India has become a land of lineups. Every brand will sell you a car that’s fast, that’s flashy, that’s fuel-efficient, and of course, one that pretends to be a small luxury apartment on wheels. But in this endless sea of badge flexing, horsepower hunting and touchscreen one-upmanship, there are still two SUVs that have quietly stuck to just one philosophy – make me comfortable, all the time. So for once, we decided to do something radical. We ignored lap times, ignored zero-to-hundreds, ignored screen sizes, and stripped this comparison down to its soul. Just one question: which of these two is the most comfortable luxury SUV you can buy today?
On one side is the 2025 Volvo XC60. On the other, the 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300. The timing for this test couldn’t be more relevant. For weeks now, the same question keeps coming at us from friends shopping in the ₹60–70-lakh bracket: “What is the most comfortable car I can buy today?” Earlier, we would have simply pointed them towards an E-Class. But the new E now sits on a very different price planet. And our roads, well… they continue to remain world-class in theory. Which means buyers are once again gravitating towards mid-size luxury SUVs. Of course, comfort buyers still want their car to look good, so even though this is a comfort test first and everything else later, we start where every Indian buyer secretly starts – with design.
The Volvo XC60 looks like it was designed by a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, sweetish man who ice-skates as a hobby and volunteers at the local animal shelter. It’s understated, restrained and quietly confident, and in a strange way, deeply unique in today’s era of loud luxury. But it also has a mischievous streak. The grille isn’t even symmetrical. It’s hysterical. Like this perfectly well-behaved man secretly turns into the frontman of a punk rock band at night. The Mercedes-Benz GLC, meanwhile, looks like it knows you have money. The grille is blingier, the stance more assertive, and the whole thing proudly announces that you drive a Mercedes. It’s also a lot more curvy than the Volvo, and that design language is starting to feel a touch older now, especially if you’ve already seen what the new generation looks like. Today, purely on freshness and elegance, we actually think the Volvo looks better, which is hilarious because the XC60 is basically a decade old.
Step into the XC60 and the first reaction you have isn’t “bro, look at this screen” or “dude, look at all this tech”. It’s just a calm, grown-up, mature “hmm… nice”. And that is exactly the vibe Volvo went for. There’s less gloss and more wood, and not fake showroom wood either – this is real, raw, textured wood, like high-end furniture or a handcrafted sculpture where you can still see the artist’s scars. Then you sit down, and if anyone tells you these aren’t the best seats in this segment, check their noses – they’re Pinocchio. These aren’t seats, these are furniture. Proper ergonomic, orthopaedist-approved, spine-and-tailbone-relieving, back-pain-deleting masterpieces wrapped in soft colours and softer materials.
And the madness doesn’t stop at the front. The rear seats are just as spectacular – absolute segment benchmarks. This side of a crore, these are among the best seats money can buy, full stop. Add the ride quality to this and the XC60’s comfort story starts sounding almost unfair. It doesn’t float like a magic carpet; it cushions like a magic mattress, one that could easily cost as much as this car. Small bumps simply disappear. Speed breakers become suggestions. And even on Mumbai’s deeply unnerving highways, the XC60 feels unshakeable. What truly catches you out, though, is the silence. I lived with this car for months, and I consistently reached home far less stressed than in almost anything else I drive. Wind noise is negligible, road noise barely exists, and whatever little manages to sneak in is immediately assassinated by one of the finest audio systems you can buy on four wheels.
Volvo even goes so far as to remove paddle shifters altogether, just to hammer home one message – it is very, very clear about what this car is. It is not for enthusiasts. It is a cocoon for the understated, old-money wealthy. The GLC, however, plays this comfort game very differently.
If the Volvo is a Scandinavian ski lodge, the GLC is a five-star Dubai suite on The Palm. It has massive screens, enough ambient lighting to put the Bandra-Worli Sea Link to shame, and surfaces that scream expensive before you even touch them. This is luxury that you see first and feel later. And once you do feel everything, some bits genuinely impress, while a few don’t quite live up to the visual drama. Where the Mercedes absolutely nails it is tactile feedback. The switchgear feels sensational. The Volvo may have crystal, but the Mercedes has metal – metal on the switches, metal on the steering wheel, metal wherever your fingers land.
The seats in the GLC aren’t Volvo-level plush, but they’re very, very good in their own way. Firmer, sportier, meant to support you when you decide to stop being chauffeured and start being the driver, and of course infinitely adjustable. The suspension tuning follows the same philosophy. It glides, but it’s tighter than the Volvo and more controlled, like a perfectly fitted pair of Adidas sneakers compared to the Volvo’s luxury loafers. On smooth roads, the GLC is sublime. On rough roads, it remains very good, but it simply cannot match the Volvo’s mattress-like ability to delete bad tarmac. It also isn’t as quiet overall. That said, where the Volvo can get loud and slightly rough when pushed hard, the GLC stays composed. It has that unmistakable Mercedes blend of softness and control, and if you’re the one driving, it feels more refined than the Volvo. As a pure back-seat lounge, though, the Volvo still edges ahead.
So let’s simplify this. Looks are a draw, though brand pull will swing many toward the Mercedes. Ride comfort goes to the Volvo – smoother, softer, more supple. Seat comfort goes to the Volvo again – nothing comes close to those chairs. Cabin quality and ambience go to the Mercedes because some of the Volvo’s switchgear feels a touch underwhelming. Engine refinement when driven harder also leans towards the Mercedes. Strangely, it all still feels like a draw until you factor in cabin refinement and calm, and here the Volvo’s zen-like silence tips the scales decisively in its favour.
If this comparison had been about driving dynamics, outright performance or handling finesse, the GLC would probably have walked away with the trophy. But that was never the brief. This was a comfort test – pure, unfiltered comfort. And for the one exact metric that so many buyers come to us asking about, the Volvo XC60 is simply better. It’s more comfortable, it’s quieter, and it’s also ₹7–8 lakh cheaper. From an overall perspective, the XC60 is still at par with the GLC dynamically and never once feels lacking, which makes it even more astonishing that the oldest car in the segment is still out here setting benchmarks – and doing it with Volvo’s trademark obsession with safety.
If you want your luxury loud, shiny and driver-centric, the GLC makes perfect sense. But if what you want is silence, seat comfort, stress-free travel and the ability to arrive at your destination feeling human again, the Volvo XC60 is the most comfortable luxury SUV you can buy in this segment today.
