The new 5-series GT and Audi A5 Sportback are the latest culprits that inject functionality into their brand.
Source: rp
Designing for function has always seems so blasé. When the A5 Sportback debuted recently it was sort of a downer to see the A5, which was one of the sleekest designs produced last year, turned into a sedan/wagon/thingamajig. How many times do you see a Scion xB or a Honda Element, jump out of your seat and say “Wow, I am blown away by that cube!” Probably rarely.
But if I was a betting man, I would say that a Ferrari F355 makes just about any auto enthusiast melt.
Volvo was a brand that used to live and die by functional design. Up until recently, that is. Now when you look at just about any Volvo in their line-up, the cars have hips and feminine curves.
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Bringing us neatly to the all-new XC60. Where the old XC90 is nearly three inches taller, slightly wider and much boxier, the new XC60 is squatter and more curvaceous. Unsurprisingly, this accounts for less cargo room. The older XC90 has it beat by more than 10 cubic feet of space. But rest assured, the 60 delivers more legroom front and rear.
The 90’s design seemed like stylists were fumbling with Legos where the 60 appears much more fluid.
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To see this, it is clear that the side profile has been tailored to give the car a suave appearance rather than its geekier sibling, the XC90. The 60’s beltline has a gentle incline that begins in the middle of the rear door. Its placement is crucial in order to show off that rear ¾ panel with its Marilyn Monroe-esque curves.
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One of the car’s best lines is the dramatic streak beginning in the front fenders and trails elegantly into the rear door. This one line helps take away from the rather minimalist side profile.
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Included in this hipper update is new lighting. Up in the front fascia are four mini LED tubes and at the rear are two large, sweeping LED rear lights. I never thought I would say a Volvo looked sexy but it happens to remind me of a women’s silhouette.
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Slipping into the XC’s plush leather seats was an experience. At first glance they appear unsupportive and flat, but after sinking into the ergonomic bucket seat you realize they put La-Z-Boy’s to shame.
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Stop and observe the cabin. Although it seems rather businesslike and cold – featuring a lot of black panels and aluminum – there is serious attention to detail. The leather on the seats has two grains, the orange contrasting stitch provides some pop, and the interior doors and panels shut with confidence.
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Volvo’s latest interior ode to Swedish futurama is the slim, bending center console. Home to all of the normal functions, some can become tricky to operate. But that is no comparison for the navigation system, which is incredibly difficult to utilize without its remote control. Unfortunately, I had the pleasure of dealing with this when the barely used tester came to me without one. Instead I was left with two buttons and a nipple-like control located on the back of the steering wheel.
The experience can be compared to using a PC without a mouse. It can get downright frustrating trying to program the navigation unit.
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However it made up for this foible with one of the cooler features: a dash-mounted central display. Through this screen it is easy to see what kind of reception the telephone is getting– it makes using the Bluetooth a lot easier – each side of the vehicle’s temperature setting and where air is flowing. At first glance it may appear foolish to have separated the navigation and other functions, but now it makes plenty of sense.
And what would a Volvo be without safety? Standard on all XC60s is Volvo’s proprietary driver support system, City Safety. Essentially, below speeds of 19 MPH or less, the system uses a velocity sensor that monitors the likelihood of an accident. As the sensor observes a closing speed that is dangerous, it will either pre-charge the brakes of automatically brake the XC in an effort to stop the vehicle entirely or lessen the severity of the impact.
Source: rp
Of course I would have liked to test this feature but I did not feel so inclined to risk stuffing a $42,250 SUV into another car.
More importantly, it was interesting to see how the newest addition to the XC line-up drove. Starting the XC60’s 3.0 liter, turbocharged I6 brought the 281-horsepower, 295 lb-ft torque beast to life. Mated to this motor is a six-speed “geartronic” automatic transmission. It gets the job done as quick and smoothly as a conventional automatic can.
Weighing in at 4,174 pounds, the Volvo has plenty of power to skirt along the freeway with virtually no turbo lag. Passing at speed requires a downshift or two, but, nothing to get fussy over. Getting on the highway is not a problem as the T6 takes just over seven seconds to hit the magical 60 miles per hour mark.
Its suspension is tuned so that it is on the stiffer side but it is not nearly as stiff as the dreaded set-up on the BMW X3. This means that on the freeway it does not bounce fervently from road imperfections and it manages to remain luxurious without feeling like an old-school Cadillac on hydraulics.
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Equally as important as getting up to 60 is how quickly it finds itself back at zero. An area the Volvo has room for improvement, its braking feel was not quite as sharp as one would expect. Equipped with nearly 13 inch discs up front and roughly 12 inchers in the rear, slowing down was underwhelming. It takes a bit of a heavy foot to garner a reaction.
Although it is relatively squat, body roll could not be entirely eliminated. Pushing the XC60 through the corners was still a fun experience and given its SUV status it handled the curves very well; just do not try your best Michael Schumacher impression. But with its heavily weighted steering, the XC feels confident through twisties and begs to be pushed. Granted, the steering needs more than usual directional input from the driver and more road feel.
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After a week with the XC60, it is clear that this is a fantastic vehicle for the right buyer. Its styling continues to make headway from the old days of square, green housed Volvos, its interior materials are on par if not better than Audi’s, and, it achieved a solid 18 MPG.
But, there is one issue.
It does not radiate excitement and this does not bode well for the cool factor. Thankfully, someone at Volvo had this in mind because it was recently announced that Volvo will be accessorizing the XC60 with R modifications. And, it looks awesome.
Source: Volvo North America
An official at Volvo North America confirmed it should be available in 2010’s first quarter.
With that said, this is a highly competitive offering from the Swedes. In the market for a small, premium SUV? You will be doing yourself a great disservice by ignoring the XC60.
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