The all-new Volvo S60 has been hailed as the 'Saloon Car of the Year 2010', at the Car Middle East Awards.

The awards, which honour the best new cars of 2010, and also the biggest achievers of the year in the motoring and motorsports arena, has run for the last three consecutive years and took place at The Westin, on December 15, in front of a host of the industry’s experts.

The Volvo S60 debuted in the Middle East in October and already its seriously stylish and slightly cheeky persona is making waves across the automotive industry, said a statement.

The S60 topped with BMW 5-Series and Kia Optima taking runner up positions. Every car that went on sale between the beginning of December 2009 and end of November 2010 was automatically nominated for the awards with 21 winners in 12 different categories, it said.

The all-new Volvo S60 had its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 2 this year and it makes its entry into one of the automotive world’s toughest segments backed by an extrovert attitude never before seen in Volvo showrooms. The all-new S60 has been sculpted to move you – both physically and emotionally, the statement said.

“The sporty design delivers a visual promise of enthusiastic driving characteristics and I can assure you that the all-new S60 truly lives up to that promise. Its driving properties are better than those of any previous Volvo. What is more, the car’s innovative new technologies help you become both a better and a safer driver,” says Volvo Cars ME marketing manager, Roula Beiruty. With its all-new Volvo S60, Volvo Cars is advancing its position in one of the car world’s most competitive segments: CD Premium.

“The competition is razor-sharp and the customers know exactly what they want with particular emphasis on emotional stance, sporty design and dynamic driving properties. Success in this segment means a lot for the brand’s image and we are convinced that the all-new S60 will be one of the strongest contenders,” said Beiruty.

The first-generation Volvo S60 was launched in 2000. It soon became Volvo Cars’ most popular model, enjoying worldwide acclaim and peak sales of 110,000 cars in 2002. In total, there are about 600,000 S60s on world’s roads today.

The number ‘60’ in the Volvo model range nowadays indicates their sportiest models. The XC60 was the first step. Now, with the all-new S60, they are placing themselves right on the car enthusiasts’ radar screen, the statement said. –TradeArabia News Service