Watch the neighbors, a sparkling sedan is on-site

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- In my neighborhood, I'm generally known as "that guy who gets to drive all those new cars."

True enough.  Sometimes, the neighbors get vocal.  Upon taking delivery of the 2020 Volvo S60 T8 E-AWD R-Design sedan recently, a few spoke up right away:  "We want your car," they said.

This surprised me a bit, because the S60 had a straight-up white paint job.  But yes, the flowing, sporty lines, the eye-catching Volvo grille and the "Thor's Hammer" LED headlight design make this sedan a looker, to be sure.

But visitors to my driveway seemed to sense something deeper in the machine.  Something profound and powerful.

Turns out, they didn't know the half of it.

So, here's the thing.  The tested S60 is essentially a brilliantly engineered -- yes, it's a Volvo, for crying out loud -- luxury sedan stuffed with exceptional safety technology and enough comfort/convenience features to please the I-want-it-all driving enthusiast.  These things along justified the bottom line of nearly $62,000 on the tester's sticker.

But what's underneath the skin is the main event ... the showstopper, no less.

The tester was powered by a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, plus an electric motor offering a serious assist.  Together, combined horsepower maxes at a lofty 400.  Technically, it's a plug-in hybrid but with the performance DNA of a purpose-built sports car.

This package translates to serious scoot, particularly on freeways.  Cruising along at 60 miles per hour, I periodically asked for more and instantly received it with a heart-pleasing punch.  I easily zipped in and around pokes and inattentive pack drivers.  I've said it before: I love a car that can get out of harm's way in a hurry.

This Volvo does that and more.

Sitting in a comfortable cabin environment of "clean, Scandinavian design" -- those are Volvo's words, I just felt relaxed and cozy in the cockpit -- the tester provided endless fun with its performance-minded ways, dished up with very little noise filtering into the cabin.

Normally, you pay for such performance at the gas pump.  Not so here. The combined fuel mileage rating with gasoline only was a solid 30 miles per gallon.  With electricity and gas, fuel economy soars to 69 mpg.

Luxury, style, top-level technology, muscular performance and fuel-sipping tendencies ... No wonder the neighbors wanted my ride.