2019 Volvo V60: Big Wagon Style, Little Wagon Footprint
If, like me, you think the Volvo V90 wagon is probably one of the most beautiful, unique and desirable vehicles on the road today, then you too are probably going to like the new 2019 Volvo V60 wagon. You’d also be forgiven for mistaking one for the other — the proportions, the style, the entire car looks as if someone Photoshopped the big V90 and scaled it down to 75 percent size. You’d have to park them side by side to spot the differences between the two, and even then, the only difference is that one is shorter and lower.
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This is a good thing, as the Volvo V60’s style is clean, simple and flowing in a way only a wagon can be. It doesn’t sit high like an SUV, so there are some compromises made on the interior. The backseat is considerably tighter than in the mechanically related XC60 SUV, with a low cushion that has you sitting on the floor with your knees fairly high. There also isn’t a lot of legroom for backseat passengers, either. But headroom is plentiful front and back, and the rest of the interior positively shames competitors like the… well, finding competitors may be hard, as the only other brand that makes a compact luxury wagon for the U.S. market is BMW with its 3 Series wagon. And the Volvo’s interior absolutely blows the Bimmer’s away in terms of material quality, luxurious appointments, style and layout.
The V60’s interior apes the V90’s so closely that, if not for the slightly narrower confines, you’d be hard-pressed to determine which car you’re sitting in. The same vertical multimedia touchscreen is present, for better or worse — some of our staff love it, some of them find it too busy and disorienting. I frankly find it appealing, as its speed has increased over successive generations of models, and I like the ability to reorganize it to my needs.
Overall, the only thing holding the Volvo V60 back from being a smashing success is the fact that it’s not an SUV. And to help solve that issue, I’m promoting the idea that we no longer call cars like this “wagons” – instead, let’s call them low SUVs (LSUVs). Maybe more people will be tricked into buying them, and we can Make Wagons Great Again.
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