An average of forecasts from CAP, David Henley Systems and EMMOX indicated neither of the newcomers will have residuals of lower than 40%. Wholelife cost specialists are also equally optimistic about servicing, maintenance and repair costs - which over three years/60,000 miles, offer a distinct advantage over the prestige competition from BMW, Audi and Rover.

The two cars will be available for exclusive preview drives at next week's Fleet Show at Silverstone - a month ahead of the May 22 launch date. Volvo expects the new cars to capture a large slice of the fleet market by keeping the purchase price low, reducing running costs and maintaining high used values.