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2011 Volvo XC60 T6 R-Design (photos)

Volvo pushes safety in the form of collision prevention in the XC60, a five-passenger SUV, by fitting it standard with the City Safety system. The XC60 is a practical car, with good mileage, reasonable power, and an easy driving character.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
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Volvo's XC60 model is a five-passenger premium SUV. The top-line trim includes a turbocharged six-cylinder engine and Volvo's R-Design package, which brings in a stiffer suspension and some cosmetic tweaks.

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Volvo has modernized its design over the years, although there is still a hint of past boxy bodies in the XC60.

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The turbocharged 3-liter inline six-cylinder engine gives the XC60 a comfortable amount of power. Fuel economy is surprisingly good in real-world driving, with CNET's car actually besting the EPA range.

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SUV ergonomics mean a slight step up into the cabin, but plenty of head and elbow room once inside.

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The R-Design's stiffer suspension was generally comfortable, but it showed some harshness on bad roads. The standard suspension should be fine for most Volvo buyers.

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Showing its premium character, Volvo carpets the cargo area and includes a retractable cover. But the rear seats fold down, expanding the space significantly.

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The XC60 continues Volvo's excellent interior design, with an elegant floating console in the middle and quality materials all around.

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The XC60 is a very easy driver, not requiring too much engagement but still responding well to driver input.

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Controls on the left spoke let you set the following distance from other vehicles for the adaptive cruise control system.

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Volvo incorporates useful LCDs in the center of the gauges.

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The six-speed transmission is pretty average, typically slow to enact shifts. It includes a manual mode, but no sport mode.

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This button-and-knob arrangement seems limited, but it actually works well for controlling the infotainment system.

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13 of 21 Josh Miller/CNET

These buttons activate the electronic safety features of the car, such as lane-departure warnings and the radar-based collision mitigation system.

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The flash-based navigation system uses high-resolution maps and operates well, responding quickly to inputs.

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Volvo uses this rotary interface for alphanumeric inputs. It can be a little tedious when inputting addresses, so the voice command system is a better option.

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Along with satellite radio, the XC60 also has HD Radio.

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A very modern set of audio sources includes a USB port and Bluetooth audio streaming.

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The iPod interface is elegantly designed and makes it easy to browse for music.

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The audio system includes surround-sound processing. Music reproduction from this system is excellent, with fine detail and rich bass.

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The voice command system lets you place calls by name; it recognizes when a contact has more than one phone number in the phonebook.

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The rearview camera includes trajectory lines, but the view is a little too narrow, making it difficult to judge the distance to obstacles next to the car.

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