Volvo's mid-size SUV, the XC60, launched in 2008 and shared the same design language as its contemporary Volvo products like the beautiful shooting brake bodied C30. This generation of the car was the smallest SUV in the Volvo range for over a decade until the XC40 launched in 2017. For the same model year the second-generation XC60 came to market and took the design cues of the award-winning larger XC90.
With a distinct brand of Scandinavian minimalism, the now Chinese-owned brand is increasing its sales year on year. Volvo themselves report a 17.6% increase in sales in the first nine months of 2021, totaling 530,649 units. The manufacturer's best selling car is the XC60 which in the first nine months of the year sold 162,596, just over 30,000 cars more than the previous year.
With such excellent global sales figures, the brand is stronger than ever and is making revisions to the 2022 lineup. The XC60 is no exception receiving minor revisions to keep it at the top of the sales chart.
The 2022 Volvo XC60 offers a blend of subtlety, luxury and practicality but excels in crash safety.
The Volvo XC60 Provides Understated Luxury
The mid-size luxury SUV market has set trends within the car industry for the past decade, with entries like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and Porsche Macan, there is some excellent competition.
More recent additions to the market have leaned into the sports parts of their name like the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Cupra Ateca; each of these cars ha4s its merits. From the outside looking in, the current XC60 stands out because it is designed to blend in, an oxymoron, but in the realm of premium SUVs which start at over $50,000, this segment's cars make statements.
The Stelvio is curvaceous and Italian, the Cupra Ateca is dark and mysterious in keeping with the brand's demeanor, and the Porsche Macan has the prestigious Porsche name. With a few body creases as possible and simplicity instead of aggression, the XC60 aims to blend in, catering towards a different, perhaps a more secure buyer.
The XC60 comes in three different trims, Momentum which is described as "Premium and Comfort", as well as Inscription which is said to be "Refined and Exclusive", from the outside, the exterior comes with more chrome trim on the latter trim level. The third level is the R-design which is to Volvo what an M Sport is to BMW. It makes the XC60 look more aggressive and turns silver body trim to black, however, it must be said that this is still more subtle than the usual aggressive sporty version.
Equipment levels increase as you move up in the range, with the most expensive Inscription trim level coming with more comfortable Four-way adjustable seats and power-folding headrests. Both the Inscription trim level and R-design can be upgraded to a Pro package which increases the number of driver aids as well as on the R-design Pro nebulously defined "Sports" options.
The Middle Of The Segment
For the 2022 model year, the XC60 sees a price increase. According to Which Car?, the XC60 launched for beneath £40,000 or around $55,000, which meant that Volvo's sales were fueled by being mildly cheaper than the competition. However, with increasing technology levels and a reputation that has been rebuilt over the past decade, the Swedish brand has every right to battle it out with German Marques, but with car prices increasing across the board, it remains cheaper than many of its revivals.
For 2022 the base Momentum trim level retails for about $58,600, with the option of the Hybrid B4 Diesel and Hybrid B5 Petrol engine. The petrol engine can also be optioned as All-Wheel Drive and will achieve 62 mph in an impressive 6.5 seconds. However, it must be noted that the Polestar Engineered T8 engine is now only available on the XC60 Recharge, which has a $69,750 price tag according to Car Indigo.
The Range Rover Velar and Alfa Romeo Stelvio both start at around £45, meaning that it is direct competition for the XC60, the BMW X4 starts at a slightly larger price tag at a little over £49,000. Volvo's base trim level XC60 comes with what the company referred to as a "mild hybrid" set up, this means that the 250 horsepower B5 petrol engine returns a combined 37.2 miles per gallon.
Auto Week explained how Volvo's 42-volt Mild Hybrid system works, "A small electric motor, which can be called an integrated starter generator (ISG), is connected to the engine and works in tandem with the internal combustion unit to provide extra power for acceleration", they go on to explain that they can't power the car on the motor alone like a true hybrid.
The Velar, which also now only comes as a hybrid, returns 44 mpg, whereas the Stelvio, according to Alfa Romeo, returns 33, which means in terms of running cost the XC60 sits at the middle of its class which is represented by its price.
Volvo's Defining Feature
Many SUV buyers are concerned with more than fuel economy and the intricacies of a car's specification list, with these cars all being pitched as premium luxury vehicles, even at their most affordable trim level, they come equipped with driver assistance features and state of the art infotainment systems.
Car and Driver report that for the 2022 model year, the XC60 will have an updated infotainment system that is in line with the innovative technologies being produced by Mercedes, but this isn't reason enough to buy a Volvo over the competition. Motor Biscuit's article Crash Safety Technologies Pioneered by Volvo lists all the safety features that Volvo has created.
These range from the three-point seat belt, forward collision assistance and blind-spot monitoring as well as implementing crumple zones to make high-speed collisions safer. With this history of focusing on safety buying a Volvo XC60 is buying into the piece of mind that the Swedish manufacturer provides.