THE Volvo S60 is the Swedish brand's offering in the demanding compact executive class.

It seems to have been around for a long time and when it made its debut a few years back it was the first model to appear after the company had been taken-over by Chinese giant Geely.

A handsome sports saloon, it retains Volvo's brand values of safety and comfort and comes in a choice of petrol and diesel engines and a variety of trim levels.

It is up against some very tough opposition in the shape of the new Jaguar XE, the revamped BMW 3-Series, new Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class. The S60 was given a facelift in 2013 to keep it competitive and it still offers an alternative to the big players.

With coupe-like lines and bold detailing, the Volvo S60 is a good-looking car with a sporting stance.

If you opt for the bolder R-Design model you add some muscular touches which gives the S60 a more aggressive look.

The cabin is stylish and finished in good quality materials and the instrument panel is clear and easy to read. The seats are very comfortable as you would expect but I found some of the switchgear a bit dated.

The S60's direct steering is responsive and the car offers more than decent grip, while the brakes are excellent.

The ride and handling are not the sharpest in its class but it did cope well with mixed surfaces.

On the motorway, the S60 was very relaxed and was an ideal companion for longer journeys.

The 1.6-litre D2 Drive-E diesel engine featured in the test car is one of the most efficient in its class - with CO2 emissions of just 103g/km and a power output of 115bhp.

It can sprint to 62mph in just 10.9 seconds through the six-speed manual gearbox and top speed is 121mph.

As well as being a quiet and smooth performer, this engine is also very frugal with the claimed combined figure being an astonishing 72.4mpg. As usual you will not get anything like that in real world conditions but I did average over 55mpg which is not bad for a car of this size.

Volvo has always been a class leader when it comes to safety and the S60 is packed with gadgetry and all the usual safety features.

This car came complete with the Driver Support Pack at £1,900 which adds collision warning with full auto brake, pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control with distance alert, lane keeping aid, driver alert control with active high beam, road sign information display and a blind spot information system with cross traffic alert.

A further £1,150 adds the winter pack which gives you active bending lights, heated front seats, heated front windscreen, Xenon headlights, a headlight cleaning system and heated washer nozzles.

Boot space is not as good as the opposition at just 339-litres but a standard split-fold rear bench and forward folding front passenger seat helps to improve practicality.

Other extras on the test car including metallic paint at £625 took the final total to £32,570, which in my opinion is a bit over the odds.