Volvo unveils new V60 estate

Volvo has unveiled the new V60 estate which goes on sale in the UK towards the end of this year.

The V60 is based on the same architecture as the S60, and will be trying to steal sales from the likes of the Audi A4 Avant and BMW 3 Series Touring. It will sit between the existing V50 and V70 estates.

With the rear seats in place, the V60 has 430 litres of space, which is up to 60 litres less than the Audi and BMW. There's no figure yet for the loadbay when the 40/20/40 split-fold seats are folded down, although Volvo says the car has a perfectly flat loadbay. The front passenger seat also folds flat to accommodate long loads.

A 1.6-litre petrol will be available with 150bhp or 180bhp while a 2.0-litre develops 240bhp and a 3.0-litre 304bhp. Diesel power comes from a 114bhp 1.6-litre, a 163bhp 2.0-litre or a 205bhp 2.4-litre.

City Safety with Pedestrian Detection will be standard in all cars and can fully brake the V60 to avoid collisions with other cars from speeds of 18mph, and pedestrians from speeds of up to 21mph.

Other equipment is likely to be the same as that in the saloon, with every car in the range getting climate and cruise controls, alloy wheels, and leather trim on the steering wheel and gear lever.

A step up from ES to SE is likely to add smarter trim, an upgraded stereo and larger alloy wheels, while SE Lux will probably get an electrically adjustable drivers seat, leather-faced upholstery and active bending headlights.