Life used to be so simple for drivers. You bought a saloon, unless you needed to move stuff, in which case you bought a less-sexy estate. Unless you were supremely stylish, so you forgot about versatility and you bought a head-turning coupe.

Now things have changed. The demarcation zones between models have blurred tremendously. Nissan, for example, is planning to launch a convertible SUV. How wacky is that? Lots of companies have brought out sporty 4x4s, but none have chopped the roof off before.

Anyway, back to the point. Volvo have proved in recent years that estate cars can be more sexy rather than less sexy.

Their latest estate is the V60 (V stands for Volume in Volvo speak, just like S is for saloon, C for convertible and XC for cross-over vehicles).

It’s about as far from the boxy incarnation of an estate as you can get. It has sweeps and curves galore, yet somehow it is still recognisable as a Volvo.

In vogue now are flowing, bold and curvaceous five-door models that attempt to emulate the sport driving characteristics of the saloons and coupes.

Having introduced the highly attractive new S60 saloon, complete with coupe-type bodywork, Volvo has followed it up in typical fashion with an estate version.

Well, sort of. Such are the blurring of lines that Volvo don’t call the V60 an estate. They prefer sport wagon, a sort of Euro-American name for much the same thing.

Volvo point out that drivers who need a capacious load-carrier can still opt for the V70, the definitive estate.

They can even have marginally less load carrying ability from a considerably smaller platform in the shape of the V50. The V60 is there to provide something different, a sleeker, more stylish and better handling five-door executive option.

It works. Even the best estates can feel heavy and hard to handle, while the V60 is smooth and flowing.

Given Volvo’s reputation as a manufacturer of solid, safe and hugely practical cars, there’s likely to be a number of traditional Volvo drivers scratching their heads at the concept of an estate that’s deliberately not as practical as it could be but, despite Volvo’s protestations that the V60 is not an estate, that rear end looks capable of dealing with an airport run.

In fact, the V60’s interior is more adaptable than many unabashed estates, with a handy 40:20:40 split rear bench that combines with a front passenger seat that can fold completely flat to offer a convenient array of load and people carrying combinations.

Its overall volume is not the greatest in its sector but few owners are likely to routinely find themselves cursing its lack of accommodation.

So that’s the wagon element explained, but traditional Volvo estate drivers may find it harder to swallow the sports aspect. Perhaps not as much if they’ve driven the S60, a saloon designed to compete with the premium four-door contenders in terms of the driving experience as much as contemporary styling.

The V60 is intended to deliver the same characteristics on road, and it succeeds with a responsive chassis that feels tightly-controlled and is well damped. The un-estate-like poise is most noticeable when cornering, where body roll is successfully limited and grip remains constant, making the V60 an assured and responsive car to drive quickly, certainly more so than previous similarly-sized Volvo’s.

On paper the car’s carrying capacity might appear modest – 430 litres with the seats up, 1,241 litres with the rear seats folded forward – but this is only half the story. The car’s low load lip and the ability to flip those rear seats one handed are genuine real world attractions. For added flexibility the rear splits 40/20/40, a combination that often proves more versatile than the traditional 60/40 split.

The arrival of the V60 brings Volvo’s tally of estate cars to three. With the firm’s V40 viewed internally as a compact hatchback with added versatility and the big V70 as the true workhorse of the range, the V60 finds itself occupying the middle ground. For many this ‘just right’ option will be the perfect addition to their life and offers a polished blend of space, style and performance.

PRICE: Range from £24,960.

ENGINE: 2.0-litre diesel unit developing 163bhp via six-speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels.

PERFORMANCE: Top 137mph, 0 to 62mph 9.4 seconds.

COSTS: 51.4mpg.

EMISSIONS: 144g/km.