Volvo’s new XC60 arrives with a new motor, transmission and improved safety tech from what was already an outstanding arsenal of technology previously unseen in any production car. How much better is the new one and can it take things forward for Volvo Auto India? Let’s find out.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
Consistency is a wonderful thing, be it returns on investment or the reliability and comfort of your car. It’s like a comfort zone, but one which evolves, and involves you in the process. Those looking for more spice of the unpredictable variety better look at places where their life and well-being isn’t on the line. There are some places where compromise has no place. That is where Volvo come in.
Volvo have been making cars for close to 90 years now, and it’s only in the past seven-odd years that their design has seen a decipherable change to the more contemporary. Gone were the boxy proportions and in came the curves. This was back in 2008, with the first-ever XC60 compact SUV: the one that turned the fortunes for the company in India and overseas; the one which helped them to be considered as a proper alternative to the Germans.
While the first XC60 brought in revolutionary autonomous braking technology to the production car world, as always, there was scope for improvement: the five-cylinder diesel was getting long in the tooth; the six-speed Geartronic automatic box felt slow and uninspiring, and the need for more efficient combustion technology bothered Volvo a lot more than we would imagine. So, here it is. This is the new Volvo XC60.
