Volvo XC60 SUV - Reliability & safety

The Volvo XC60 took class honours when tested by Euro NCAP, thanks to Volvo’s safety know-how and innovative technology.

The Volvo badge is similarly reassuring when it comes to reliability and a good track record for customer satisfaction has seen the brand’s reputation improve in recent years.

Volvo XC60 reliability

The latest XC60 didn’t make it into our 2021 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey but Volvo finished ninth overall out of 29 manufacturers in our brand survey, with strong scores for build quality and practicality. It's a result that saw Volvo finish ahead of rivals including Lexus (10th), Mercedes (13th), BMW (21st), Land Rover (22nd) and Audi (23rd). That's despite just over 20% of owners reporting a fault within the first 12 months.

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Safety

Volvo continues to lead the pack as far as safety is concerned. The XC60's five-star Euro NCAP crash-test result was almost guaranteed, but its class-leading 98% score for adult occupant protection still impresses.

Rudimentary features like airbags are just the beginning of a long list of safety kit, which includes autonomous emergency braking and a new system called ‘Steer Assist’, designed to avoid obstacles. ‘Oncoming Lane Mitigation’ will attempt to mitigate head-on collisions and avoid accidents during motorway lane changes. The Driver Assist pack with ‘Pilot Assist’ is included from the Plus trim upwards. This brings semi-autonomous capabilities and can effectively drive the XC60 in its lane on the motorway at speeds of up to 80mph. It's a useful feature in heavy traffic and on longer journeys, as it can help reduce fatigue, but we haven't found it adept enough to take over driving duties at higher speeds.

For the 2021 facelift, there was also the addition of a new rear auto braking system, designed to help avoid dings where the driver inadvertently reverses into a hidden bollard or parked car.