2014 Volvo XC60

It all started as a concept in the year 2007 as a preview of what was to be produced as far as the Volvo XC60 is on the picture. The concept provided for a glass roof and a newly styled grill which had a larger Volvo logo along with the 'V' shaped on the Volvo- this was the first DNA which they were to slowly implement through out the model range. The same model also included a new shifting mechanism, electronic bootlid and 20 inch wheels; all these was unveiled at the 2007 North American International Auto Show.

The first generation of the XC60 debuted in 2008, with the production vehicle being unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show leading to the beginning of its sales in Europe in the third quarter of 2008 as North American models went on sale in early 2009 as a 2010 model.

The XC60 shares technology with the Land Rover Freelander of 2007 and uses a modified version of the Volvo Y20 platform. The Land Rover Discovery 4/LR3 was to set the stage for these corporate siblings to enter the market since the engineering and tuning of this CUV, at least much of it, was done by Volvo in Sweden and only offroad capabilities were done at Land Rover in England

An R-Design variant of the XC60 became available in April 2010 featuring a color-matching body kit, stiffer chassis and damping, plus other unique exterior and interior trim.

Volvo XC60 concept

Volvo XC60 interior

  Volvo went on to produce a refreshed version of the XC60 in February 2013, which was to be released for the 2014 model year. The model comes with exterior changes to the grille and front driving lights, loss of black cladding along the lower doorsills and minor changes to the exhaust tips and taillights-the changes are majorly cosmetic. The interior facelifts include: new materials and dashboard trims- the dash is now wrapped in leather on most models and lifts the already pleasant cabin even higher, but otherwise the interior follows the outgoing model’s blueprint, with the exception of the new adaptive digital display(7" touch-screen display) and a peddle shifter is available on the T6 model.

In order to boost the promotion of the XC60, Volvo used the 2009 film: The twilight Saga: New Moon plus an online contest to give away models identical to the one the lead character Edward Cullen drove. Volvo had to think very hard about the XC60 upgrade since fixing something that its customers don't think is broken is a terrific way of driving them away.

While the revised XC60 is just one in a huge campaign of updates- the largest in the history of the brand, most changes are hardly spotted externally. The mild styling refresh can be spotted by the slimmer, wider headlamps, subtle vertical LED running lights, the new wheels and a strip of LED lights in the signature rear light cluster- the shape that has been wisely left well done. other small refinements include:Color-coding of some parts, hidden windscreen washer nozzles and new designs for the R-Design bumpers and interiors. The XC60 also comes with a new steering wheel, revised interior trim and a torque-vectoring stability control system.

ENGINE:
 With the exception of the previous naturally-aspirated 3.2-litre in-line six, the engine line-up carries over the current two five-cylinder D4 and D5 diesels and two petrols – four-cylinder T5 and turbocharged six-cylinder T6.

The 2.0-litre D4 puts out 120kW and 400Nm of torque while the 2.5 D5 rises to 158kW and 440Nm. Both have a claimed fuel usage of 6.9l/100km on the combined cycle and make it to 100 in 10.3 and 8.3 seconds respectively. Volvo expects the D5 all-wheel drive Luxury to be the top-selling model.
The T5 is a 2.0-litre turbo petrol, good for 177kW and 320Nm while the T6 is the 3.0-litre straight six with 224kW and 440Nm of torque.

The D5 and T6 can both be specified with the Polestar optimization in the R models. That boosts the D5's power by 11kW and torque by 30Nm, shaving two tenths off the 7.1 second 0-100km/h time. The T6 jumps 18kW and 40Nm to 480Nm, again knocking two-tenths of the sprint to 100, down to 6.6 seconds. All apart from the T5 are equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions while the T5 ships with a six-speed double-clutch Powershift.

Manufacturer	Volvo Cars
Production	2008–present
Assembly	Ghent, Belgium (by Volvo Cars Ghent factory) Daqing, China
Body and chassis
Class	Compact executive crossover SUV
Body style	5-door SUV
Layout	Front engine, front-wheel drive / all-wheel drive
Platform	Volvo Y20 platform
Related	Land Rover Freelander Ford Mondeo Volvo V70 Volvo S80
Powertrain
Engine	3.0 T6 Turbo Petrol I6 2.0 T5 Turbo Petrol I5 3.2 NA Petrol I6 2.5 D5 Turbo Diesel I5 2.0 D3 Turbo Diesel I5
Transmission	6-speed AWTF-80 SC automatic 6-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,774 mm (109.2 in)
Length	4,628 mm (182.2 in)
Width	1,891 mm (74.4 in)
Height	1,715 mm (67.5 in)

SOURCES:

WIKIPEDIA

AUTO TRADER  

CARS GUIDE