Every year after Qingming, it is the time when the temperature rises in various places. After the "cooling-off period" brought about by the Spring Festival in February, the sales of major car companies began to slowly recover in March. For example, the Volvo XC60 sold 6,079 units in March 2024, 2,638 more than in February, an increase of 43.4% year-on-year in February.
However, according to the data released by the Passenger Association, the Volvo XC60 was not the best performing mid-size SUV sales list in March. It can be seen that after the BYD Tang DM-i was stimulated by the price reduction and increase of the Glory version, the sales rebounded significantly in March, and the sales volume of the month suddenly increased from 3607 to 11914 units, ranking 4th on the list in that month's sales. In addition, for reference, Volvo XC60's main competitors Audi Q5L, BMW X3, and Mercedes-Benz GLC all maintained monthly sales of more than 10,000 units in the same period. So, can it be seen from the rising sales of Volvo XC60 that this car is worth buying again?
Seriously, in the domestic luxury mid-size SUV market, it has always been Mercedes-Benz GLC that occupies the best position to speak, whether it is a facelift or a replacement, this car can firmly sit on the top spot in the fuel luxury mid-size SUV market. Because in the existing domestic consumption environment, people are more aware of the luxury sense created by the Mercedes-Benz brand, including but not limited to appearance, interior, power quality, driving texture, and even functional configuration. This kind of situation from brand derivation to car purchase values is not uncommon, such as the Audi Q5L and BMW X3 can also be viewed from the same perspective.
To put it simply, in the eyes of every consumer, a luxury car brand or even any independent car brand has a personality. For example, Volvo will highlight the characteristics that the brand attaches the most importance to and is good at in terms of product design, product marketing, and functional configuration. However, for many young consumers, the selling point of the Volvo XC60 is not only limited to safety, but also has a lot of merits that they care about.
Take the price, for example. The Volvo XC60 and the Audi Q5L are openly competitive, and everyone knows that. According to my on-the-spot consultation, it is also a mid-range model (guide price of about 420,000), and the current landing price of the 2024 Audi Q5L 40TFSI luxury dynamic quattro four-wheel drive is about 350,000, while the landing price of the 2024 Volvo XC60 B5 four-wheel drive Zhiyuan luxury version is about 340,000. It is worth mentioning here that in addition to the XC60's price advantage, local dealers also gave away 360-degree panoramic images, Bowers & Wilkins center speakers, blind spot monitoring, and nine basic maintenance.
And in terms of interior texture, I believe this is one of the reasons why Volvo XC60 owners chose this car. Different from the large area of black plastic in the interior of the Audi Q5L, the XC60 Zhiyuan Luxury Edition adopts a large area of high-end walnut wood decoration in the interior to cover the center console and the center tunnel, with chrome metal keys and piano paint trim to complement each other, the visual effect is simple and comfortable. What's even more refreshing is that starting from the Zhiyuan luxury version, the car is equipped with an Orich crystal gear knob as standard, which is better than the Audi Q5L in terms of interior luxury and refinement.
However, from my personal point of view, there are some details in the interior of Volvo XC60 that are not quite in line with the mainstream aesthetics of the Chinese people, such as the three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, the disc width is thick, although it is full of power, and the leather material grip is also more delicate, but at first glance there is a feeling of colliding with Volvo heavy trucks. In addition, although the display effect of the 9-inch car screen is clear and easy to read, the built-in Android native system is too simple, which ensures the smoothness of operation, but loses its functionality and playability, and the main function is to provide multimedia video and map navigation.
In terms of space, the Volvo XC60 is not the best, as a mid-size SUV, the body length of the car barely exceeds the average compact SUV, reaching 4708 mm, 1902 mm wide, and 2865 mm wheelbase. This size is not outstanding in its class, but the wheelbase is close to that of the BMW X3, so the measured longitudinal legroom in the rear is not bad. Judging from my height of 1.8 meters, when the front seat is not moving, sitting in the second row can get about two fists of legroom, and the headroom is about 1 fist, and the length of the seat cushion is enough to give better support to the body. Overall, the Volvo XC60 has good rear space comfort, but it's not as spacious as the Audi Q5L. Home users who are sensitive to a sense of space may need to consider more about the actual car use scenario before buying a car.
In terms of power, I think the Volvo XC60 is a qualified luxury midsize SUV. This car is equipped with 2.0T+48V mild hybrid power, and the matching transmission system comes from the Aisin 8AT gearbox. Specifically, the maximum power of this power is 250 horsepower, and with a full-time four-wheel drive system, it can achieve 100 in 7.1 seconds, while the fuel economy is good, and the WLTC comprehensive fuel consumption is 7.76L/100km. In addition, the car is also equipped with off-road driving mode as standard, combined with a minimum ground clearance of 216 mm, in the face of daily simple medium and light off-road conditions, there is also more confidence.
After actually driving it, I agree with the Volvo XC60 B5 power. At the start, the ISG motor can help the engine start quickly and output power with the help of electricity, and the whole acceleration process is very smooth. When the throttle is pressed deeply, the gearbox has a high downshift enthusiasm, and the push back feeling comes and goes quickly, and it does not disappear quickly, and there is a sense of coherent acceleration. In addition, the brake feel is relatively linear, which is very quick for first-time Volvo XC60 drivers.
epilogue
may still answer that sentence, there are no bad cars, only bad prices. In this era of new energy vehicles, where product power and price are king, traditional luxury car brands such as BBA and Volvo can decentralize the best mechanical quality of the internal combustion engine era to the price range of 300,000 yuan or even lower, which is the most straightforward embodiment of their market competitiveness. What do you think about this? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.