[n.devdath]

Seems like a brilliant vehicle in terms of the equipment, safety and F&F. Also, even though Volvo Cars is now a part of Geely Cars, China, this car doesn't seem to have any Chinese components, yet.

Great review and pictures. Is this a 4wd/AWD/2wd? How is torque shared between both the axles and when?

How many gears does its autobox have?

[Jaggu]

Excellent review with details captured very well. Just from the pictures one can make out that Volvo has got it right. Though a tad expensive since its CBU, i guess.

Amount of gizmo's make me want to go back and read again the report

EDIT What will the advanced setting in ride control do? Is it like a custom setting?

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

... Also, even though Volvo Cars is now a part of Geely Cars, China, this car doesn't seem to have any Chinese components, yet.

Great review and pictures. Is this a 4wd/AWD/2wd? How is torque shared between both the axles and when?

How many gears does its autobox have?

It is not necessary that a Chinese connection automatically means Chinese components. All successful auto makers buy components from a vendor in any country who reliably delivers (JIT for production schedule) reliable components (less parts failure in the field). Majority holding of Volvo Cars is with Geely Holdings, and not Geely Cars. Geely Holdings also owns Geely Cars. According to the company, there has been no influence brought on their design or operations by Geely Holdings so far, which is a wise move by Geely Holdings.

It is an always-on AWD (Haldex transmission), with a 6-speed autobox which Volvo calls Geartronic. Power is dynamically distributed between the front and rear axles based on road surface conditions.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

... What will the advanced setting in ride control do? Is it like a custom setting?

No, 'Advanced Setting' just dynamically stiffens the suspension to the maximum, maximizing the grip on the road. 'Sport' is medium stiffness whereas 'Comfort' is meant for a soft, cushioned ride. None of the settings are driver-customizable.

[Mpower]

Great review Dersaab.

Volvo has the same problem all over the world. Their cars cost almost as much as the German top3 but the badge just does not have the snob value. In fact a Volvo buyer is usually one of those wealthy+well read and intellectual types and they generally keep their cars for a loong time. (doctors, college profs etc). Adjustable shocks sounds like a great feature and its a first in segment. I'd like to applaud Volvo for offering this considering that usually such features are usually stripped for the Indian market.

Coming to this vehicle, what a sexy ute!! BMW, Merc, Audi beats them all in style. Who woulda thunk Volvo would be the one to do it. Is this Volvo trying to overhaul their image? The new S60 sedan also from the same school of design ....very chic.

50 seems like quite a bit of change for a Volvo. Any idea how much X3 and the Q5 are going for?

Are you sure this was at Press events? Where? Honestly, I don't think any car company would do such a boo-boo, however brave, of running into the backside of trucks at Press events. They normally use an opaque inflatable as a collision target.

It happened on 2 occasions actually. Major PR disaster for Volvo
Volvo S60 crashes during safety demonstration with cameras rolling — Autoblog

[W.A.G.7]

Cool review. It looks like a capable car, but they do need to work hard to shake off the workhorse (truck/bus) tag. In flesh it looks huge and nice.

Also one question here: Are Volvo cars going to be sold and serviced with Ford any chance? Like Tata-Fiat? The reason I am asking this here is that on the ground floor of my office, there is the Planet Ford showroom, and in the past few months I have seen atleast 2-3 XC 90's and in this month 1 or 2 XC 60's with TEMP registrations and being prepared for delivery. One was of navy blue color and the second one was like the brown one shown in the pics.

[mdsaab]

Thanks for the fantastic review. Was looking forward to this one, especially after seeing their teaser pics in magazines before the launch. I really liked the design of the xc60 with its sweeping rear curves. Wish it was priced a little more aggresively, especially since volvo themselves have said that they dont want to compete in the uber luxury segment and want to have an identity of their own. The safety systems in this vehicle are almost magical, and the way they work is truly astonishing. And the fact that all this hi tech safety kit can work in our chaotic and unorganised driving environment here in india is truly an achievement in itself. Way to go volvo. The only gripe that i have is the interior. Wish the dash was in a beige shade rather than black, not sure about the quality of the seats from just the photos but is the quality great. Dont know why but just felt that they could have been better, i may be wrong though. Hope volvo can shake off the commercial vehicle tag with this one, and move to a better market position which they truly deserve. Thanks again for this much awaited review.
Mash

[razrman]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

The Collision Warning With Auto Braking (CWAB) Digital camera mounted behind the rear view mirror monitors the distance between you and the vehicle in front. If the system feels that you are getting too close to the car in front, a red warning light flashes on the windscreen. Tried it a couple of times myself and can confirm that it works like a charm. If you don't react to the warning and a collision is imminent, the brakes will activate automatically.

I am still a little confused about Auto Braking. Does Auto Braking work only beyond certain speeds or even at crawling speeds? What I mean is if in start-stop traffic, if I just slot the car into 'D', it will start moving when I lift my foot off brakes and stop by itself if the next car is close to me and again start moving when next car moves forward? So basically the driver does not have to do anything but steer? That would mean a very effortless drive in bumper-bumper traffic.

[mdsaab]

From what i understood from reading the review. The system works at speeds below 50kmph. So yeah, i think it works at city crawling speeds. Aint that awesome, no need to worry about braking just ~ sit-steer-relax. Only hope doing this does not overload the safety systems.

