2008 Volvo XC60 SUV

By George Skentzos | February 21st, 2008

In a previous life, Volvo held passenger safety above all facets of car design, and as a result its range of vehicles had an uncanny resemblance to a tissue box on wheels.

With its bold and confidant styling, it should not be taken lightly when Volvo proclaim its attractive new XC60 to be the safest Volvo ever.

Along with the extensive standard safety features found in all Volvo vehicles, the new XC60 introduces the City Safety system.

Whilst the full capabilities of this system have not yet been revealed, it does include the ability to avoid or minimise the effects of low-speed impacts through automatic braking if the system senses the car is about to drive into the vehicle in front.

“We are the first manufacturer in the world to offer this type of feature as standard. The car is packed with our accumulated safety know-how and technology, both when it comes to preventing accidents and protecting all the occupants in a collision,” says Volvo Cars President and CEO Fredrik Arp.

Whilst local specifications are yet to be announced, the XC60 will be offered in other parts of the world with a turbocharged 3.0-litre T6 engine producing 212kW, and two variants of the 2.4-liter D5 turbodiesel producing 138 and 122 kW respectively.

Currently offered exclusively as an all-wheel drive, a front-wheel drive version of the XC60 is expected to be added into the European market by 2009.

The first Volvo XC60s are scheduled to arrive in Australia at the beginning of 2009. Australian specification and pricing will be confirmed closer to the local launch.

No Name

Wheres Frugal…

Mmmm nice. Another heavy SUV with a huge price premium over a Wagon. i don’t understand why people prefer these then complain about the cost of fuel.

Having said that it would look good with my boat attached.
http://www.caradvice.com.au Anthony

It looks good
Pious

Shouldnt be too heavy – it will certainly be smaller than the XC90, and they are smaller than an X5 or Audi etc. I’d be guessing around the size of the new RAV4. The drawings are a little misleading, on size. 212KW sounds good. They were talking bio fuel for these, but I’m not sure where that went.
TonyB

There saying its a competitor to the X3 – so it shouldn’t be that big or heavy. Given the bloated weight the new XC70 has grown to, this may be a good alternative.
ed

Saw it at the Syd Motor Show – was interested in buying one. Shooed away from the vehicle by an over zealous staffie worried about us spilling our half a glass of chardonnay on the upholstery!

Had to beg staff to open the tailgate to check space.

We’re a Volvo family – have owned 8.

Why are they being so coy about the price after initially quoting an approxy $60K price, is the strong local interest making them think about price – gouging?

Not a good idea to piss off potential buyers at a PR exercise.
As a PR exercise it was
ed

Saw it at the Syd Motor Show – was interested in buying one. Shooed away from the vehicle by an over zealous staffie worried about us spilling our half a glass of chardonnay on the upholstery!

Had to beg staff to open the tailgate to check space.

We’re a Volvo family – have owned 8.

Why are they being so coy about the price after initially quoting an approxy $60K price, is the strong local interest making them think about price gouging?

Not a good idea to piss off potential buyers at a PR exercise.