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On the road: Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid
Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid and V60 D4 R-D: 'A wagon with a coupe-like appearance, say Volvo, and they're kinda right.' Photographs: Simon Stuart-Miller for the Guardian
Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid and V60 D4 R-D: 'A wagon with a coupe-like appearance, say Volvo, and they're kinda right.' Photographs: Simon Stuart-Miller for the Guardian

On the road: Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid and V60 D4 R-D

This article is more than 10 years old
'Even with a five-grand government grant, the hybrid costs almost 45,000 quid. That's stupid money to pay for an estate car'

I remember when a Volvo estate was basically a big, long, posh box, generally full of horrid children in boaters or riding hats being ferried to prep school or gymkhanas or wherever it is horrid children go. The cavernous space behind the children would be crammed with trunks and labradors and ponies and all the other paraphernalia horrid children require. I wasn't keen – can you tell?

But Volvo estates have been overtaken in the offensiveness stakes. This one isn't even the biggest Volvo estate: there's the V70, plus the pumped-up XC crossovers. The XC90 is where you find horrid children and their clobber these days. I don't like it. I do rather like this V60, though. Not only is it not too big, it's not boxy, either. A wagon with a coupe-like appearance, say Volvo, and they're kinda right.

I tried a couple – the Plug-in Hybrid and a regular but sporty diesel (pictured). The Hybrid, the first ever diesel plug-in hybrid, is in many ways a brilliant machine. Fully charged, it will do up to 31 miles on electric power alone. So, if you've got the sort of home or workplace where you can have a charging point (which you can currently get installed free), then – depending on your travelling habits – you could do nearly all your miles emission-free, but without the range-anxiety of a purely electric car. It can also work like any other hybrid, switching between diesel and electric as required. Or, in Power mode, you can have everything working for you at the same time and go like stink. And it's all-wheel drive, so you can probably get where you want in winter, too.

The numbers – mpg, performance, CO2 emissions – are bloody impressive, but there are a couple of catches. First, the battery means there's not a huge amount of luggage space, surely the point of a Volvo estate. I don't know much about ponies, but I don't think you'd get one in here, even a bonsai pony, without first removing its legs. And second, even with a £5,000 government grant, it costs almost 45,000 quid. Which is stupid money for an estate car. You'd have to drive a lot for that to work out.

The diesel version I tried will almost certainly make more sense. Those numbers aren't as amazing, but they're still pretty damned good. It's quick and comfortable, it doesn't look or drive like a box, and there's plenty of room for stuff. Being a Volvo, it also has a lot of impressive safety stuff, such as lane-departure warnings and blind-spot info.

OK, so it's not cheap, but come on: it's a Volvo estate. You don't want any old riffraff driving one. Most importantly, you can have one without being hated by me. I'll actually be a little bit jealous.

VOLVO V60 PLUG-IN HYBRID AND V60 D4 R-D

On the road: Volvo V60 detail
Photograph: Simon Stuart-Miller for the Guardian

Price From £44,275 (including government grant) and £30,895
Top speed 143mph and 140mph
Acceleration 0-60mph in 6.1 seconds and 7.2 seconds
Combined fuel consumption 155mpg and 72.3mpg
CO2 emissions 48g/km and 103g/km
Green rating 9/10 and 7/10
Cool rating 6/10 and 6/10

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