to say, I saw this car a week before my test drive. I came to Bilia Suomi in Herttoniemi to book myself a hybrid 2018 XC60 for a test drive, when my eyes were instantly drawn to the Bursting Blue one, oozing with confidence. "I guess I can have the hybrid next time" popped in my head. Needless to say, the lighting in Bilia's vault of test cars played a big role there. As the car was positioned right under the projector, it was shining and sparkling from every angle.

Its not only looks, its the feeling...

The more I look at the exterior, the more I want to get inside. Having a chance to spend just 6 hours with this one has made my whole month. The moment you sat in and feel the softness of ventilated leather details cleverly paired with nubuck, you start to think what genius had invented those in Adient. You start to plan that if you get a chance to see the person, who sew these, you'd definitely shake his/her hand.

Stroke the nubuck and feel the leather. It breathes. Every move I made in these seats during short 6 hours I had with this car on a hot summer day, was met with pleasure. The ventilation of leather parts kept me cool.

Will I consider XC60 as my next car? Most definitely! Will it be an R-Design? I'd sure love it to be!

It was my second Volvo, which had the leather dashboard fitted in. One of the best items to have. Maybe for some it might be a concern that the leather might overheat under direct sunlight, however it is not the case of Nordics.

A little underwhelming about this particular test drive XC60 car was that it had no head-up display mounted. A feature i consider to be highly useful, as it displays all warnings and speed on the windshield, which are relevant to the current part of the road.

How does it drive?

To my luck, the car I had was fitted with new 21" R-Design alloys, which are known as 5-triple spokes matte diamond cut and the rest of official description. Not my first 21" wheels, yet one of the most desirable ones.

I took the car around the city. Everything went into test - pavement, gravel, cobblestone, asphalt, - you name it. Rushing through the roads of central Helsinki, I let the car dictate me the way. Personally as an owner of a sedan (saloon) car I know how hard it can be to drive on a cobble stone, when every granit stone of the road surface comes back to the steering wheel. With the XC60 and it's perfect air suspension cobblestone was not an issue.

While the sun was still up and hours of test drive ticked fast, I had to turn the wheels towards something slightly more off road-y. So i ditched the very centre and went to Kalasatama area, where new buildings were taking shape. A short stop for ice cream at Teurastamo's Jädelino and a fun ride through dusty temporary roads. Guess what! With this car none of the cold creamy goodness has left its cup.

My test car had a D4 all wheel drive, which is 190 horse power, 140 kW engine power and 400 Nm (which is quite close to what my S60 has). The engine performed well in different tests I set it up for, yet personally I'd prefer a petrol instead of diesel engine because of high taxes on diesel engine cars in Finland and I would like to have a slightly more faster car.

So what does it mean?

It was my first ever R-Design and first new generation XC60. It has the looks, it has the style, it has the desire and drive. It made me fall for R-Design trim and feel powerful.

Will I consider XC60 as my next car? Most definitely! Will it be an R-Design? I'd sure love it to be!

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Comments (13)

  • Volvo are really killing it right now. So much nicer than a BMW or Audi SUV. I was in a new S90 last night and I loved that too 🙌🏻

      4 years ago
  • Brilliantly written and fantastic photographs. Good job mate - very proud!

      4 years ago
  • I'm honestly super impressed with these new Volvo's. I've never really taken a second look at a Volvo let alone consider buying one. But now, with their new designs, I'm seriously considering it. They're gorgeous cars and I love them. This SUV specifically is very nice. I love the headlights and the interior. The optional 22" 10 spoke Diamond Cut rims are magnificent and they make this thing look mean as all hell.

      4 years ago
    • Ronnie, I couldn’t describe it better than you! Being dominant is now flows in blood of new Volvos and I couldn’t be happier about that. The mean look you refer to now refers to the true meaning of the brand, the one they have been hiding for some...

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        4 years ago
  • Great work Annika! I'm going to promote this out. Cheers

      4 years ago
    • Thank you very much! I appreciate it a lot 👍

        4 years ago
    • Your welcome Annika. You have done all the hard work here. I will do my best to keep an eye on you. If you have something great like this please consider dropping a link by the drivetribers chat. I'm there most days but that way it will not get...

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        4 years ago
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