Volvo Cars is heading for another record year in retail sales after posting a double digit global sales growth of 15.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

This is not bad for a company which was suffering only a few years ago when it was in the hands of Ford.

Now the bosses are Chinese and they have taken Volvo to previously undreamed heights and the cars they are making are world beaters.

Total sales for the January to September period amounted to 413,472 up nine per cent compared to the year before. Volvo sold a record 534,332 cars in 2016 and is confident it will report a new, fourth consecutive sales record this year.

Global sales in September reached 53,674 cars and the increase was mainly driven by demand for the company’s new 90 series cars, while the first generation XC60 remains the best-selling model.

And there is no doubt that the XC60 is one of the best vehicles on Britain’s roads today.

I get to drive various cars during a year and normally my partner will drive them as well. It’s always a good idea to have a second opinion.

Regarding the XC60 she didn’t want to give it back!

And if you don’t believe her, and you would be on sticky ground there, just ask Auto Express, the top motoring magazine.

They voted the Volvo XC60 the best premium SUV at their new car awards for this year for its interior quality, design, technology, spaciousness and comfort-oriented approach.

Their expert testers also said the XC60 had a level of safety, connectivity and autonomous technology that leads the sector and that it was a very easy car to live with day-to-day.

Steve Fowler, editor-in-chief of Auto Express, said: "Volvo has done it again with the XC60. The XC90 was a serial winner at our awards and now the XC60 wins at the first attempt.

“It's another super-stylish SUV from Volvo that offers a level of quality, comfort and technology that rivals can't – it really is the complete package."

So that’s from the horse’s mouth and it doesn’t get any better than that.

Prices start at just over 37,000 and go on through to almost 50,000 depending on the model.

All wheel drive and auto transmission comes with every model.

Getting behind the wheel of the XC60 for the first time is like going on a school trip when you are all excited about your destination.

You know everything is going to be good but what you don’t know is just how good. It’s beyond your expectations. It is a car of your dreams.

Everything works better than a Swiss clock from the sat nav, to the lights, to the radio, to the acceleration to the miles per gallon.

This second-generation model has all of the advanced connectivity and safety equipment introduced in Volvo's award-winning range of large premium cars.

It also brings Volvo's latest elegant Scando design to the mid-size SUV class, along with the brand's ground-breaking Sensus touchscreen control system.

The XC60 is available with a range of powerful yet efficient engines, including the innovative T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid. This combines a petrol engine with an electric motor, making it a near-silent zero-emission city car one minute and a high-performance family SUV the next. With CO2 emissions of just 49 g/km, the T8 is also exceptionally tax-efficient.

There are three 2.0 litre four cylinder engines, Volvo don’t do more than two litre models these days.

There’s a mass of kit which will take you a day to get your head round but when you do, you wonder how you managed without it!

The XC60 brings all the style, sophistication and cutting-edge connectivity and safety features from Volvo cars, introducing the fruits of recent transformation to more owners.

There is a maximum speed of 130mph; a 0-60mph take off in eight seconds and a combined fuel rating of 55mpg. CO2 emissions are just over 130g/km.

I would reckon it more highly than anything in the German range and both Mercedes and Audi will have to look out on the sales front because the XC60 is coming for you.

In China which is Volvo’s largest market, sales grew by a strong 25.9 per cent to 9,616 cars in August and the locally-produced XC60, S60L and S90 models continued to be the main growth drivers.

Europe recorded double-digit sales growth of 18.9 per cent to 15,637 cars sold in August and the Americas region returned to growth in August, reporting a sales increase of five per cent to 9,486 cars, of which 7,994 in the United States.