Autocar - First for car news and reviews

Volvo’s new small SUV, the XC60, looks set to take on German rivals with aggressive pricing when it goes on sale this October.
The new model will cost from £24,750, potentially undercutting rivals like BMW’s X3 by almost £5000.
Three engines will be available in the XC60: the 281bhp, 3.0-litre, six-cylinder turbocharged T6 petrol and the turbodiesel D5 unit, which comes with either 182bhp or 161bhp. All models come with Volvo’s all-wheel drive system as standard.
Volvo is billing the ...Read the full article

Seems good value although I dont think the fact it will undercut the BMW X3 and Audi Q5 will bother the german brands. The problem for Volvo is that they sit in the middle ground of the car market with a better image and higher price than mainstream brands, but they're not really quite classy enough to rival the prestige brands either. Their pricing reflects this. Still, looks good styling wise so im sure it will do well.

I agree that perhaps Volvo isn't quite as premium as the top German makes, but look at the success of the XC90. This Volvo is priced extremely well, looks great, and will certainly steal sales from the X3. Being a Volvo it should also be practical too. My only concern is with the diesel engines. They are getting on a bit, and unless volvo have revised them they are a little loud compared to more modern diesels. A FWD 2.0D would be a real success though, and if Volvo have any sense they will introduce one.

I agree about the diesel engines.  I think Volvo should pick from Ford's parts bin here and take the 2.2l diesel in the Mondeo and be a front runner to take on the new 3.0 V6 diesel due to come into the Jaguars and Land Rovers (I believe it is a Ford engine, not a JLR engine).  The D5 is in dire need of an extensive overhaul when compared to the trio of German rivals M-B, BMW and VAG.  Even Saab has access to a 1.9twin turbo which really hampers Volvo.  All i can believe is Volvo is concentrating more on its hybrid and flexfuel engines than diesel.  But I do think this is a great looking car.

At the price points shown above, the 5 cylinder units are better than the 4 cylinder engines offered by the competition. The D5 engine in top spec S80s and XC90s isn't good enough to match the 6 cylinder diesels offered by the German marques, but there is absolutely no way the D5 is outclassed by the new PSA DW12 2.2 or any of the VAG 4 cylinder units. It's powerful, torquey and has a lovely 5 pot warble when extended - just go try an S80 D5 SE or even a D5 S60 - Ford would have been better off putting the D5 unit in the Mondeo and S-Max rather than having to use DW12 (most probably because of volume share agreements and billing charges).