Photo: YouTube screenshot
Spain is said to have gone through a heat wave coming from the Sahara Desert, so maybe that's why so many manufacturers have taken their unreleased cars over there for testing: to make some savings on the extreme weather simulation rooms.
All jokes aside, the beautiful views, challenging roads and the lack of traffic - not necessarily in that order - are enough arguments for any car manufacturer to test its new vehicles over there. Plus, they have great tapas and a glass of sangria for the evening.
The Swedes from Volvo must find the place particularly appealing, even though sun cream must not be missing from their traveling kits. But getting scorched by the Andaluz sun isn't really one of their main worries, as they seem to spend most of the time hurling the new XC40 tiny SUV around.
We say "tiny," but a previous set of photographs showed four people sitting in apparent comfort inside the vehicle, which isn't something that can easily be said about some of its competitors: the Audi Q3, the BMW X1, the Mercedes-Benz GLA and the Infiniti QX30 it shares its platform with.
The XC40 promises to take the successful recipe of the larger XC90 and XC60, and decline for the small SUV segment. The test vehicle is covered in camouflage, but its final appearance won't surprise anyone. The XC40 will be to the XC60 what the XC60 was to the XC90. Same thing, different size.
Of course, adapting the design of a vehicle isn't as simple as holding the Shift key while dragging one of its corners - some extra work has to be put in. But even so, everybody seems to love the aesthetic direction that Volvo is headed toward, so there's no need to hold your breath over the XC40's appearance.
The same can be said about the interior. The clean layout of the center console and the luxury furniture feel that Volvo has used in its latest models will be reflected here as well, which is all good news. It offers a very different proposition from its competitors, which can be a good thing - setting it apart - but also a bad one - some people don't take too well to change.
The powertrain department is where the first significant changes take place. Volvo will slot a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo unit under the XC40's hood, but until it goes through with its plans to phase out diesel engines, an oil burner will be an option too - at least in some markets.
More interesting is that gap in the camouflage padding on the front left panel. That's where Volvo's T8 models - those equipped with a hybrid powertrain - have their charging port. It's hard to tell whether this model in particular is a hybrid or not, but the XC40 range will most definitely feature a twin engine version as well.
At least one of the cars spied does seem very quiet, with more road noise coming its way than any engine or exhaust notes, but that might very well be due to poor audio quality. The new SUV should be unveiled by the end of this year, with production scheduled for 2018 and the V40 and S40 compact models that share its platform set to follow.
The Swedes from Volvo must find the place particularly appealing, even though sun cream must not be missing from their traveling kits. But getting scorched by the Andaluz sun isn't really one of their main worries, as they seem to spend most of the time hurling the new XC40 tiny SUV around.
We say "tiny," but a previous set of photographs showed four people sitting in apparent comfort inside the vehicle, which isn't something that can easily be said about some of its competitors: the Audi Q3, the BMW X1, the Mercedes-Benz GLA and the Infiniti QX30 it shares its platform with.
The XC40 promises to take the successful recipe of the larger XC90 and XC60, and decline for the small SUV segment. The test vehicle is covered in camouflage, but its final appearance won't surprise anyone. The XC40 will be to the XC60 what the XC60 was to the XC90. Same thing, different size.
Of course, adapting the design of a vehicle isn't as simple as holding the Shift key while dragging one of its corners - some extra work has to be put in. But even so, everybody seems to love the aesthetic direction that Volvo is headed toward, so there's no need to hold your breath over the XC40's appearance.
The same can be said about the interior. The clean layout of the center console and the luxury furniture feel that Volvo has used in its latest models will be reflected here as well, which is all good news. It offers a very different proposition from its competitors, which can be a good thing - setting it apart - but also a bad one - some people don't take too well to change.
The powertrain department is where the first significant changes take place. Volvo will slot a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbo unit under the XC40's hood, but until it goes through with its plans to phase out diesel engines, an oil burner will be an option too - at least in some markets.
More interesting is that gap in the camouflage padding on the front left panel. That's where Volvo's T8 models - those equipped with a hybrid powertrain - have their charging port. It's hard to tell whether this model in particular is a hybrid or not, but the XC40 range will most definitely feature a twin engine version as well.
At least one of the cars spied does seem very quiet, with more road noise coming its way than any engine or exhaust notes, but that might very well be due to poor audio quality. The new SUV should be unveiled by the end of this year, with production scheduled for 2018 and the V40 and S40 compact models that share its platform set to follow.
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