Volvo’s relentless product offensive shows no sign of letting up as the Swedish car maker has been spied putting the finishing touches to its all-new XC60.
Designed to sit in the middle of Volvo’s three-model SUV line-up (with an XC40 arriving later), the Audi Q5 rival is expected to launch next year, with a possible debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Even though the prototype in our spy shot is heavily camouflaged, we know the new SUV will adopt the best bits from the XC90 and condense them into a smaller, more affordable, five-seat package.
Our exclusive main image shows how the final car could look, carrying over the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED headlights and chrome-bordered front grille. Inside, the portrait-style infotainment system and digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel will also feature, as they do in its bigger brother.
The XC60 will be based on a shortened version of the SPA platform that underpins the XC90 SUV and S90 saloon. The engine line-up will consist of two 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesels initially – a 187bhp D4 and a more punchy 232bhp D5.
Once the car has launched, Volvo will introduce a faster T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid. Expect this to deliver similar performance and efficiency to the XC90 T8, with around 400bhp and claimed economy of more than 130mpg.
Being a Volvo, there’ll also be plenty of safety kit on the XC60. As part of the brand’s IntelliSafe systems, the SUV will be kitted out with forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control and autopilot, which allows the car to steer, accelerate and brake itself at speeds of up to 80mph.
Following the car’s launch in 2017, Volvo will introduce the all-new S60 saloon and V60 estate. At the end of 2017 a new, even smaller XC40 SUV will arrive to complete the trio of SUVs. This will be followed by an all-new V40 hatchback in 2018. At this point, the XC90 will be the oldest car in Volvo’s range, despite only launching in 2014.
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