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Volvo XC60 takes the SUV of the Year at the 2009 What Car? Awards

23 January 2009

"Volvo is renowned for two things - making some of the world's most family-friendly cars, and some of the safest. The XC60 reinforces that reputation" praised Steve Fowler, What Car? (UK) Magazine group editor.

The Volvo XC60 crossover has been awarded the What Car? SUV of the Year at the magazine's prestigious 2009 Awards. The Volvo XC60 is following in the successful foot steps of the larger seven-seat XC90, which was awarded the same title at the magazine's awards in 2003 and 2004.

Up against fierce competition in the SUV class, the XC60 2.4D SE impressed the What Car? judges with its comfort, durability, safety and class-leading refinement. The judges commented "The ride is smooth, so you glide over bumps in the road as though they were never there, and it feels secure and composed in a set of bends thanks to strong grip and impressive body control. Refinement is class-leading, too; there's barely any road noise, wind noise is well isolated, and although there's a distant rumble from the 2.4-litre diesel engine as you accelerate, it's not enough to spoil the calm."

The Volvo XC60 is the safest and most stylish Volvo yet. It combines the SUV-like durability and practicality with a coupé profile and sporting driving dynamics. It also offers capacious levels of carrying space and its roomy cabin is designed to offer the highest level of comfort for five adults. Practicality is further boosted by Volvo's innovative 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats. When folded, the seats create a perfectly flat load space thanks to simple-to-use one-touch levers.

Safety is the key
Safety is the key quality of any Volvo and the XC60 is no different. Volvo is convinced the XC60 is the safest car in its class, and the safest Volvo ever made. A ‘world first' new safety technology - City Safety - lowers the risk of crashes below 19 mph, reducing injury (especially whiplash) with the added benefit of cutting repair costs. The XC60 is also brimming with other technologies that have made Volvo a byword for car safety. City Safety has already won the Technology category at the 'Fleet World Honours Award 2008' and the American ‘Traffic Safety Achievement Award' at the 2008 international traffic safety symposium in New York.

Engines and the Environment
The new Volvo XC60 currently has a choice of a six-cylinder turbocharged T6 engine producing 285 PS, as well as two five-cylinder turbodiesels: the D5 with 185 PS and the 2.4D with 163 PS. Four-wheel drive (AWD) with Instant Traction is fitted as standard to all these variants. During the first half of 2009, the driveline range will be expanded with the introduction of a front-wheel drive version of the 2.4D, upgraded to produce 175 horsepower and 420 Nm of torque and CO2 emissions of less than 170 g/km.

For the XC60, this is an important step in reducing CO2 emissions. Volvo's commitment to reducing CO2 emissions has already resulted in the launch of the DRIVe range. The new economical, sub-120g/km diesel variants of the C30 SportsCoupe, S40 saloon and V50 Sportswagon are available to order now. The new 1.6D DRIVe models offer outstanding fuel consumption of 64.2mpg on the C30 and 62.8mpg in the S40 and V50, with VED Band B CO2 figures of just 115g/km for the C30 and 118g/km for the S40 and V50.

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