| First Drive | Kaprun, Austrian | 2010 Volvo XC60 R-Design |

The quasi-Top Gear existence of a car journalist is a funny one. All our friends seem to think our nine-to-five existence is solely on a test track, perfecting our opposite lock skills in whatever MPV we've got at the time, then spending a couple of minutes begrudgingly typing up our thoughts on inconsequential things like rear legroom and switchgear tactility.

It's not true. Sometimes we do opposite lock on purpose built ice arenas in sports utility vehicles. That's what we did in the new Volvo XC60 R-Design...

In the Metal

Unlike the S-Line and M Sport stuff Audi and BMW respectively knock out, which gives punters without the minerals for the real thing the chance to at least look the part, Volvo's R-Design brand doesn't have any halo car to speak of from which it draws inspiration. The last proper R car died with the S60.

However, with the launch of the C30 sport chassis - which comes as standard on R-Design cars - and now this XC60 version, Volvo is at least making the letter stand for something more than nice bodywork. The XC60 R-Design is a chassis upgrade as well as a visual one. We'll get into that in a minute.

Aesthetic changes are mild but easily distinguishable, with a matte silver finish for the mirror caps, rear skid plate and scuff plates, unique 18-inch alloys and the option of some 'gangsta' 20-inchers for when you fancy some flossing. (Which is hip-hop for showing off. Word.) The plastic cladding of lesser versions is ditched for body coloured metal too. Inside, there's aluminium in the wheel and door cards, the pedals are made of it too, and the centre console stack is dark grey. Sounds unimportant, but actually it adds to a better vibe in there.

What you get for your Money

The cosmetic changes are only half the story, because the R-Design gets stiffened suspension to make it feel more like the burgeoned estate it looks like on the road. Lower and more involving, that is. But because it's still a 4x4 (well, if you ask for it that way) with a modicum of off-road promise, Volvo has opted against actually lowering the springs. The steering has been tinkered with as well, so the car turns in with more enthusiasm.

It's not cheap though. Which isn't to say it's bad value, but it'll cost £29,495 to get on the R-Design ladder with a 2.4-litre diesel DRIVe with front-wheel drive, up to £37,245 for - take a deep breath - a T6 AWD R-Design SE Premium Geartronic model. That's got a bit of bite too, with 281bhp.

Driving it

Remember our intro? We weren't just showing off. The point was that the majority of the time we spent with the XC60 - which was plentiful - was on icy planes, mostly looking out of the side window as we steered. The time we did get on concrete roads - cold as they were - told us that the R-Design's suspension hasn't ruined the XC60's usually exemplary ride comfort. It is tangibly tauter around corners, and the trade-off for that is a little more body movement at lower speeds, but it's far from sports saloon firm.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn't handle like a sports saloon either. Stiffer springs and sharper steering or not, the forces of gravity mean this is no way a sporty car; it's just one with fractionally more bite than the standard car, but not the irritating, coccyx-worrying firmness of some of the bigger premium SUVs. Plus, the D5 engine seems well suited to the more relaxed nature of driving the XC60, offering abundant low down torque (there's 309lb.ft of it) and whose noise is far better abated than the diesels in littler Volvos. The Geartronic auto 'box is a good fit too, which although sometimes too keen to hold onto a gear higher in the revs (where engine noise encroaches a little too much), swaps cogs quickly and is willing to drop a couple with alacrity when needed.

Otherwise it's business as usual; spacious, classy and comfortable, the XC60 remains one of the better medium sub-premium, post-mainstream SUV crossover things. If indeed it has any direct rivals at all, when put like that.

Worth Noting

Turn the traction control off when you're driving on an ice rink. It's more fun...

Summary

The visual addenda of the R-Design spec XC60 add more driver appeal than the dynamic enhancements do. However, the sharpening up is handled tastefully, without recourse to the sort of stiffness that would render it useless off-road and annoyingly thump-y everywhere else. Driving on smooth and/or icy roads hasn't given us a proper feel for what the R-Design's setup will do on a typically churned up UK street, but we expect it'll be fine - and that it won't matter too much anyway, because the R-Design is the best looking of the range, and thus the one to have.