Volvo Wows with Concept Estate

In advance of the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, Volvo is wowing the world by showing off its new Concept Estate. It is the third in a series of concept vehicles the Swedish automaker says hint at the design of future models, starting with the upcoming 2015 XC90 SUV. The other two concept models in the T series.

Volvo Concept Estate (Credit: © Volvo)

The overall exterior and interior design of the Concept Estate is characteristically simple. Instead of numerous buttons and knobs, the concept vehicle has a large touchscreen for the center stack, which looks more like a tablet than an infotainment screen consumers are used to seeing in most modern vehicles. Almost all vehicle functions are controlled through the touchscreen, except for some critical controls like sound system volume, environmental, and hazard lights. The digital gauge cluster is able to interact with the touchscreen as well.

“The basic idea is to organise controls and information in a perfectly intuitive and user-friendly way. Everything is exactly where you expect it to be, making the drive more enjoyable, efficient and safe,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Car Group.

Volvo is of course well-known for its estates, or wagons as they are called in the United States, thanks to models like the V70, XC70 and the new V60. The new Estate Concept hints that the company is looking to breathe new life into its estate lineup into the future.

Since the new concept vehicle was just unveiled, it has not yet won any awards. If industry reactions to the other two concept models in the series are a gauge, the Concept Estate should be well-received. The Concept Coupe was named as Car of the Show for the Frankfurt Motor Show, and the Concept XC Coupe won an Eyes ON Design award at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.