WINNING FORMULA SURE TO PLEASE
VOLVO KEEPING TRADITION ALIVE WITH V90 WAGON
Overview: Full- size luxury station wagon with looks to kill Pros: AWD, gorgeous design, practical Cons: Four- cylinder engine a stretch for ultimate luxury, ride a bit stiff- legged Value for money: Good What I would change: Take some starch out of the suspension How I would spec it: With air suspension and avoid the 20- inch wheels
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 f or Volvo’s recovery. Having bought Volvo f rom Ford in 2010, its hands- off approach is working: Give the Swedes buckets of Kroners and let ’ em do what they do. And that would be 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 considered the most “Volvo” of all, as it trades on the longrunning heritage of t he 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 t urbocharged. This pressurizes the little fourpot to the tune of 316 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 295 pound- feet of torque from 2,200 rpm. Power gets to all four wheels through an eight-speed 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, fourzone 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 autodimming/ folding mirrors and visual park assist. You’ll also pay extra for heated steering wheel and heated rear seats.
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. The hide is supple, the metal is richly finished, and the open pore-wood a tactile delight. Volvo has always made great seats, and these multi-adjustable, heated and cooled specimens do not disappoint. For those with an ear for music, the optional $ 3,250 Bowers and Wilkins audio is money well spent.
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. As such, accessing most basic functions (fan speed, cabin temperature, seat heati ng/ cooling, selecting radio presets, etc.) requires eyes- off- the- road finger swiping and prodding, all of which is counter to motoring safety.
Such is the bizarre state of the automobile industry right now. Everyone is cryi ng “distracted driving,” yet the buying public’s obsession with connectivity and touch screens requires manufacturers to cram as much as they can into multilayered menu infotainment systems that ultimately re- sult in distracted driving.
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 t est week of mostly highway duty, the V90 returned a respectable 9.5 L/ 100 kilometres, but premium- grade fuel is required.
There’s nothing particul arly 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 l ook so sexy surely don’t do the ride quality any favours.
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.