Summary
- The 2023 Volvo XC60 is praised for its beautiful exterior design, with Volvo incorporating its iconic “Thor’s hammer” headlights and sleek body lines that connect with other design elements.
- The XC60 strikes a balance between sporty and elegant, with sharp lines that are not as aggressive as some competitors but still provide a distinct and stylish look.
- The interior of the XC60 is equally impressive, featuring premium leather upholstery, a responsive 9-inch center display, and high-tech features such as a Harman Kardon sound system and adaptive cruise control.
Volvo is no stranger to making some of the most elegant and timeless luxury sedans, crossovers, and SUVs on the market.
The Swedish automaker created some of the most masterfully-designed cars in history like the Volvo P1800 and it still holds up that legacy to this day with the likes of the beautiful 2017 Volvo XC90.
YouTuber and digital artist Marouane Bembli explored a silver 2023 Volvo XC60 on his YouTube channel, TheSketchMonkey.
Bembli praised the premium mid-size SUV for its beautiful exterior, with Volvo sculpting the vehicle’s body lines to connect with various exterior design elements. He also praised the vehicle’s plush interior, which upholds the Swedish brand’s reputation for making amazing interiors for its vehicles.
The 2023 Volvo XC60 Has Plenty Of Beautiful Lines
Bembli started the video off by examining the XC60’s sleek front fascia. “What I think Volvo does really well is hammering in, pun intended, their DNA in the front-end graphics,” said Bembli.
The SUV’s front end is unmistakably Volvo. “Looking at the XC60 from a straight front view, there is no mistaking this for anything else than a Volvo… Large part of that has to do with this chiselness that we have in this design. But of course, it has to do with these Thor’s hammers as well,” added Bembli.
Compared to some of its closest mid-size SUV competitors, the Volvo XC60 is distinctly elegant with some sporty and aggressive features. Its exterior design is somewhat of a middle ground between the sporty and aggressive Acura RDX and the graceful and elegant Genesis GX70.
For example, the XC60 has a number of sharp lines around the bodywork but nowhere as near as aggressive as the ones on the cool-looking 2022 Acura RDX. Meanwhile, it isn’t as smooth and curvy as the stylish Genesis GX70’s exterior silhouette and design features.
One iconic feature is the XC60’s headlights which feature Volvo’s iconic “Thor’s hammer” design but with a twist. On the new 2023 Volvo XC60, the handle of the hammer extends all the way to the blacked-out grille thereby distinctly dividing the hood and bumper into two sections. Other modern Volvos like the 2022 XC90 SUV and the 2022 S90 mid-size sedan don’t apply this design feature.
Furthermore, the sculpted lines on the luxury car’s hood gracefully align with the outline of the front grille and smoothly transition to the side of the car. “Every single piece on the exterior that you have on the front end and all around the car, both in the exterior and the interior, every single line needs to have a purpose and also implement that design DNA of Volvo,” commented Bembli.
The 2023 XC60’s Side Is Just As Stylish As The Front
Coming around to the side of the XC60, the SUV greets onlookers with 21-inch chrome wheels with black accents that perfectly complement the other blacked-out design features on the front and rear end of the car. By having the chrome and black accents, onlookers can appreciate the wheel’s 5-spoke design which pops out thanks to the color contrast.
Bembli also said that the 21-inch wheels look perfect for the car as they fill out the wheel wells.
The side shares some design features with the smaller Volvo S60 sedan such as the sharp shoulder lines on the sides of the front and rear ends of the car which beautifully blend into the vehicle’s bodywork in the middle portion of the SUV. “I think this is just a beautiful touch. This does is, it builds muscle where you want to have the muscle. For example, this line builds it over the front axle, and it comes back even stronger in the rear,” said Bembli.
The dual side lines on the lower portion of the doors also perfectly complement the SUV’s height. Those lines combined with the flared-out side skirt give the XC60 a planted look despite being a decently tall SUV.
The XC60’s Rear Looks Falls A Little Short
Moving to the rear, Bembli commented that “this looks like one of the better looking rear ends and modern looking rear ends in today’s world of mid-size SUVs. It just has this elegance to it and this sharpness, chiselness that we saw in the front and the side.”
While Volvo didn’t hide the rear windshield wiper under the SUV’s roof spoiler like on many modern SUVs, it sits on the dark-tinted rear window which somewhat makes it stick out less. According to Bembli, he would have preferred that Volvo slightly extend the roof spoiler to hide the rear wiper like on the well-designed 2022 Hyundai Tucson.
The lower end of the rear bumper has the only blacked-out design feature in the vehicle’s mostly body-colored elegant rear. Bembli speculated that the blacked-out design features on the lower rear bumper may morph into fake vents in the future. However, he says that they are a little too complex and busy as a design feature.
However, the European automaker did conceal some elements throughout the vehicle’s exterior that may have proven to be unsightly if the Swedish automaker didn’t hide them.
For example, Volvo used the vehicle’s front side fake vents to house and conceal the unsightly circle parking sensors. By painting both the vents and the parking sensors black, the cutout circle shape of the sensors is not easily visible to onlookers.
The XC60’s fog lights are also somewhat concealed on the extreme lower end of the front bumper instead of a higher-up position within the front side vents like on other Volvo vehicles. The Scandinavian automaker perfectly integrated the thin fog lights into the blacked-out design lines on the lower part of the front bumper. This is unlike the fog lights on the 2023 Volvo S60 premium sedan, for example, wherein Volvo concealed the fog lights within the S60’s front side vents instead of integrating them with the design of the front bumper.
Volvo also concealed the protruding front-mounted camera within the manufacturer’s logo in the front grille — integrating it into the badge by creating a tiny housing for it.
The 2023 XC60 Has Volvo’s Signature Plush Interior
The 2023 XC60’s interior is just as elegant as its exterior, giving the SUV great value for money. The interior features expansive premium leather upholstery with metal accents throughout the cabin.
The centerpiece of the dashboard is the SUV’s vertical 9-inch center display that houses the vehicle’s infotainment system and some vehicle controls. The screen is one of the most responsive in any vehicle on the market today and is extremely easy to use. According to Bembli, he finds the screen to be perfectly sized as it allowed Volvo to beautifully integrate the display into the SUV’s dashboard which may have proven difficult if the screen was bigger.
Volvo also beautifully designed the XC60’s climate control vents with a metal accent and metal control knob.
Another statement piece on the XC60’s interior is the sleek metal accent piece that goes all the way across the SUV’s dashboard. However, Bembli did say that he would prefer a wood trim piece over the metal one in the vehicle he sampled.
Other elegant features in the vehicle’s interior include the optional crystal gear shifter handle, which is a feature that many car owners want in their own vehicle. The XC60 also has sporty leather seats, and a couple of additional luxury features like a premium sound system, heated seats, and a four-zone climate system.
2023 Volvo XC60 Ultimate Standard In Car Features
- Harman Kardon premium sound system
- Front ventilated seats
- Head-up display
- Four-zone climate system
- Nappa leather upholstery
- Panoramic roof
The XC60 also has plenty of high-tech features that make it a hyper-intelligent SUV including a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, park assist, pilot assist, cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping aid, slippery road alert, and more.
Credit: Source link