Volvo XC30

With cars like the BMW X1, upcoming Audi Q3 and a planned Mercedes-Benz BLK compact crossover based on the next-generation B-Class, Europe’s luxury marques are starting to venture into territory normally dominated by South Korean and Japanese automakers. It would seem then that there's no barrier to the types of segments automakers, be they luxury or mainstream, can compete in these days, which is why we’re going to see more competition between brands that only a few years ago wouldn’t have even been mentioned in the same breath. Take Volvo, for example. The Swedish...