2018 Volvo XC60 Review: Photo Gallery

CARS.COM — The best thing you can say about the outgoing version of the Volvo XC60’s exterior styling is that it is eminently inoffensive. But inoffensive is a diplomatic way of saying unremarkable. With its redesign for the 2018 model year, which debuted at the 2017 New York International Auto Show, it has adopted the tasteful-but-head-turning fashion sense of its big bro, the XC90.

Related: 2018 Volvo XC60 Video Review

The 2018 XC60’s new elegantly aggressive appearance benefits from reshaping, with its long, deeply contoured hood flowing down to the vertically oriented grille and, and Volvo is fond of saying, Thor’s Hammer headlights. The lower front bumper area has a large, blacked-out trapezoidal opening, with matching intakes on either side. The whole thing makes for a much meaner-looking expression compared with its mild-mannered predecessor.

The 2018’s profile, meanwhile, is curvier and dramatically sculpted, resulting in a far more muscular — even muscle-bound — look compared with the 2017 version’s rather flat side view. The rear end also adopts the more stark angularity of the front end and highlights the XC60’s swept-back look with a roof spoiler above the liftgate.

Inside the cabin, the new XC60 jettisons the old sloping, wood-grain console for a chunkier center console that meets a clean-looking, minimalist dash area dominated by a massive multimedia touchscreen borrowed from the XC90. Volvo also announced a new CleanZone four-zone climate system to debut on the XC60, said to remove pollutants and particles from the outside air so occupants can breathe easier.

The 2018 XC60 is set to reach dealerships in the fall. In the meantime, check out the photo gallery above.