Plenty of updates to Volvo’s luxury SUV

VOLVO’S updated range of XC90 luxury SUVs, first announced back in February, have now gone on sale with prices starting from £52,235.

The flagship, seven-seater XC90 features new styling details, additional equipment, upgrades to petrol-electric plug-in versions and the UK debut of a new mild-hybrid powertrain.

The 2020 model year XC90 range is the first to offer Volvo’s new mild-hybrid power train – badged B5 – which combines the company’s established two-litre 235hp diesel engine with a 48-volt battery, a KERS kinetic energy recovery system and an integrated starter generator.

The Swedish maker claims that the system improves fuel economy by up to 15 per cent in real-world driving and produces lower NOx emissions than the outgoing D5 XC90 it replaces.

Energy captured by the KERS system when the car brakes or decelerates is stored as electricity in the battery. This is used to supplement the engine’s performance when accelerating and to power ancillary functions such as the headlights and audio system. The technology will be applied to petrol engines in the XC90 line-up in the coming year.

The B5 also gets an updated automatic transmission, which brings improved fuel efficiency and superior gearshift quality and also breaks new ground for Volvo by using a brake-by-wire system.

The XC90’s T8 twin engine petrol-electric plug-in hybrid powertrain has also been revised for the new range, with an increase in the high-voltage battery’s capacity from 10.4 to 11.8 kilowatt hours. This increases the car’s electric-only driving range by almost seven miles to a maximum of 28.6 miles, says the company.

Volvo’s 250hp T5 and 310hp T6 petrol engines continue to be available and all powertrains come with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

Styling changes include a new grille and lower front bumper designs while R-Design variants have been given an even more purposeful look with a new black high-gloss finish for the exterior trim, including the door mirror casings, window frames and roof rails.

The new XC90 range is available in Momentum, R-Design and Inscription versions – each also available in more highly specified “Pro” form.