2021 Volvo S60 Inscription on 2040-cars

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Volvo Concept Estate to spawn V90 luxury wagon, joining CUV and coupe

The Volvo Concept Estate garnered Autoblog's Editors' Choice award as our team's favorite reveal at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show earlier this month for its sleek take on Scandinavian design, and now it looks like we might actually see the sleek wagon in production. Volvo is reportedly considering using the concept as the basis for a replacement for the V70 wagon, dubbing the new model V90.
It's rumored to be part of the Swedish brand's plan to launch a new range of 90-series vehicles. In addition to the more luxury-oriented wagon, the family of models includes the XC90 that is expected to debut later this year. According to MotorAuthority, Volvo is also considering using the same version of its Scalable Product Architecture that underpins the crossover to create a range-topping S90 sedan to replace the S80. Assuming it's a success, a C90 coupe is even a possibility. All of these models would be outfitted with the company's Drive-E four-cylinder engine family, which includes hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
The Swedish automaker is also looking downmarket with help from owner Geely in China with replacement 40-series models. According to MotorAuthority, the duo's rumored small car platform will be used to create an updated V40 wagon, C40 hatchback (a C30 successor), as well as an XC40 compact crossover.

Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

2015 Volvo S60 T6 Drive-E

For those not paying attention, Volvo has updated its S60 sedan range for 2015 with a new range of engines under the Drive-E label. Wearing the same T5 and T6 badges to note the relative levels of power under the hood, both engines are 2.0-liter four-cylinders, with the lesser being turbocharged and the greater being both supercharged and turbocharged.
Both Drive-E variants are currently only available in front-wheel-drive flavor, though Volvo will still happily sell you an S60 T5 AWD with the older 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder, or a top-of-the-line S60 T6 with a turbo'd 3.0-liter six-cylinder and all the wheels turning.
The car I drove for a week is perhaps the most balanced version of the S60 range, with that exotic sounding twin-charged 2.0-liter mill planted happily in the attractively sloping nose. Provided you're not hung up on front-drive dynamics, the T6 Drive-E might be a solid candidate for your next premium small sedan shopping list, as well.