Volvo XC40 crowned What Car? Car of the Year
Volvo XC40 crowned What Car? Car of the Year
• Volvo's first ever compact SUV named What Car? Car of the Year 2018
• XC40 also takes Best Family SUV title
• Praised for its style, quality, comfort and safety
• Volvo XC60 wins What Car? Safety Award
The Volvo XC40 has won the What Car? Car of the Year 2018 award, just four months after it went on sale.
Volvo's first ever compact SUV was also crowned Best Family SUV at the 40th annual What Car? Awards, which were held at the Grosvenor House hotel in London on Tuesday, 23 January.
The What Car? judges were seriously impressed with the premium XC40, saying: "This is a big moment for Volvo, because the XC40 has beaten some truly exceptional rivals to win here. With its mix of comfort and class, safety and style, the new XC40 excels in all the areas that are important to buyers. Amid a year of great new cars, it stands out as the most impressive by far."
The XC40 brings a new level of flair and desirability to the compact SUV class. It mixes bold looks with cutting-edge technology, along with class-leading safety and ingenious interior storage.
Every version of the XC40 is also exceptionally well equipped. Even entry-level versions come with a nine-inch touch screen control system, satellite navigation, LED headlights, dual-zone climate control with a sophisticated interior air-quality system, and 18-inch alloy wheels. The innovative Volvo On Call remote control and emergency assistance system is also standard on every model. Volvo On Call allows you to control various functions of your car from your smartphone or smartwatch, including starting the engine remotely to heat or cool the cabin before you start your journey and sending a destination directly to the satellite-navigation system.
Volvo's sophisticated Pilot Assist system is available across the XC40 range. This semi-autonomous drive technology assists with the steering and controls the braking and acceleration required to keep the car safely in its lane and at the desired cruising speed or at a set distance from any vehicle in front.
The larger XC60 SUV was also a winner at the What Car? Awards 2018, making it a hat trick of wins for Volvo. It won the Safety Award as a result of its spectacular Euro NCAP crash test result. It scored an incredible 98% in adult occupant protection tests, along with 87% for child occupant protection and 76% for pedestrian safety. A score of 95% for the XC60's safety assistance technology rounded off its superb showing.
Every XC60 comes with a suite of ground-breaking safety aids, including systems that will actively help you steer around an object in an emergency or guide you back into your lane if you inadvertently move into the path of another vehicle.
Commenting on the awards, Jon Wakefield, Managing Director of Volvo Car UK, said: "Winning the overall What Car? Car of the Year award for the XC40 is a fantastic result – not just for everyone here in the UK, but for Volvo as a global company. The XC40 perfectly showcases the bold new direction Volvo is taking, and brings our class-leading connectivity, semi-autonomous drive technology and innovative storage solutions to the premium compact SUV segment.
"We are immensely proud of the XC40, and for the experts at What Car? to award it their ultimate accolade is the perfect start to what will be a hugely significant year for Volvo."
For more information on the Volvo XC40 and XC60, and to use the online configurator, please go to www.volvocars.com/uk
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