VOLVO says its new S60 saloon – a rival to the Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series – is expected to compete strongly in the compact executive company car sector.
The company says it expects the D3 SE model to be the key business car model, with predicted contract hire rates of £344 over three years and 30,000 miles.
“The Volvo S60 D3 model with 163PS will be the critical model in the business car market,” explained Chris Wailes, European product & pricing manager, Volvo.
“It has a good specification for company car drivers – there’s Bluetooth phone preparation, rear parking sensors, standard City Safety, standard colour infotainment display as well as a 163hp engine but only 139g/km CO2 emissions. Our benchmark for the car was the Audi A4.”
We checked two business car leasing sites for comparative contract hire prices, but found the S60 was more expensive than Volvo expected.
- One had the SE model for £373 per month, and the Audi A4 2.0 TDI SE 143PS model for £356 a month.
- Another showed the same S60 SE model for rather more at £418 a month, while the A4 SE was cheaper at £349 a month.
A low-emission DRIVe version of the Volvo S6 is due to be introduced in February next year. With a 1.6-litre 115hp diesel engine, CO2 emissions are expected to be 114g/km – representing a company car tax band of 13% in the 2011/12 tax year.
