Category: Volvo

Volvo announced the end of the “R” performance lineup in last April due to poor sales. Only 1098 S60R and 538 V70R were sold last year. Nevertheless Volvo also confirmed that sporty models would still be available but without the R label. It sounds that the R would reincarnate into an optional kit called R-Design.

Available on the S40 and the V50, the kit might include a sporty body kit and specific interior. It might also include stiffer suspensions and some engine upgrades. All these changes are quite disappointing and quite insulting for the “R” label. We must not forget that the craziest estate of the last fifteen years carried the “R” label: THE mellow yellow 850 T5-R.

According to the Swedish car magazine Auto Motor Und Sport, Volvo is rumored to be working on a new luxury model positioned above the XC90 and S80 and possibly labelled the XC100. Expected to be a luxury
wagon, it would compete with the Mercedes R-Class on the American and Asian markets.

It is not the first time a luxury wagon has been mentioned: Volvo revealed the luxury VCC concept car at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show. 193" long, the concept car was as big as a Volvo S80 and provided a luxury atmosphere based on thick saddle-quality leather and anodised aluminium. Although inspired by the concept car, the future XC100 would be able to seat up to seven passengers. It could also be equipped with a hybrid drivetrain.

At a time when the R-Class is not selling well, Volvo’s approach is surprising. The XC, expected to be produced at a low volume, is unlikely to make a significant contribution to the carmaker’s sales target of 600,000 vehicles per year over the next few years.

Launched in April 2006, 11, 783 S80 were sold by December the same year. The first trimester of 2007 looks better with 11,788 sales and the annual target of 40,000 seems achievable. However, the C30 still needs to prove it can succeed in this highly competitive market segment.

For the XC100, 20,000 vehicles might be an ambitious target. Obviously the XC90’s success proves that Volvo has a strong brand image in the luxury wagon/SUV market. But the R-Class experience shows that
customers are not ready to buy just any vehicle based on a strong brand image alone. That is, unless Volvo has found the magic potion…

Have this ever happened to you? You’re going to a club, are ready to strut your stuff on the dance floor. You take a seat and are chatting with your friends when the ladies of the group want to go and powder their noses. You acquiesce and carry on discussing until their return makes you totally confused. Despite your expert eye, you perceive no changes and you still ask yourself the point of this female ritual.

What is the link with the refreshed Volvo S60? Well, the time required by girls for a discussion in front of the mirror is equivalent to the time taken by Volvo to refresh the Volvo S60 – and in both cases changes are impossible to discern.

Let’s be honest: we didn’t expect a revolution for a car that will disappear soon and is still a design success, but the ritual of restyling, when it is not, is irritating, especially since it has become popular among the carmakers. In the case of the S60, it has reached a peak. Indeed, the S60 gets a new grille with the new larger brand emblem, which appeared on the S80, and side indicators integrated in the door mirrors. However the sporty front spoiler is an option as is the new wing spoiler front spoiler,  the sills and rear lower bumper, colour coordinated with the car body. Thus a discussion with your friends could run as follows: “Hey, I have the refreshed Volvo S60, but since I couldn’t afford the refreshed trims, it’s indistinguishable from the old model.” The three new exterior colours – Electric Silver, Orinoco Blue and Maple Red and the three new aluminium wheels – Nodus (16 inches), Tucana (17 inches) and Eudora (18 inches) won’t change the feeling of deception. Scrutinizing the interior with a magnifying glass is not better because once again only optional extras will enable you to enjoy the new aluminium metal decor panels, the new three-spoke steering wheel, the new Volvo S80’s inspired instrument panel and the new interior mirror with built-in compass.

This rejuvenation has some good features. The engineers have increased the car’s torsional rigidity by about 25 percent thanks to firmer shock absorbers and springs. They have also innovated and introduced an innovative a new indicator function: press lightly on the lever and the indicator flashes three times. Not a revolution, as you will conclude but Volvo is careful to call this a “refined S60” rather than a refreshed S60 in the hope that the public will confuse the two. To a degree, the fact that there is discussion about this at all is a success for the Swedish carmaker: keeping themselves in the public eye while we wait for the promised successor to the S60.

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