The transformation of the Volvo brand is almost complete as the all-new mid-size XC60 crossover SUV was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.

Built on the same scalable architecture as the XC90 but slightly smaller, the all-new 2018 Volvo XC60 has big shoes to fill, being one of the brand’s best selling crossover SUVs and the best selling mid-sized SUV in Europe.

When you have a vehicle that’s over 30 percent of your sales you are careful when redesigning it. And here they’ve created a truly new vehicle that shares much of the same design DNA of the larger XC90 in its facials features, its silhouette and in its rear quarters – just slightly smaller.

The interior too carries forward the latest design direction of Volvo with rich materials like leather and aluminum paired with handsome genuine woods. The dash design features the same portrait format infotainment system and human interface that’s been getting rave reviews the world over. Seating five passengers, the XC60 cabin offers increased space over the outgoing model as well.

Highly underscored in the press materials from Volvo are the next-generation safety and autonomous driver assistance systems the XC60 will offer. Calling it one of the safest cars ever made, what Volvo calls Steer Assist makes its debut here.

Taking passive safety one step up, Steer Assist can step in and join forward emergency braking as a tool to protect you from an imminent collision by actually steering around it. This includes a number of scenarios from avoiding head-on collisions, steering around an obstacle to pushing you back into your lane if you veer into oncoming or parallel traffic.

The system can operate up to 80 miles per hour and joins the host of existing safety systems and structures already part of the Volvo ethos. In fact early crash testing shows that if a collision should happen, the XC60 is poise to perform well.

Because the new Volvo XC60 shares its basic underlying architecture with the larger XC90, it will offer the same slate of Drive-E powertrains. These start with the T5 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated at 250 horsepower.

The 316 horsepower supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-liter T6 powertrain will also be available and the range topper will be the T8. The latter combines the 316 horsepower engine with an electric motor drive unit for a total of 400 horsepower.

With a lighter vehicle to push around, the T8 XC60 ought to be a fun vehicle to drive with a better power to weight ratio. That quality is also likely to help it achieve even higher efficiency levels than the larger XC90 T8.

The XC60 will be built in Sweden and production begins this spring. It’s expected go on sale in North America late this summer or early fall with pricing to be announced closer to that time.