Tim Smith - CleanMPG - January 13, 2015
Volvo chose the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) to announce two new variants of the S60 sedan which are intended to bolster flagging sales in the US market.
S60 Cross Country
A “Cross Country” version of the S60 sedan (image left) will be added in 2016. The Cross Country moniker indicates a lifted and ruggedized (in appearance if nothing else) version of an existing Volvo passenger car. The S60 is the first sedan to be given the treatment.
Similar to the upcoming V60 Cross Country, the S60 Cross Country will be differentiated from the standard model by an additional 2.5 inches of ground clearance and plastic cladding at the wheel arches, sills, and bumpers in addition to other trim elements. When launched to US consumers the car will be available with the carry-over T5 AWD drive train from the existing sedan. That consists of a 250hp 5-cylinder turbocharged engine, 6-speed automatic transmission, and a Haldex all wheel drive system. Expect capable all-weather handling but middling to poor fuel economy given that the current T5 AWD S60 is EPA rated at 20/29/23.
While customers outside the US will be offered a range of fuel-efficient FWD and AWD diesel alternatives Volvo has yet to commit to any such option for the Cross Country in North America.
S60 Inscription
A new “Inscription” version of the S60 (image right) will become the first mainstream passenger car to be imported to the US from China. Dubbed the S60L in China, the S60 Inscription has been lengthened in order to provide an additional 3.4 inches of leg room for rear seat passengers. (Note that a significant fraction of Chinese vehicle consumers prefer to be driven rather than to drive, so extended wheel base options are common in that market. Rear legroom in the global version of the S60 is a rather tight 33.5 inches.) The Inscription will be available in T5 FWD or AWD form. This presumably means a choice between the 4-cylinder Drive-E engine for FWD cars or the 5-cylinder carry over engine if AWD is selected.
Volvo states that the lengthened S60 is “tailored to meet the discerning requirements of US customers.” But the obvious question is, will US customers accept a luxury car made in China? Volvo, which is owned by Chinese firm Geely, will produce the vehicle at their facility in Chengdu. The manufacturer has promised that installed technology, quality standards, and work safety standards will be no different from those of their European production facilities. However it is reasonable to expect an up-hill sales battle even if quality is up to snuff when the vehicle arrives.
Note that at the time of this writing the Volvo Global press release describes the S60 Inscription's Chinese origins, while the Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA) press release makes no mention of it whatsoever. One must ask, was that detail deemed too trivial to highlight for US consumers? That seems unlikely for such a significant milestone.
Also note that this is not the first time that the “Inscription” badge has appeared in Volvo's lineup. The term has previously denoted an up-level trim option on existing vehicles.
US buyers and Volvo watchers won't have to wait long to see how the vehicle sells. The S60 Inscription will be exported to the US beginning in the second quarter of 2015 for the 2016 model year.
Volvo Sales Slide and Recovery Plan
Volvo has stated that the objective of introducing the S60 Cross Country and S60 Inscription is to boost sales toward a near-term goal of selling 100,000 vehicles per year in the US. The last time the manufacturer accomplished that was in 2007. There is reason for optimism in the auto maker's long-term strategy which includes switching entirely to fuel-efficient 4-cylinder engines while at the same time revamping the entire lineup on a new vehicle architecture and using a new design language. However, that changeover will take time. The decade-old XC90 sport utility will be replaced by the first of the new range of vehicles later this year. (US consumers bought fewer than 4,000 of the outgoing model in 2014). It will take several years for the rest of the lineup to follow suit.
The S60 Cross Country should serve as a low-cost addition which is likely wrestle at least some buyers away from 5-door crossovers. (We will have to see if it lures customers from other brands or simply poaches buyers of other Volvo crossovers such as the XC60.) The Inscription, on the other hand, is clearly a risky move. If nothing else, the next few years of Volvo's history won't be boring.
Volvo Introduces Two New S60 Sedan Variants for US
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