2017 VOLVO S90 A SUPERB SCANDINAVIAN SEDAN
Inscription just might be the best luxury four-door four-cylinder on the road
Everyone loves a comeback story. Whether it’s baseball — the Cubs finally winning the World Series after, what, 427 years? — or hockey — my dad’s beloved Maple Leafs finally making the playoffs — we all loves stories of redemption. If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s because the Comeback Kids always reflect our inner hope that we, too, will be able to stage a recovery if — actually, when — we find ourselves down in the dumps.
Thus I am relieved — and a little surprised — that Volvo is staging such a ferocious resurgence. Though its travails weren’t quite as long as the Cubs’ time in the doghouse (it was actually only 108 years) they were just as intense.
Volvo has returned with a rush. On top of the S60 Polestar, which does a remarkable impression of a BMW M4, there’s been the return of the XC90, Volvo’s award-winning SUV that was also the country’s most profitable export; not the most profitable automotive export, the most profitable export, period.
Less noticed — in fact, judging by sales, far less noticed — is that Volvo has crafted a top-of-theline luxury sedan on the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform. Essentially the same vehicle as the XC90 except shaped like a sedan, the S90 has been largely ignored. Volvo Canada sold but 127 in the seven months since it was introduced, while 1,513 XC90s flew out the door in the same period. More’s the pity, for the S90 is truly a wonderful sedan, offering MercedesBenz E-Class and BMW 5 Series luxury and performance with a decidedly Scandinavian slant.
First of all, there’s the innovation. Volvo has gone on record as saying that in its pursuit of eco-friendliness, it will produce no engine with more than four pistons. Before you go dismissing four pistons as paltry, know this: Pretty much every automaker is offering — or will soon offer — a four-cylinder engine in their luxury models.
And Volvo’s little four-banger is pretty special. Like most 2.0-litre fours these days, it’s turbocharged, boosted forcefully enough that it boasts a healthy 316 horsepower at 5,700 r.p.m. But — and this is where that history of sometimes quirky innovation kicks in — it’s also supercharged. The belt-driven supercharger fills in the lowr.p.m. hole we all know as turbo lag. Combine the two and what you get is immediate response the millisecond you tip in the throttle, followed by a decidedly un-Volvolike rush of power at high r.p.m. as the turbocharger kicks in.
Fear not, oh ye devotees of plural pistons, it even sounds luxurious. And, whatever aural deficit having only four cylinders might engender is more than made up for by the 9.8 L/100 km fuel economy I averaged. That’s about 30 to 40 per cent less than a typical gas-fuelled luxury sedan and, I might add, not the result of me being particularly gentle on the throttle.
The other bit of Scandinavian innovation that stands out is Volvo’s Sensus infotainment system. Ever since the BMW 7 Series introduced us to iDrive — thank you soooo much, BMW — consumers have been looking for the automotive infotainment “tablet” that’s as user-friendly as your everyday iPad.
We may be getting closer. Indeed, Sensus is very much tablet-oriented, not all that much different in its functionality from the iPads so ubiquitous now. It’s touch sensitive, icon friendly and swipes both left and right to offer you different functions or views. The main page offers typical information — navigation, media, phone and messages — while the other two offer access to vehicle safety information and the copious apps. It is, in fact, so similar to our everyday experience that learning to operate Volvo’s rendition of the tablet is about as difficult as transitioning from the iPad to a Samsung Galaxy. The form is different, but the function remains familiar.
A few glitches remain — the navigation system could use a little help — but overall the experience is positive. And, unlike so many systems that aren’t really that rewarding even once you get used to their idiosyncrasies, Sensus actually provides useful information. You can even shift the navigation or media information to the 12.3-inch TFT gauge set in between the tachometer and speedometer.
As for the rest of the S90, it’s more in line with what you might expect from Volvo. The styling, elegant and no longer boxy, is attractive. The interior, there being no other descriptor, is typically Scandinavian. Lighter, less ominous and just a little warmer than its German competition, the S90’s cabin is no less luxurious. The leather is exquisite and the wood trim authentic. Indeed, if you’re shopping the E-Class, A6 or even the redesigned 5 Series, there’s just no reason not to visit a Volvo showroom. The S90 checks off all of the class prerequisites — all-wheel drive, a loadlevelling adjustable suspension system, booming Bowers and Wilkins audio system and a host of electronic safety measures simply too long to list here — and throws in a modicum of stylistic uniqueness, an absolutely adorable interior and finishes it all off by costing thousands less than its competition. Volvo’s suggested list price for the top-of-the-line Inscription model is $63,000.