The updated Volvo XC60 has gone on sale in the UK ahead of the first customer deliveries arriving in June. Priced from £41,745, the revamped luxury SUV features a range of technology updates including an Android-powered infotainment system and a fully electrified engine range with mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology.
Externally, the most obvious changes can be found at the front and rear of the car, where Volvo has applied new lower bumper designs and revamped the front grille. The Swedish firm has also hidden the exhaust pipes – a tweak it calls a “showcase” of the company’s “continued journey to all-out electrification”.
Inside, the changes are even more dramatic, with the XC60 getting an Android-powered infotainment system much like the one used in the Polestar 2 electric car. That system gives the car access to apps such as Google Maps and the Google Assistant, while the Google Play Store allows other apps to be downloaded. The package includes four years’ data, and over-the-air updates to keep the system up to date.
Other changes to the infotainment offering include wireless smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as wireless phone charging and four USB ports. The car also benefits from a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with “improved graphics”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Volvo has also used technology to improve the XC60’s safety credentials. The car is now offered with a rear auto brake function that automatically slams on the anchors if the car detects a “collision risk” while reversing.. Volvo has also upgraded its optional Pilot Assist driver assistance systems, giving the car “more sophisticated” accident avoidance technology and an “emergency stop assist function.”
And technology can be found in the engine bay, too, where Volvo has added some form of hybrid assistance to every engine in the line-up. The basic petrol and diesel engines - the B5 and B6 petrol and the B4 diesel – all come with mild-hybrid technology, while there are three ‘Recharge’ plug-in hybrids with varying power outputs. All but the B5 petrol engine come with all-wheel drive as standard, while the B5 gets a choice of front- or four-wheel-drive drivetrains.
“The XC60 has always been incredibly popular with Volvo buyers, and this updated version, with its distinctive new look and fantastic infotainment system with Google built in, is sure to be even more appealing,” said Steve Beattie, Volvo Car UK’s head of sales.
The new XC60 is available to order now, with the front-wheel-drive B5 petrol Momentum model starting at £41,745. The first examples of the new-look car are expected to arrive with their owners in the summer.
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Gallery: Volvo XC60 Facelift