Along with the new V70 estate, Volvo is showing this, the new XC70 at Geneva. As before, it's a V70 estate with four-wheel-drive, a little extra ride height and some plastic bits that give it the air of a backwoods explorer. A bit pointless, considering that Volvo already has the pukka XC90 SUV and, coming soon, its little brother the XC60? Not a bit of it. The old XC70's sales actually increased after the introduction of the XC90.
You'll have the option of Volvo's familiar 2.4-litre 185bhp diesel or the all-new 285bhp 3.2-litre straight-six petrol. And if anyone in Ireland buys the 3.2, we'd like to hear from them. They either really, really hate diesel or just like being iconoclastic.
The new XC70 has electronically-controlled four-wheel drive, and borrows sister company Land Rover's Hill Descent Control to make up for a lack of low-ratio gears. It, like the new V70, is based on the same chassis as the new S80, so it should be good dynamically, and safety levels should be off the scale.
Expect to see it on dealer forecourts (and sundry unmade roads, hilltops and muddy fields) from the autumn.
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