The company calls the V60 a 'sports wagon' and insists that it is meant to look as close to a coupe as possible. In the metal, this is a very handsome and distinctive machine.

Compared with the S80 and V70, the S60 and V60 have a Stiffer front subframe, stiffer strut top mounts and bushes, a quicker steering rack and a new steering column that’s twice as Rigid.

The first sense the Driver gets from behind the V60's wheel is of an immensely stiff and rigid machine. It feels remarkably all of a piece – perhaps even more so than the saloon.

On the motorway, the V60 is planted four square and runs pretty much arrow straight, which is at least partly due to the four-wheel-drive drivetrain of our D5 AWD test car.

This particular V60 is clearly not going to set the roads alight. The 2.4-litre, five-cylinder turbodiesel is powerful, refined and torquey, but it's also a little slow to rev and a tad vocal.

The sporting potential of this V60 is further hampered by the deadening effect of the AWD system and a CO2-conscious automatic 'box that shifts into top gear as often as possible.

That's not to say that the car can't be made to go pretty well. All that work in the UK has given the V60 good body control, and the car's rigid front end allows the driver to place the front wheels with great accuracy in corners.