Volvo Estates Coming Back To The UK, Balance Restored

It seems to be increasingly rare these days that common sense wins out, but it’s just happened in the most delightful of ways: enough people in Britain have made their demand known for a good, old-fashioned Swedish estate car that Volvo has U-turned on its decision to stop selling the V60 and V90 in the UK.

We were aghast last year when Volvo, a brand whose reputation was built on sturdy, spacious estates and saloons, dropped the last of its low-riding cars in this country, leaving it selling only crossovers and SUVs.

Naturally, it cited increasingly dwindling demand for anything that doesn’t tower over the road, but the company has confirmed in statements to various outlets including Autocar that enough people had made their displeasure known at this move that it’s made the call to bring back its longroofs to the UK market.

"We were thrilled by the many comments from customers and media last year, with many stories and memories of how our estate cars have been a huge part of their lives. We look forward to helping create more,” said the statement.

Per Autocar, the mid-size V60 estate will return with a mild-hybrid 2.0-litre, 197bhp petrol, as well as a pair of plug-in hybrids utilising the same engine and offering up to 455bhp. The larger V90, meanwhile, will exclusively be available as a PHEV. Don’t expect the return of the ultra-durable diesel Volvo wagon – the company produced its last ever diesel earlier this year as it prepares for an all-electric future. The lifted Cross Country variants don't appear to be returning, either.

The models’ saloon equivalents – the S60 and S90 – aren’t coming back, either. While they’re still both available in some markets, the S60 is set to end production later this year, with the S90 to follow soon after and get a fully electric replacement.

It’s not clear how long either of the estates will remain on sale. The V90 has been in production for eight years, and the V60 for six, so both are approaching the natural end of their lifecycles, and Volvo hasn’t confirmed anything with regard to replacements. For now, though, we should just be happy that the people have spoken, and that for once, they don’t just want SUVs. The two cars are due back on sale in the UK in July.