Volvos are famed for their practicality and safety, but the Swedish car maker has also upped its design game in recent years.

The V60 estate, which received a raft of updates in 2014, is a stylish contender to its German premium rivals, which include the BMW 3 Series Touring, Mercedes C-Class Estate and Audi A4 Avant.

The styling updates for the V60 introduced in 2014 included tweaked exterior touches, creating sharper, sculpted lines, and adding a new bonnet, bumper and headlight design. Some new engines were added too, including a 2.0-litre D4 diesel unit, which promise plenty of power alongside decent efficiency.

Performance

Engine choices for the Volvo V60 include 1.6-litre D2 and 2.0-litre D3 diesels, which produce 113bhp and 134bhp respectively. Petrol options include the turbocharged 1.6-litre T3 with 148bhp and the 2.0-litre T6 boasting an impressive 302bhp.

We tested the D4 powertrain which comprises of a 2.0-litre 179bhp diesel. It returns some impressive figures, offering performance and efficiency at the same time, making it appealing for everyone including business drivers, which account for a core part of this estate segment.

Hitting 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds, there’s plenty of power at all speeds, though first and second gear in the six-speed manual take some getting used to, with first too short in its gearing to suit this unit.

But in terms of overall performance, the V60 is hard to fault. All the engines in the V60 line-up feel suitable for fast getaways or motorway cruising along with the more staid school run.

With the D4 diesel, the V60 is on a par with the BMW 320d Touring delivering 184bhp, which also does the sprint in 7.6 seconds with the manual box, but is considerably less efficient and far pricier.

The D4 definitely feels like the pick of the diesel engines, while the T6 petrol also impresses – providing a 0-62mph sprint time of just 5.6 seconds.

Ride and Handling

While the steering is direct, it’s also artificial, heavily weighted and it lacks sufficient turn-in with body roll at lower speeds, fairing much better at high speeds for driving dynamics.

The V60 is decent to drive, but falls down in the handling stakes versus its host of brilliant rivals. While the steering is direct, it’s also artificial, heavily weighted and it lacks sufficient turn-in with body roll at lower speeds, fairing much better at high speeds for driving dynamics. The 3 Series Touring has a massive edge over the V60 on this front, with good feedback and accurate steering making it the class leader behind the wheel. Nonetheless, refinement is good in this new diesel engine, and the ride is comfortable too – probably a smidgen better than the BMW - though we’d suggest a lower spec than our test car to get the best absorption benefits from any bumps or rough road surfaces.

Interior and Equipment

The Volvo V60 is based on the manufacturer’s compact saloon, the S60.

Volvo makes some of the most comfortable seats in the automotive world and in the V60 they are happily no exception. The overall interior quality is high, with a sharp-looking floating console, although the numerous buttons seem busy versus more simplified Audi and BMW cabins. Standard equipment for all V60 models is impressive. The list of luxuries includes rear parking sensors, Bluetooth, climate control, sat-nav and cruise control. Lots of safety kit is standard as well, such as a radar-based automatic brake feature and a rollover protection system. There’s plenty of leg and headroom in the rear, but boot space is behind many other estate cars. In the V60 it measures in at 430 litres, 60 and 65 litres less than the Audi A4 Avant and 3 Series Touring respectively. With the seats down, there’s 1,241 litres, but when you consider that a Volkswagen Golf hatchback has more with its seats down, the figures aren’t particularly remarkable.

Cost

The prices for the Volvo V60 range generally undercut its German premium rivals by a significant margin.

Assessing its efficiency and running costs is when you recognise how impressive the V60’s D4 engine is, mixing brilliant performance with great running costs. In the top-of-the-range R-Design Lux Nav trim, the car emits 103g/km CO2 and offers economy of 72.4mpg. Go to a lower trim though and you can achieve 99g/km and official consumption of up to 74.3mpg. The equivalently performing 320d is way off here, emitting 125g/km in manual mode with a combined economy figure of 58.9mpg. All other engines in the V60 range manage to keep CO2 emissions below 140g/km, with the exception of the 346bhp T6 petrol unit which emits 237g/km. Even better, the prices for the Volvo V60 range generally undercut its German premium rivals by a significant margin. Just be wary that if you go for a specification around the top of the range and add options then you could end up spending a lot of money on this car, potentially over £40k in fact.

Our Verdict

The Volvo V60 with its latest design and powertrain tweaks, truly impresses not just for its style but also with its competitively low running costs. The D4 powertrain is a welcome addition to the V60 line-up and it’s the easiest to recommend out of all this car’s engines. The V60’s biggest downfall, however, is its driving dynamics, which can’t match its biggest rivals, while luggage room is a little disappointing too. But with running costs as impressive as this, the V60 represents a good alternative to the German premium norm for those family car buyers after something different.