One company that's been exciting to watch — at least, for me — over the past 24 months is Volvo. The niche, Swedish manufacturer that's known for its safe vehicles has pivoted, just a little bit.
That's because after years of producing vehicles that were, essentially, metal boxes, it has finally founds its groove. This is something it desperately needed as it aimlessly wandered for far too long. Now its vehicles are stylish and sophisticated. With an Apple-like approach to its infotainment system, Sensus, Volvo has caught buyer's attention.
Packaged in form of the XC90, XC60 and XC40, the company is speaking to consumers. The S90 is doing OK but it's not changing the game.
Having said that, the all-new S60 is here and it has stiff competition in form of the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class among many others. Where does the all-new S60 fit in the mix? You'll just have to see the verdict below to find out.
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Volvo S60: verdict
...The saloon as a format might be on the wane, but the continued success of the 3-Series, A4 and C-Class proves that buyers still lap them up if there’s a premium badge nailed to them. But they also need to be very, very good. Volvo is keen to crash that particular party, and it has found success with the S60’s platform sisters, but is this car good enough to complete the story in this particularly hard-fought market sector?
On the basis of our early drive of the S60 T6 AWD, it’s there or thereabouts, and can sit in the premium saloon sector with its head held high. It’s a lovely looking thing, with a particularly well-judged interior, and we can see many people choosing it over a 3-Series, A4 or C-Class on looks alone...
...Throw in impressive crash-avoidance technology, which will help it move on significantly from the old one, and we can see the S60 moving on Volvo’s game – and premium market ambitions – significantly. But the lack of that last degree of dynamic brilliance expected at this level will ultimately stop it from disrupting this market despite Volvo’s ambitions to the contrary. For now.
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