Volvo Concept Estate Isn't Your Mom's Station Wagon

Volvo has announced that it will be rolling out a new concept car at the Geneva Motor Show called the Concept Estate. An estate car is another name for a station wagon. In the 70's and 80's there were plenty of station wagons on the auto market, but the wagon disappeared in the US for the most part and were replaced with SUVs.

In Europe the estate and shooting brake continues to be a popular car option and there are plenty of them to choose from. Here in the states, the popularity is catching on again. Volvo's Concept Estate is a very good-looking vehicle and has lots of curves and high tech style on the inside and out.

Inside the car, a single large touchscreen that looks like a tablet crammed into the center of the dash replaces the buttons. The reality of this sort of design is that having no buttons can be very annoying. It's hard to change anything while driving if you have to take your eyes off the road and look at what you are touching. That touchscreen is the heart of the new Volvo in-car user experience.

The instrument cluster is also digital and interacts with the larger center touchscreen. Volvo says that the Concept Estate points at how it could capitalize on the popularity of the Volvo V70 and XC70 in the future. The interior of the car has deeply bolstered seats and what appears to be wood lining the side of the center console. There is no word on what engine is under the hood of the Concept Estate.

SOURCE: Volvo