Can Volvo claim the Wheels Car of the Year crown for a third-straight year?

No marque has even completed a three-peat at Wheels Car of the Year. Winning our COTY award once is hard enough, but claiming three on the trot, that’s unprecedented.

In an effort to score the historic triple crown Volvo has supplied a trio of cars for us to assess. We have the two bookends of the S60 range, which starts with the entry-level S60 T5 Momentum kicking off at $54,990 fitted with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder producing 187kW and 350Nm.

Flip the scale and we have the $85,990 S60 T8 R-Design, and it’s packed with a supercharged, turbocharged and hybridised 2.0-litre four-cylinder to crank out an impressive 311kW and 670Nm.

The pragmatic V60 is also along for the ride, too – and it’s from the Wheels long-term garage. The $62,990 V60 T5 Inscription offers 187kW and 350Nm, so we have a broad spread of spec levels and body styles.

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We’ve already sampled the entry-level S60 when it came up against a strong foe in the revolutionised Peugeot 508 and it performed strongly in terms of pace and packaging.

The V60 wagon is proving to be a popular chariot in the Wheels garage, too, mixing practicality and performance in with the Scandinavian brand’s usual sense of style.

The S60 T8 is a mix of grunt and grace, with the hybrid drivetrain providing prodigious punch and the ability to drive short distances purely on the electric motor thanks to the lithium-ion battery pack.

With a strong electric contingent and a host of high-quality fresh metal, Volvo has its work cut out for it the Swedes wish to reign supreme for a third-straight year. But you never know, lightning could strike three times.

Do you think the S60/V60 is worthy of delivering Volvo another COTY gong?