Climbing into a Volvo for the first time can be quite exciting, or a complete let down. I believe it really takes a different kind of character to appreciate Volvo?s ?Swedish minimalism? theory. The interior of this car is very handsome indeed, but it just doesn?t grab you the way an Audi or BMW interior might.

The Volvo offers the same sort of interior kit as you would find on its German rivals, it?s just a matter of how it offers the kit. Most premium sedans seem to almost smear their offerings across the entire dashboard, as if to say ?check out what we have to offer?.

The Volvo does the exact opposite. It congregates almost everything on one very neat centre panel, Volvo?s floating centre stack. Your body will definitely appreciate the comfortable seats though ? no carmaker does seats better than Volvo!

The exterior runs along very much the same lines as the interior styling. Very clean and very simple. It is a handsome car in my books, but it just goes unnoticed way too easily, even in the eye-catching green hue our test model came in.

Once you start the car things do get better. Once you pull off, however, they get worse again. The lag that is ?on offer? from this diesel engine is a put-off. I?ve never really been impressed by an automatic diesel vehicle, but this Volvo failed to launch quickly. Once you put your foot down, and almost mash the pedal through the floor, the car takes at least two seconds to really get going.

Once on the boil, the Powershift gearbox executes its changes very smoothly though. Basically it?s a double-clutch sequential transmission, much like VW?s DSG, so it?s able to pre-select gears, resulting in a smooth change, whether you leave it in automatic mode or change gears yourself.

It?s a pity they?ve only chosen to mate it with the diesel engine ? surely it could work very well with Volvo?s petrol motors too.

This car is otherwise wonderful to drive. The 2.0 diesel with 100kW and 320Nm does a great job of keeping the car going. It is by no means urgent, but it very much suits the relaxed attitude that this car has and that it bestows on you.

The car feels very surefooted on the road, and the extensive list of safety features and acronyms help to make you feel incredibly safe, nestled inside this Swedish safety cocoon.

All in all, this car offers a host of features that most can appreciate, plus it offers decent fuel consumption - a claimed 6 l/100km. This Volvo might be the right choice for the person that wants to stand out from the crowd, which is now made up completely of 3s, A4s and Cs, but blend in and go unnoticed at the same time.

Definitely the understated contender.