Due to go on sale in the UK this summer, the new XC60 will be charged with continuing the sales success of its predecessor which accounts for nearly a third of Volvo’s global sales.

The new model, naturally, majors heavily on active safety systems – Steer Assist has been added to the City Safety suite of intervention technologies. When combined with Oncoming Lane Mitigation it takes action to lessen the impact of a head-on collision, while the BLIS blind spot system works with it to reduce the risk of lane-change collisions. And there is also Pilot Assist, Volvo’s take on semi-autonomous driving which will take control of steering, acceleration and braking on certain roads (with clearly defined lane markings) at speeds of up to 80mph.

Under the bonnet are the familiar 2.0-litre D4 and D5 diesel engines, delivering 190bhp and 235bhp respectively. Volvo claims CO2 emissions of 136g/km and combined fuel economy of 54.3mpg for the D4 and 144g/km and 51.3mpg for the PowerPulse D5.

Volvo will also offer a T5 petrol unit with 254bhp and the T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid, offering a claimed 407bhp combined. The latter is claimed to return 49g/km, squeezing it into the lowest possible BIK banding for company car tax, and a combined 134.5mpg average. A turbocharged and supercharged T6 petrol is also available, although Volvo UK will not be importing it.

At launch the XC60 will be offered with four-wheel drive and automatic gearboxes as standard, although front-wheel drive and manual transmission versions are set to follow.

As well as echoing the XC90’s looks, inside the XC60 borrows much of the larger car’s interior design. A large central screen dominates the dashboard (housing an upgraded Sensus infotainment system) while the muted colours and simplified cabin ambiance carry over too.

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