I give Volvo credit for evolving its styling over the last few years to today’s nice lines and, dare I say it, an appealing design identity. The XC60 looks slick inside and out, especially inside. This is a fantastic interior, in both its design and execution. The flat-finished wood trim on the floating center console is a nice touch, and I say that as someone who generally despises wood trim in modern vehicles. But with the dark cocoa color scheme, it provides a nice contrast here. Again, the execution is fantastic.

The price is high, but I think this vehicle provides a perception of luxury and quality to justify it to those who are into such things, and that’s a rarity with most similar utes that usually fail in their efforts to impress enough to excuse the price. I give Volvo credit for this as well.

On top of all that, the XC60 is a fine driver with the right amount of power and well-composed handling and road manners. Like its C30 stablemate, however, this vehicle’s design suggests that it is sportier than its actual dynamics reveal. I don’t mean to suggest there is anything wrong with its performance, but it is not going to knock your socks off if you get into it expecting an adrenaline rush.

I only drove it for one night and did not put many miles on it, so I too was baffled by the blank nav screen. I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on without consulting the manual. But it’s silly to complain about that since an owner will certainly get the full rundown on all the bells and whistles.

Read The full review on AutoWeek.

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Volvo’s about to change hands from Ford to China’s Geely, and (like fellow Swedish automaker Saab now under Spyker’s wing) if it’s going to survive, it’ll need a solid product. This could be it.

Previewed in concept form at the Detroit Auto Show, the production version of the new Volvo S60 made its debut here at the Geneva Motor Show. And when it comes down to it, that’s what Volvo’s all about: safety. So it comes as little surprise that the new S60 also debuts the company’s new Collision Warning system that will, if necessary, fully engage the brakes.

The S60 makes its debut in T6 guise, packing a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six with 300 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque. More engines will be on offer worldwide once new S60 car reaches the market over the course of the coming months.

Read the full story on AutoBlog

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The Financial Times has a review of the XC60 R-Design. Here are the highlights:

Of similar size to Ford’s Kuga and the new BMW X1, it embodies the difficult metamorphosis through which Volvo is putting itself in order to redefine its relationship with the motoring world once outside the protective ownership of Ford. The buzz-word at Volvo is no longer “safe” but “sporty’’; almost obsessively so. The R-Design (pronounced reedesign) label is not so much a name-tag for the latest XC60 as a concept for a new Volvo persona.

In the XC60 it manifests itself in a number of exterior cosmetic changes, including paintwork, body mouldings and side and rear scuff plates, which combine to give the car a significantly more extrovert personality. The same goes for the inside: there are new body-hugging sports seats for brisker cornering; brushed aluminium for all door, steering wheel and centre console inserts; aluminium sports pedals and various other sporting tweaks.

The XC60 comes with a choice of two diesel engines and one petrol. The most powerful diesel is positively sports car-like, its 200bhp and 310lb ft of torque providing standstill to 62mph in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. That’s with the standard six-speed gearbox; the automatic version is marginally slower. The entry-level diesel has 170bhp and the 2.4 litre petrol unit a mighty 285bhp, although with almost twice the fuel consumption of the 40mpg-plus diesels and with only an automatic gearbox available.

With prices ranging from £30,000 to about £37,000 ($47,100 to $58,100), the R-Design XC60 does not come cheap. But all versions do come well equipped. Climate and cruise control are standard, as is Volvo’s unique City Safety crash-avoidance system, which keeps safe distances from the vehicle in front during stop-start urban traffic. There is also a useful side mirror blind-spot warning system. Higher specification models come with all the usual toys, among them satellite navigation, electrically adjustable seats and leather seats and trim.

The XC60 is just one of a rash of updated and new models currently being brought on stream by Volvo, with its smallest C30, now “Sports Coupé”, model receiving the external go-faster cosmetics along with sharpened steering and chassis. The same applies to Volvo’s C70 metal-roofed coupé/convertible, while an all-new S60 model being launched later this year will also have sporting credentials.

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Attention, jaywalkers and drunk pedestrians: The car you want to stumble in front of is the Volvo XC60 crossover. Its City Safety feature brings the car safely to a stop when it detects an object in front, be it human, animal, car, at speeds of 10 mph or less. And this feature is standard, not a thousand-dollar option. Add in Volvo’s other safety features, and it’s a solid choice as one of the 2010 Digital Drive Top 10 cars.

The XC60 is a small-to-midsize crossover SUV new for 2010 and comes standard with Bluetooth and a USB adapter as well as City Safety. A technology package adds active cruise control and lane departure warning for a reasonable $1,700. But then, Volvo is part of Ford, which specializes in good technology cheap. One exception to the cheap tech mode is the combo navigation system / backup camera package at $2,700. The keyless go smart key system, which Volvo grandly calls the Personal Car Communicator (PCC) with Keyless Drive & Heartbeat Sensor, reports, when you’re within about 100 yards of the car, if you remembered to lock the doors and – perhaps playing to women’s fears regardless of the statistical odds – whether someone is lurking in the car. At $550, this is half the price of some smart keys that provide remote unlocking and keyless start but not two-way capabilities.

I’ve used City Safety and it works even better than advertised. Some stops are gentle, others are aggressive. Volvo privately says that while the XC60 should mitigate the effects of a collision between 10 mph and 20 mph, in many cases “mitigate” will mean “stop without hitting anything.”

But: The ride is European car firm, not Lexus pillow-soft (not necessarily a drawback), and the navigation system is only so-so given the price.

Read the full story at Gearlog

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Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars which has rechristened its firm’s name to Volvo Auto India Private Limited, will be focussing on using its resources towards promoting new cars which it plans to launch in India in 2010.

Volvo Auto India which will not be participating at the Auto Expo in Delhi in January 2010, has plans to launch the 2010-spec S80 luxury sedan in India priced around Rs 38- 40 lakh. Reports in media indicate that a conatiner carrying S80 sedans is already on its way to India and is likely to hit Indian shore by beginning of January 2010. In addition, the company is also proposing to roll out XC60 compact SUV in the first half of 2010 and the S60 saloon, both of which it believes are well suited to the requirements of the Indian market.

According to Volvo, the luxury car market (comprising of cars costing Rs 25 lakh and above) in India grew by 11 per cent in 2009, while sales of Volvo cars in the country grew by 16 per cent during the year. Volvo Auto India sold 900 cars last year and expects to beat the 10 per cent increase it had earlier projected for this year.

Even after delinking its business from Ford, VCI has stated that it is quite upbeat about the country’s operations and would also be intruding its global models in a phased manner. It has also been learnt that Volvo India is keen to set up a car assembly unit in India, if its annual numbers touch 2,000 units. After established its presence in seven cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chennai and Pune currently in India, the company is now chalking out robust strategies to enhance its dealership base to Goa, Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad and Coimbatore.

Read more: Volvo lines up S80, S60 sedan and XC60 SUV for India in 2010 – WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
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