Volvo XC60 is What Car? SUV of the Year 2008

Endorsing Volvo’s commitment toward making the world’s safest cars, automotive magazine What Car? has picked the Volvo XC60 crossover for the What Car? SUV of the Year.

Many describe the Volvo XC60 is the safest and most stylish Volvo ever built. Durable like an SUV and with the profile of a coupe, the vehicle oozes sporting driving dynamics. Space is not a constraint with the car offering capacious carrying space, they said. The Volvo XC60 boasts of a roomy cabin that offers the maximum levels of comfort for five passengers. Split-folding rear seats are an added feature.

A new safety technology, christened City Safety, has been incorporated in the XC60. This is believed to have the capabilities to reduce the risk of crashes below 19 mph, which in turn lowers injury and also repair costs. Other modern-day technologies too have made the model a much sought after vehicle.

While the City Safety technology has already won the Technology category at the Fleet World Honours Award 2008 and the American Traffic Safety Achievement Award at the 2008 international traffic safety symposium in New York, the What Car? Award makes Volvo XC60 follow in the successful foot steps of the larger seven-seat XC90, which was awarded the same title at the magazine’s awards in 2003 and 2004.

The XC60 comes powered by a six-cylinder turbocharged T6 engine producing 285 PS. The company has also unveiled versions which run on two five-cylinder turbodiesels, namely the D5 with 185 PS and the 2.4D with 163 PS. It is expected the during the first half of 2009 the company would roll out a front-wheel drive version of the 2.4D, upgraded to produce 175 horsepower and 420 Nm of torque and CO2 emissions of less than 170 g/km, said a report. On the environment front, the XC60 boasts of serious reductions in CO2 emissions.