Good design practices reflect in the build quality. For example, wires and cables going to the door terminate at a plug, which connects to a socket on the door!


Why is this feature highlighted? The Plug - socket feature is available even in the Indian made Hyundai Getz models of 2008

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by razrman

... So basically the driver does not have to do anything but steer? That would mean a very effortless drive in bumper-bumper traffic.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

... no need to worry about braking just ~ sit-steer-relax. Only hope doing this does not overload the safety systems.

Well, yes and no! When a person brakes consciously, the braking is soft. When City Safety does, it is one sudden jerk. That is useful when after a heavy lunch the driver is feeling drowsy, but otherwise it is not something to look forward to. Also, at crawling speeds, the behavior just might be unpredictable - so don't count on it.

And no, it does not accelerate by itself after braking - that part is handled by Adaptive Cruise Control, but one does not use ACC in the case outlined by you.

Originally Posted by ajibba

... Plug - socket feature is available even in the Indian made Hyundai Getz models of 2008

The point was good design practice - and the picture was an example. So if Hyundai had it in 2008, does it become so commonplace that one cannot / need not appreciate good design practice?

[mdsaab]

Thanks for the info on city safety. Now that i think about it, what was i thinking before. It makes more sense to me now

[1-Testosterone]

An informative breakup of component suppliers behind one of the world's safest vehicle.

[Santoshbhat]

Any XC60 owners on the forum?

I am keen on adding a softroader to our garage and was looking forward to the new Hyundai Santa Fe. After the pricing bouncer bowled by Hyundai (nearly 35L OTR Bangalore) I was just looking at other options in the 40L bracket. If I am going to spend 35L for a Hyundai, I might as well stretch my budget a bit for a premium car like the XC60. I quite like the way it looks on the road and its high safety rating really appeals to me. It has received a facelift recently and I am sure some dated components like the ICE would have been updated.

I am looking at keeping the car for 10 years minimum. Would like to know from owners about their ownership experience and general pros and cons in owning a Volvo in India.

[Siva]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Any XC60 owners on the forum?

I am keen on adding a softroader to our garage and was looking forward to the new Hyundai Santa Fe. After the pricing bouncer bowled by Hyundai (nearly 35L OTR Bangalore) I was just looking at other options in the 40L bracket. If I am going to spend 35L for a Hyundai, I might as well stretch my budget a bit for a premium car like the XC60.

XC60 is not cheap. The stretch would be almost 15L. That's a 40% jump. Once you go there, you'll have the likes of BMW X3 & Q5 also in contention. Q3 is probably the logical consideration from a pricing point of view.

[nanu28]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Any XC60 owners on the forum?

I am keen on adding a softroader to our garage and was looking forward to the new Hyundai Santa Fe. After the pricing bouncer bowled by Hyundai (nearly 35L OTR Bangalore) I was just looking at other options in the 40L bracket. If I am going to spend 35L for a Hyundai, I might as well stretch my budget a bit for a premium car like the XC60. I quite like the way it looks on the road and its high safety rating really appeals to me. It has received a facelift recently and I am sure some dated components like the ICE would have been updated.

I am looking at keeping the car for 10 years minimum. Would like to know from owners about their ownership experience and general pros and cons in owning a Volvo in India.

Well, from first hand experience of the older one. I have driven my brother-in-laws XC from Mumbai, to Srinagar last year, and again this year from mumbai to Almora. Besides this the car has also done one trip to Kanyakumari. And I dont even know the number of times have been in it or driven it between Mumbai and Bhopal.

First of all, there is no other car which I can compare this to for the highways and the comfort level, for 10-15 day trips on the highways with 4 people on board, fully loaded with Skiing clothes, the car has never even given us one issue on all those drives. A lot of times we have had to test it on broken roads and back roads which google maps takes us thru, never once have we been worried. We have not even faced a flat tire in the last 2 years!!!

Also I have been lucky enough to test out the newer facelifted one 2014. Volvo was doing a shoot for a TV show, which is out every Thrusday at 8:30 on NDTV Premier. They had sent 12 XC60's down (one of each color ), and I got a chance to test them and their Off road capabilities to the limit. As my Dad was chosen to create an Off-Road test track for their elimination round. (Beyond this I dont think I am allowed to comment.) Just for comparison, the track was created with a my Grand Vitara And I will say it lived up to the expectation. But igf they were my cvars I might have thought of them differently, but this was for TV so it was okay.

Also, as a direct comparison to the Q3 and the X3 and I will also include the Evogue, as those were the 3 other cars we tested before buying the XC. In all 3 I felt shortchanged, I mean there is no space inside the cabin compared to the other 2. The Q3 has fancy ICE etc but I did not care so much for it. I would just advise you to check the car out.

The newer 2014 has Paddle Shifter, slightly different ICE etc, Auto Braking distance has been increased. And yes it will brake even at crawling speeds, horrible feature for India, I have almost always left it off, after it gave me a huge scare of the highway, whilst trying to overtake a truck. So its never been ON after that.

This is all based on the D5 specs. Its got 215 twin Turbo, 5 Cylinder 2.4Lts engine with a top speed limited at 215Kmph (Tested.)

The only thing which I dont like is the service network ofcourse as it is minimal.

And well, after everything we should be getting our 2014 in white in April
So there will now be two in the family.

If there is anything more you would like to know, please feel free to ask...

Cheers







The new features

Coming to the Auto Braking safety