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This is Volvo's crucial new XC60 crossover, a smaller 4x4 from the maker of the XC90, with which the Swedish brand hopes to appeal to younger prospective buyer.
The new XC60 is ready for launch at the Geneva motor show next month. Volvo says it "combines the athletic, flowing lines of a coupe with the ground clearance and safety of an SUV". In fact, Volvo claims the XC60 is the safest car it’s...Read the full article

I like the front and rear end, but with that high window line there is a lot of metal work between the rear wheel arches and the 3rd side window. Makes the car look tall, almost dumpy, and makes the rear wheels look small. Not as good looking as its big brother.

It's surely an indictment of the "more is more" automotive madness of the last few years that we arrive at a vehicle like this. A "compact" 4x4 that is pretty much five metres in length (not much shy of a Transit van), seats only five unlike the donor Disco 3 that it is based on, and seeks to disguise its bulk behind all manner of crossover/Qashqai-esque styling cues. So its big but not capacious, large but not imposing and a 4x4 for people that will never go off road but seeks to look like a car.

Perhaps unfair to single out Volvo for something that most car makers are guilty of to some degree but sometimes you've just got to look to the heavens.

Sadly, its not half as exiting as the concept car :-(

 

the classic response by makers to the "more is more" principle is that it has been driven by health and safety legislation.

which of course explains cars like the Mazda 2....

sadly though there is demand in the market for big safe cars.  a friend of mine is barely 5ft tall and has a 4 year old child.  for her, she feels safe driving a big 4x4 and who are we to deny her her choice?

 

You're right, Kee. Just galling to see so many stoopid cars coming into production.

After the official European launching of Infiniti, the Infiniti website has been updated to include all the specifications of the European models.

Also, you may like to know that Infiniti have just announced they're accepting reservations. So, if you are planning on being one of the first in your country to own an Infiniti just visit www.infiniti.eu/reserve to book your place in the queue.