VOLVO IS KEEPING TRADITION ALIVE WITH THE V90
Long-roofed, gorgeous wagon is a design triumph, writes Peter Bleakney.
Drop-dead sexy Volvo wagon. Now these are five words we never thought we’d be stringing together. But yes, it’s true. The 2017 Volvo V90 is a Nordic siren, a design triumph that, like the other recent releases from Volvo, rises Phoenix-like from what was nearly the Scandinavian automaker’s funeral pyre only a few years back.
We can thank Chinese conglomerate Geely for Volvo’s recovery. Having bought Volvo from Ford in 2010, its handsoff approach is working: Give the Swedes buckets of Kroners and let ’em do what they do. And that would create uniquely designed and engineered luxury vehicles that march to a wonderfully different drummer from the usual German suspects (plus Jaguar and Genesis, for that matter).
This V90 could be the most “Volvo” of all, as it trades on the long-running heritage of the marque’s station wagon.
All new Volvos, now including the XC90, S90, V90 and the just-released XC60, ride on Volvo’s fresh Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) and go down the road courtesy of a modular 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, be it a turbodiesel, a gas/electric hybrid, just turbocharged, or in the case of all Canadian V90 wagons, supercharged and turbocharged. This pressurizes the little four-pot to the tune of 316 horsepower at 5,700 r.p.m. and 295 pound-feet of torque from 2,200 r.p.m. Power gets to all four wheels through an eightspeed automatic transmission with the option to shift manually.
The 2017 V90 comes in three trim levels: the $59,900 Momentum, the $64,450 R-Design and this top-tier Inscription, at $66,050. Standard fare for the Inscription includes GPS navigation, Apple CarPlay connectivity, a panoramic sunroof, four-zone climate control, rear park assist, a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, a 9.3-inch in-dash touch screen, heated and ventilated front seats and a power liftgate.
It also includes a host of Volvo’s safety kit, including City Safety with low- and high-speed collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control with active lane-keeping aid, pedestrian and cyclist detection, and much more. Blind-spot warning and cross-traffic alert are not standard but are part of the $2,000 Vision package that also adds auto-dimming/folding mirrors and visual park assist. The V90’s cabin is a stunning exercise in high-style minimalism. And it smells like real leather in here; now there’s a long-lost luxury. Volvo has always made great seats, and these multiadjustable, heated and cooled specimens do not disappoint.
The dash’s uncluttered look can be attributed to the large, portrait-oriented central touch screen that gives access to most vehicular functions, and for better or worse, eliminates hard-touch buttons. Accessing most basic functions requires eyes-off-the-road finger swiping and prodding.
That said, the Volvo interface is no worse than some, and it does allow for this inspired design. But if Volvo was truly serious about safety and not just selling cars, it would have a dash full of ugly buttons and dials with ugly markings for those who like to watch the road when driving.
So, how does this Swede stack up as a legitimate premium ride? Being a Volvo, it surely is different. All the other entrants in this category spell luxury with at least six or eight cylinders, and while the V90’s engine certainly has the punch, its power delivery can be uneven and it sounds gravelly when pressed. A BMW engine it is not, although during my test week of mostly highway duty, the V90 returned a respectable 9.5 L/100 kilometres, but premium-grade fuel is required.
There’s nothing particularly sporting about the V90’s road manners, but it does handle competently and the steering is accurate, if somewhat devoid of feel. As with all new Volvos, I would consider the optional air suspension ($2,350) a must-have feature. Even with it, the V90’s ride is just on the wrong side of supple when encountering rough road surfaces. Of course, the optional 20-inch wheels that look so sexy surely don’t do the ride quality any favours.
The V90 scores well on functionality. Yes, the stylishly raked roofline might not allow for a beer fridge, but there’s still 560L of load space behind the rear seats and there’s a clever partition with hooks and elastic straps to keep your groceries secure.
People have traditionally bought Volvo wagons to be different, and this V90 surely is that. We probably won’t see a lot on the road, considering its price point and the public’s obsession with SUVs. But, my goodness, the V90 is beautiful to behold. And despite a few quirks, it makes for a thoroughly convincing luxury conveyance. Volvo, thank you for keeping the tradition alive.