Volvo XC60 dominates in Europe as the best-selling mid-size SUV

The Volvo XC60 SUV was the best-selling mid-size SUV in Europe in 2015, despite it being eight years old, beating the Audi Q5 in to second place.

The biggest car sector in Europe is now the SUV, with car makers ploughing more and more resources in to creating an ever increasing number of SUV and crossover models to sate buyers’ appetites for cars that ride a bit higher.

But it’s not the new models from car makers that are mopping up sales across Europe – at least not in the mid-size SUV sector – but a car that’s been around for eight years – the Volvo XC60.

Despite launching in 2008, the XC60 has managed to increase sales every year since it launched, with its first full year of sales, 2009, seeing 62,000 XC60s finding a home, growing to an impressive 160,000 in 2015.

That defies all the norms of a car’s life-cycle, where the first year or two is normally its most successful, with sales tapering away until a new model arrives.

So how has the XC60 managed to dominate, despite it’s age?

Perhaps it’s because the XC60 was so well thought out when it arrived, with the usual plethora of safety systems we expect from Volvo, and a design that looked purposeful but wasn’t aggressive.

Yes, the interior is starting to look a little dated – although that has more to do with just how good the interiors are in the new XC90 and S90 – but with its high-quality materials, digital dashboard and superb seats, it can still stand up to scrutiny.

Volvo has also been clever with its facelifts, managing to keep the XC60 looking current and appealing, and the usual falling behind on economy and performance that plagues cars as they get older has been nicely sidestepped with the new Drive-E engines now fitted to the XC60, offering power, performance and economy that’s as good as the competition.

And you have to wonder: If the Volvo XC60 is this good after so long, just how good is the all-new XC60 going to be when it arrives, probably in 2017?