The all new XC60 from Volvo is bigger, bolder and more brawny. To maintain demand for XC60 Volvo made the second-generation model 44mm longer (4688mm), 108mm wider (1999mm) while reducing the SUV’s height by 55mm (1658mm). Despite the changes, which Volvo says make the XC60 the biggest model in its class, the SUV’s weight is either 20 kg lighter or 20 kg heavier than its predecessor, depending on the powertrain. This was achieved through extensive use of lightweight materials such as aluminum and hot-formed boron steel. The SUV’s ground clearance has been reduced to 216mm from 230mm.
Volvo also packed the second-generation XC60 with new safety technology that provides the driver with automatic steering assistance or support to help avoid potential collisions. Two of the new advanced driver assistance features are standard in every XC60.
The first is an upgrade of the SUV’s City Safety system to include steering help at speed of 50 to 100 kph when automatic braking alone would not stop a collision with another vehicle, pedestrian or large animal. The second is a new system called Oncoming Lane Mitigation, which helps drivers avoid collisions with vehicles in the oncoming lane at speeds of 60 to 140 kph. The system works by alerting a driver who has drifted out of the lane and by automatically steering the driver out of the path of any oncoming vehicle.
Volvo aims to boost its worldwide volume to 800,000 vehicles by 2020 and increase its operating profit margin to 8% from 6.1% last year. The XC60, Volvo’s top-selling model in Europe and the U.S., accounted for 30% of the automaker’s 534,332 worldwide sales in 2016.
Those features include a system that prevents the driver from running off the road and protects the driver if such an accident is unavoidable as well as Volvo’s optional semi-autonomous driver support and convenience system, Pilot Assist, which can steer and brake the car through a traffic jam as well as help control the car when driving in the highway.
The XC60 will be the first Volvo with a plug-in hybrid powertrain available at launch along with gasoline and diesel engine variants. The plug-in hybrid is the most powerful and most fuel-efficient model in the XC60’s lineup, providing a combined 40hp (320 hp from its gasoline engine plus an additional 87hp from the electric drivetrain) while consuming 2.1 liters of fuel per 100 km. Volvo also will offer two diesels with power ranging from 190hp to 235hp and a pair of gasoline engines that offer 254hp to 320hp. The upgraded engines, which are paired with all-wheel drive, are part of Volvo’s push to make its vehicles more fun to drive without ever feeling out of control. A key part of that is SUV’s double wishbone front suspension, which keeps the car more parallel when corning to improve road holding, something that boosts driver confidence.
One way it did this was by increasing the font size on the XC60 touchscreen commands another was by adding an optional feature that makes it possible to lower the back of the SUV by 50mm to make loading and unloading luggage easier.
