by Cheryl Eldridge and Wire Reports

To Drive a Volvo is to love a Volvo and after  this week’s test drive with the  2015.5 Volvo XC60 T6 Drive-E Platinum I’m thinking about placing this automobile on my bucket list of purchases.
Volvo’s Luxury crossover  Xc 60 was definitely loaded with surprises. This family vehicle was a plus definitely during my rendezvous due to passengers having enough arm room and legroom.
Excitement is definitely a plus with gas mileage  ranking of  22mpg in the city /30mpg on the highway /25mpg combined.
The 2015 Volvo XC60 is a compact crossover SUV that seats five people. There are five trim levels that correspond to engine and drivetrain: T5 Drive-E, 3.2 AWD, T6 Drive-E, T6 AWD and T6 AWD R-Design. Each is then broken into sub-trims.
My  Crystal White tester 2015 came standard with 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights, front and rear foglights, LED running lights, roof rails, heated mirrors, automatic wipers, cruise control, dual-zone automatic climate control, eight-way power front seats, driver memory functions, a leather-wrapped tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, “T-Tec” fabric upholstery, a 40/20/40-split-folding rear seat, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, and an eight-speaker sound system with a CD player, satellite radio, HD radio, an auxiliary audio jack and a USB/iPod audio interface. The 3.2 AWD differs in its engine, transmission and standard all-wheel drive.
The Premier Plus sub-trim is available on all trims and adds a rearview camera, power-folding mirrors, a power liftgate, power-folding rear headrests, a folding front passenger seat, a cargo cover and a pop-up trunk-mounted grocery holder.
The Platinum sub-trim adds auto-dimming exterior mirrors, interior accent lighting, a 12-speaker surround-sound audio system and a navigation system (available separately on the other sub-trims).
The Climate package adds an interior air quality system and heating for the front seats, rear seats, steering wheel, windshield and washer nozzles. The Sport package adds 20-inch wheels and sport front seats (deletes the folding front passenger seat). Individual options include adaptive bi-xenon headlights, a dual-screen rear entertainment system and rear child booster seats that also include power child door locks. The R-Design can be equipped with special leather/simulated suede upholstery.
The T6 Platinum sub-trims can be equipped with the  Inscription package, which includes upgraded leather upholstery, extended leather interior trim, power front seat lumbar adjustment, special floor mats and sill plates, and special wood trim.
One notable dealer-installed accessory available on every XC60 is the Sensus Connected Touch system. This adds touchscreen functionality to the standard “Sensus” color display screen along with an onboard WiFi connection, Internet access and voice-activated audio controls, including those for Spotify Internet radio. A less sophisticated navigation system can also be added that costs much less than the so-called “integrated navigation system.”
The 2015 Volvo XC60 T6 Drive-E comes with a turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine good for 302 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Like the T5, it has front-wheel drive and the eight-speed automatic with engine stop-start. In Edmunds testing, an XC60 T6 Drive-E went from zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, which is certainly quick, but ultimately a bit slow when compared to other compact crossovers with an upgrade engine. Fuel economy is an impressive 25 mpg combined (22 city/30 highway), and it returned 26.5 mpg on the 120-mile Edmunds evaluation loop – about the same as the less powerful Audi Q5 2.0T.
The 2015 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD models get a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 engine. The regular T6 AWD version produces 300 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque, while the R-Design version is good for 325 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. Both have all-wheel drive and six-speed automatic transmissions. In Edmunds testing, a T6 R-Design went from zero to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, and the expectation of the regular T6 is to only be a tenth or two slower. Either way, this is again a bit slow in comparison to other compact crossovers with an engine upgrade. EPA-estimated fuel economy stands at 20 mpg combined (17 city/24 highway) for both versions.
Every 2015 Volvo XC60 comes standard with traction and stability control, antilock brakes, whiplash-protection front seats, front seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags. Also standard is Volvo’s City Safety system, which is an automatic braking system that engages at speeds of up to 30 mph when the car detects that a collision is imminent.
There is additional, optional safety equipment due to their wonderful engineers. The Dual Two-Stage Integrated Booster Seats pop up from the backseat’s outboard positions and accommodate children with a height/weight range from 37 inches and 33 pounds to 55 inches and 80 pounds. These booster seats come with power child door locks. The Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) package adds a blind-spot warning system, cross-traffic alert, and front and rear parking sensors. The Technology package adds a frontal collision warning system with fully automatic braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection with fully automatic braking, a driver-inattention warning system and lane-departure warning.
The XC60 received a top five-star rating from the government for overall, frontal and side crash protection. It also received the best possible rating of “Good” in all of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s crash tests, which is a rare achievement.
As with other Volvos, the XC60’s cabin is defined by modern yet inviting design indicative of its Swedish homeland. The shape of the “floating” center stack and available real wood trim are particularly distinctive, and there’s certainly no mistaking the XC60 for anything else in the segment. Another Volvo hallmark is the sublimely comfortable and supportive front seats.
The straightforward dual-temperature adjustment dials and “mode man” pictogram make climate control adjustments simple and intuitive. The audio system’s phone-style number pad and surrounding buttons may look a bit antiquated in the luxury class these days, but they’re simple and make controlling basic stereo functions easy. For more complicated tasks like selecting a media player playlist, programming the optional navigation system or controlling more complicated vehicle functions, the XC60 relies on the standard Sensus system. It, too, is fairly easy to use and similar to competitor systems, though the multipurpose knob’s location on the dash (rather than the center console) is not ideal.
The rear seat is particularly roomy as smaller crossovers go, with a high seat cushion, above-average headroom and decent legroom for adults. Unfortunately, the seatbacks do not recline, but parents and kids alike will appreciate the available integrated child booster seats that pop up from the seat bottom. To accommodate cargo, the versatile 40/20/40-split rear seat can be folded in a number of different ways. Maximum cargo space is 67 cubic feet, which is a good number for this class.
Cost of my luxurious tester: $40,050.
In a nutshell, I really enjoyed this automobile and am looking forward to other Volvos in the near future.
Until next week, drive safe and buckle up, it’s the law.

