Hovercraft smooth Volvo XC60 hits the road and new motor is safer than ever… following in footsteps of Swedish sensations Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Spotify and Ikea

I LOVE all things Sweden right now.

I love Spotify and Zara Larsson.

I love Alicia Vikander (the new Lara Croft).

I love Ikea and meatballs and hotdogs.

I love H&M clothes.

I love Daim bars.

I love Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

I love “fika” (coffee and cake).

I love Midsummer parties and a free bar.

I love the holidays (our Swedish cousins must take four weeks off in a row between June and August — it’s law).

I love “nubbe” (ice-cold vodka shots).

But most of all, at this moment in time, I love the Volvo XC60.

Now I promise you this. I didn’t grow up thinking: “Oooh, if I work really, really hard, I could treat myself to a Volvo one day.”

Nobody did.

Old Volvos were safe, yes — of course they were, that’s Volvo’s trademark. But they were also dull and boxy and smelled like an old flannel.

Today, Volvos are safe and cool — very cool — and have the same kudos as Audi and BMW.

The XC60 is Volvo’s bestseller, sitting below the XC90 (the seven-seater for people who don’t use birth control) and above the XC40, coming soon.

It has all the goodness of the XC90 (advanced tech, impeccable cabin) squeezed into a smaller frame — and it’s £10,000 cheaper. Between you and me, the XC90 is a big bus and a nightmare to park but otherwise brilliant.

You can park an XC60 or, at the very least, let it park itself.

The ride is hovercraft-smooth, it’s quieter than a GCSE exam hall and it eats up miles without fuss.

Swedish massage?

Don’t mind if I do. Switch on the cooled and heated massaging seats and you are missing only the candles and the smell of eucalyptus. You can feel your body draining of stress.

That upright 9in screen is so quick and easy (swipe left for media, swipe right for car settings), the hardest thing is remembering whether you stored The Strokes under “T” or “S”. The driver also has head-up display.

As for safety, let’s just say if it’s not on this Volvo it hasn’t been thought of yet.

Volvo has promised that “no one will be killed or seriously injured” in its cars by 2020 and the latest tech steers you away from the risk of a head-on collision.

The Volvo XC60. It’s all sorts of terrific. Finance from £379 a month.

Real life Scalextric

WE all know the issues with electric cars. Rubbish range, they take hours to charge and the cable makes your chinos grubby. Well, imagine a car that does away with all that because it charges as you drive.

Voila! Renault is testing a Kangoo van on a wireless charging lane.  Life-size Scalextric. Hurry up, future, hurry.

Bird business

THE latest Bentley accessory is a £77,000 FALCONRY kit. I kid you not. It comes with two perches, binoculars, GPS tracking unit and a bird tether on the driver’s armrest. That is also true. Bird of prey not included. Falconry is big business with Arab playboys.

Eye tests for OAPs

CAR insurance firm is offering free eye tests at Specsavers – after 72 per cent of its crash claims involved drivers aged over 75. Adam Clarke, of , said: “Our eyesight is only tested once – on the day of our driving test.”
Printed in big letters for Rias customers. You’re welcome.

A new boy racer

HURRAH. VW is building an up! GTI – and it’s faster than the original Golf GTI. Key facts:  1-litre 3cyl turbo, 115hp, 0-62 in 8.8, 122mph, out January priced £14,000. Want.