Exterior and Interior
The XC60 is the first of Volvo’s mid-sized models to be built onto the brand’s highly flexible SPA (Scaleable Project Architecture) platform. It has been created from the start to accommodate technologies that haven’t arrived yet – connectivity, safety and electrification. Volvo has recently announced that every car it builds from 2019 will have an electric motor.
The new XC60 is a big car, longer and wider than its predecessor, but also lower, which makes it look more purposeful than the outgoing model. This is despite a higher ground clearance which adds to its off-road ability, particularly as every version is all-wheel drive.
Volvo’s current design themes are retained here, but with extras. The T-shaped daytime running lights run around the flanks to the wheel arches, while the clean, smooth upper panels contrast with some more muscular sculpting to the lower doors. All of which gives the car a distinctive look compared to its big sister.
Step inside and the surroundings are familiar to anyone who has tried out a 90 series car. And that is no bad thing, as those interiors are some of the best on the market. The fit and finish is excellent, as good as any acknowledged premium manufacturer.
The dash design is as stylish as it is thoroughly practical – long gone is the confusion of centre console buttons that used to be a Volvo staple, everything now based around a central touchscreen mounted in a much more practical portrait format.
There is plenty of room, front or back. The boot is reasonable though not enormous, and not as capacious as many rivals. Note, too that if one chooses the T8 plug-in hybrid model, its powertrain takes 37 litres from the boot.
Next page: Powertrains and drive experience