By Frank S. Washington

DETROIT – The 2015 Honda Fit EX-L, the third generation of the subcompact, was surprising. The model had many creature comforts that used to be the exclusive domain of much more expensive vehicles and it had an exceptional ride for a vehicle with a short wheel base.
First, the Fit is a four-door hatchback. Some people include the hatch and say it is a five-door hatchback. But we think doors should be defined by people going through them and nobody routinely gets into a hatchback to ride or drive it by going through the hatch door, that’s for cargo.
Anyway, the front-wheel-drive car was powered by a 1.5-liter four cylinder engine that made 130 horsepower and generated 114 pound-feet of torque. It was mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT). This Honda Fit had an EPA rating of 32 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway and 35 mpg combined.
We are not fans of CVTs. But this one was quiet at low speeds and like most CVTs it translated power to the pavement deceptively. Under hard acceleration this CVT was relatively loud and it sounded like the car wasn’t really moving that fast. But we checked the speedometer and found ourselves doing 80 mph. That was quite fast enough; actually, it was more than the speed limit for a city expressway and most Interstates.
The Honda Fit wasn’t bad on city streets either. A little too much road noise got into the passenger compartment but that wasn’t disconcerting. The MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear suspension translated into a fairly smooth ride without a lot of small car bumps.
The passenger cabin was really spacious and it felt even bigger because of the panoramic view all round. The Honda Fit had a lot of glass; it seemed like a glass surround. The trick was the glass pane between the A-pillar and the passenger side window as well as the glass insert between C and D-pillars created an open air feel. Coupled with the Fit’s high seating position, the sight lines were great.
For 2015, the Fit got slimmer headlights, a lower air intake and what Honda called a linear sloped hood and windshield. The car looked pretty sleek for a subcompact car.
The interior room was increased and interior materials improved for this model year. Soft touch surfaces and controls were accented with silver. Instruments and dials were backlit in blue. Our test vehicle had a navigation system and a touch screen.
There was satellite radio, Bluetooth, a smart key, push button start, a rearview camera and what Honda called LaneWatch. It is a camera that turned on when the right turn signal was engaged and showed you what was in that lane. The image was shown on the information screen.
Potentially, that prevents two fairly common occurrences: Turning short, catching wheels and worse on curbs, or, cutting someone off or clipping something or someone. About the only thing we could find to quibble about was the audio control for the sound system, it was digital. In other words, you had to press the touch screen to increase or decrease the volume. That seemed a little distracting.
Still, there was plenty to be pleased with about the 2015 Honda Fit. In addition to the USB jacks and power plugs, it also had a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) jack.
The 2015 Honda Fit EX-L was a very capable sub compact car. And with a base price of $19,800 it was affordable as well.

Frank S. Washington is editor of AboutThatCar.com.