The New Volvo V60 Is Here To Make Being Sensible More Sexy
The big push for Volvo right now may revolve around SUVs, but for most of us, the Swedish brand will forever be synonymous with practical but cool estate cars. And now, there’s a new one.
It’s the latest V60, which puts Volvo one step further in its quest to replace the entire line-up with cars built on the Scalable Platform Architecture that debuted with the new XC90. And before we go any further, it must be said: it’s quite a looker, isn’t it? Yes, it maybe borrows a little too readily from the bigger V90, but Volvo’s latest design language works out very nicely indeed on the V60’s more compact dimensions.
It’s quite possibly the prettiest of the new crop of Volvos, and depending on which engine you go for, rather fast too. Pick the top-of-the-range T8, and you’ll have 385bhp at your disposal from a plug-in hybrid powertrain. One step down from this is the 335bhp T6, which is also a hybrid. Yep, unlike all other Volvos in the current range, you have two plug-in options here.
Confusingly, there’s also a non-hybrid T6, plus a T5 and two diesel options in the form of the D3 and D4. All engines are 2.0-litre inline-fours. Sorry folks, the days of inline-five Volvos are long gone…
It should come as no surprise that the V60 comes stuffed full of safety gear, including an automatic braking to avoid collisions with cars, pedestrians, cyclists and even “large animals,” plus steering assistance systems such as Run-off Road Mitigation and Oncoming Lane Mitigation.
Volvo’s boffins have had a fiddle with the Level 2 autonomous Pilot Assist system, giving it “improved cornering performance.” We’ve always found Pilot Assist a little less than smooth in this regard, so that’s good news.
Want one? It’s yours from £31,810. Or alternatively, you can have it on a “premium subscription service” called Care by Volvo. You pay a monthly flat fee, and that covers everything. Think of it as Netflix, but instead of the latest series of Narcos, you get a handsome and practical Volvo.
The new V60 will say its big hello to the world at the Geneva Motor Show next month, before making its way to the first customers in the third quarter of 2018.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
If being sensible is sexy, looks at supercars
Now Volvo, PLEAAASSSEEE make this into a touring car
Yes! An 850R successor!
Someone good with rendering needs to do a thing!
It’s not sensible, it’s a 21st century tank
I guess that makes it a Volvo. Also, have a look at BMW X7, Audi Q8 and similar cars, then tell me this is not sensible.
Are they going to make a polestar version
PLEASE
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It is likely to be a souped up version of the T8, which is no bad thing consider all that electric torque. The standard T8 will likely to be quick enough for most people anyway.
It’s more angery that it’s bigger brother
It basically has the r design package as the regular front.
I don’t like to say this about a volvo but it is awsome looking
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Crazy, they both build a car that’s finished in gunmetal grey and has four wheels but doesn’t look anything like it otherwise. What a cheeky copycat Volvo is.
Seriously, how dense are you? Volvo introduced this styling in 2015, the current-gen Insignia didn’t come out until 2017. And they don’t even look remotely alike.
God damn that’s sexy
Great piece of design, but four cylinders just isn’t enough
No. With current tech, four cylinders paired with the good system works very well, being in a city car or a cruiser
Guess how many cylinders a Mercedes C-Class and a VW Passat and a Ford Mondeo have.
Hint: one hand is enough to count them all, and it’s not 5.
99% of people that buy a car like this don’t care how many cylinders it has they care more about the safety features, mpg and the design
As much as I dislike the effort to make every car in the model line the same, this car is absolutely gorgeous. What a time to live in, the most beautiful car of the year so far is a mid-sized Volvo estate.
IKR? I want to be mad because the whole Russian doll thing infuriates me, but just look at it…