Cookie-cutter design done right.
Swedish marque Volvo has unveiled the all-new V60 estate, a mid-size estate contender that intends to bring the game on to cars like the BMW 3-Series estate, the Audi A4 Avant, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class estate. The V60 marks the second phase of the Series-60 overhaul, taking a similar approach as what Volvo did with the upending of the bigger Series-90 cars, by debuting the model family’s direction first with an SUV (namely the Volvo XC60) before then revealing the lower, non-SUV passenger models.
While it’s smaller than the Series-90 cars (obviously), the V60 still utilises the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform as the bigger cars, which has imbued it with improved technological and mechanical capabilities than the outgoing car. This also marks the long-awaited departure of the V60 estate from its previously-Ford underpinnings (the previous-generation model was, beneath the skin, a Ford Focus). As such, the V60 now offers greater space, tech, and safety, wrapped in a package that could win over even the most pragmatic buyer.
The design of the V60 doesn’t reinvent the wheel for Volvo, and while we readily deride marques that take a cookie-cutter approach to design, the Swedish marque has done just enough work that every model family looks unique but familiar, always Volvo but different. As such, the V60 shares many of its design traits with the XC60 that led the way for the Series-60 models, with the more shapely and angular full-LED headlights, concave grille (like the P1800 sports car), and a very assertive shoulderline.
The rear sees a broadly similar treatment to that first shown by the XC60, with taillights the push into the tailgate (unlike the bigger XC90, where the lights were only upright). And inside, there’s the usual feature of a 9.0-inch portrait-oriented Sensus infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch fully-digital drivers’ display, as well as the offering of a Bowers & Wilkins sound system (a costly option, but one worth having).
With the V60, Volvo is debuting a new powertrain option. Dubbed the T6 TwinEngine, it pairs a Drive-E petrol mill up front to an electric motor at the rear with batteries sandwiched where a propshaft normally would be, to produce a combined output of 251kW and 590Nm. This is the second plug-in hybrid powertrain to be offered by Volvo, and will sit below the T8 TwinEngine system (also offered on the V60) which produces 288kW/640Nm.
Further along the range will be the T5 and T6 petrol mills, as well as D3 and D4 diesels that we’ve seen before in the rest of the lineup. The V60 will be offered via the Care by Volvo subscription model, as well as through traditional purchasing options.
Volvo Australia has yet to provide a timeline regarding the introduction of the V60 on our shores, though we can bet our bottom dollar that it’s coming. Reckon a V60 is enough to sway you from an SUV? Let us know in the comments below.
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