Volvo V60 - Boot space, comfort & practicality

The Volvo V60 sets a practicality benchmark in the compact executive class. It’s bigger than key rivals, and it makes the most of those dimensions inside. Boot and passenger space are better than you’ll find elsewhere, while comfortable seats mean the Volvo is a great place to whittle away motorway miles on a long journey. 

All versions of the V60 have electrically adjustable front seats, with memory settings and electric lumbar support on the driver's side. You sit fairly low in the car next to a chunky centre console, providing a sizable centre arm rest with a decent-sized storage area below. As with all Volvos, there’s a useable glovebox and door bins that can handle a large water bottle.

Some thick roof pillars can get in the way when looking over your shoulder, so the standard fit blind spot monitoring system is quite a handy feature to have, while the front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera help when slotting into a parking space. This can be upgraded on Plus Dark trim models to a 360-degree system for a little over £500.

Every Volvo V60 comes with bright LED headlights, but you’ll need to go for the priciest Ultra Dark trim in order to get adaptive headlights that alter the beam pattern at night to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic.

Dimensions and size

At 4,778mm long and 1,916mm wide, the Volvo V60 is longer and a touch wider than its rivals – and much larger than the model it replaces. It’s 180mm shorter than the Volvo V90, which isn't that much really. You also sit a bit lower in the V60 than the V90 – in keeping with Volvo saying this is the brand’s most dynamic car yet.

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Seats, leg room, head room & passenger space

Space in the cabin is good, with a six-foot passenger able to sit comfortably behind a six-foot driver with an inch or so to spare. Foot space is tight if the front seat is in its lowest position, while the wide centre tunnel further restricts things, especially if someone is sat in the middle seat. Here, shoulder room is okay, but you’ll struggle to adopt a knees together pose due to the transmission tunnel running down the middle of the car – although that’s a complaint you can also level at its closest rivals. If you need more space in the back, then you’ll need to look at bigger estates like the Volkswagen Passat, our estate car of the year, the Skoda Superb Estate, or the brand’s own Volvo V90.

Parents who need to put their children into car seats will find two ISOFIX points on the rear seats' outer positions.

Boot space

The upright boot door in the Volvo V60 pays dividends when it comes to luggage space, with 519 litres when the seats are up, it's larger than the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3 Series Touring, and Mercedes C-Class Estate. The seats down figure of 1,431 litres in the V60 isn’t quite as impressive as the 3 Series Touring and C-Class Estate, but it beats the A4 Avant. 

It’s worth noting that unlike its BMW and Mercedes rivals, this Volvo doesn’t lose any boot capacity when you go for it in plug-in hybrid form, meaning company car drivers looking to reduce their tax burden won’t have to compromise on practicality. Indeed, both the T6 and T8 versions of the V60 have a larger boot than the Skoda Superb Estate iV plug-in when the seats are up.

The rear seats fold completely flat at the touch of a button, with headrests automatically tucking out of the way so they don’t get caught on the front seats. And in true Volvo fashion, plenty of other small details have been thought through, like the fold-up boot divider with elasticated straps to stop your groceries flying around the boot. That’s especially handy because it’s a long way to lean into the boot to retrieve items if they have rolled to the farthest reaches of the load bay. You also get a number of hooks from which you can hang shopping bags, tie-down points in all four corners, plus a passthrough for longer items. It is a shame it doesn’t have the more versatile 40:20:40 split folding rear seats like its German rivals, though.

Towing

Towing capacities for the Volvo V60 depend upon which engine you go for because the B4 mild-hybrid can manage a braked trailer or caravan of 1,800kg, while the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrids can lug up to 2,000kg. If you need an estate that can pull more weight, you’ll have to look towards a diesel Skoda Superb, which can handle up to 2,200kg.