3 YEARS IN THE MAKING
The all-new 2016 XC90
The 2002 North American International Auto Show in Detroit was a big deal for Volvo, then owned by the Ford Motor Company. Designed to be one of the safest and most exciting SUVs on the market and lauded for its design, the XC90 became the sport ute to have — scooping up numerous awards the following year.
In the subsequent decade-anda-third, the XC90 — as well as Volvo — has seen a bumpy ride.
Once at the pinnacle of upscale SUVs, it has been buried under an avalanche of much newer competitive models, to the point where the XC90 has become an afterthought (ranked 75th out of the 87 sport utes sold in Canada in 2013, the last year there was full product availability). The company was sold by Ford to Chinese manufacturer Geely, and is putting up a mighty fight to regain its premium car footing.
The all-new 2016 XC90 isn’t the last desperate act from a flailing automaker; it’s a well planned and thoughtfully co-ordinated effort — three years in the making — and part of a $11-billion US investment program, Volvo says. And the results seem impressive: smart looking, luxurious, very safe (of course), high-tech and boasting interesting fuel-efficient powertrain choices.
Two models are on the menu for Canada: the T6 and the T8 PHEV. Both versions are powered by a 320-horsepower, supercharged and turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine — dubbed Drive-E — paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. On top of that, the T8 PHEV has an electric motor coupled with the four-cylinder that offers an additional 80 hp. Furthermore, the XC90 will be offered with a choice of three trim levels — Momentum, R-Design and Inscription (more simply: Base, Sporty and Luxury).
To start, its interior environment bears noting. The cabin itself is typical Volvo: contrasting light and dark colours, bright trim work, soft leather and all that. The most striking feature is the dash area, specifically the touch-screen control console, which forms the nucleus of a brand-new in-car control system.
Volvo claims it has completely re-conceived the way drivers operate their cars by dispensing with the normal array of buttons and replacing them with a large tablet-like touch screen, a headup display and thumb controls on the steering wheel.
The central panel interacts with an adaptive digital instrument cluster in front of the driver, while primary information is projected on the head-up display on the lower part of the windshield. In other words, the “need to know” stuff is in front of the driver, the “nice to know” information is on the centrestack screen. The user interface also includes both the thumb-reach controls and voice control.
Volvo describes the touch screen’s layout as a stack of flexible tiles, each displaying a key function. Navigation is on top, followed by media and phone, while the digital climate controls are at the bottom. When one of the tiles on the touch screen expands on touch, the others are compressed and still accessible.
Keeping in mind that this was the first time I set eyes on the XC90 and my attention was more focused on the road, the touchscreen proved reasonably user-friendly. At times, one had to be precise with where the finger went to change functions, but generally, it seemed no worse than using an iPad.
I spent the first afternoon in Spain driving a T6 Inscription. With two aboard and no load, it had no problem working its way around the various highways and byways and up and down hills. Having both a supercharger and a turbocharger backing up the 2.0L four minimizes any drop in the power flow. Forget any thought that the big sport ute is lacking for not having a turbo five- or sixcylinder under its hood.
For a rig weighing about 2,100 kilograms, the T6 hauls. Zero to 100 km/h takes just 6.5 seconds, according to official figures; I briefly ran it up to 160 km/h and it still had plenty to offer — the only disappointment being the lack of a ballsy baritone exhaust note.
The next morning was spent in the T8 — a plug-in electric, hybrid and high-performance SUV in one package. Normal driving is conducted in the default hybrid mode, which uses the four-cylinder engine to power the front wheels and the electric motor to drive the rear wheels. Punch the throttle, though, and everything kicks in — turbo, supercharger and electric motor — to deliver an immediate surge (about 400 hp and 472 pound-feet of torque) that makes getting around poky delivery vehicles a snap.
And at the push of a button, one can switch to stealth mode for the city, driving on pure electric power (for a claimed range of 40 kilometres). It’s all very complicated and high-tech from an engineering standpoint, but the T8 is very satisfying to pilot.
When you are not mashing the throttle, both the T6 and T8 will be positively Scrooge-like at fillup time. Volvo says the T6 variant averages 7.7 L/100 km in combined city and highway driving, while the T8 PHEV is expected to achieve an amazing 2.7 L/100 km combined.
Handling is quite good, if not quite in the same class as, say, Porsche’s Cayenne. The suspension didn’t get much of a workout; the roads were blissfully free of potholes and other tarmac nasties. I thought the steering was just a little nervous when cornering, requiring a few minute corrections to keep the intended line. However, I was driving a pre-production unit, so the final result could prove better.
What’s a Volvo without leadingedge safety technology? With the XC90, the company claims two “world first” systems: a run-off road protection package and auto brake at intersection capability. In a run-off road scenario, Volvo says the XC90 detects what is happening and the front safety belts are tightened to keep the occupants in position. It also helps to minimize spine injuries with energy-absorbing material between the seat and seat frame to cushion against the vertical forces that can occur when the vehicle encounters a hard landing.
Automatic braking, now under the City Safety technology umbrella, occurs if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car, apparently a common scenario at busy city intersections as well as on highways.
However it’s used — urban commuter, recreational hauler or something in between — the long-overdue 2016 XC90 is a class act that showcases Volvo’s reinvigorated core strengths and ideals. As such, it should be able to push its way past (for now) such established rivals as the Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class and re-stake its claim as a premium player.
Sticker price for the T6 Momentum starts at $60,700. It’s $65,200 for the R-Design and $66,800 for the Inscription. T6s are scheduled to be at dealerships by mid-May. When the T8 PHEV arrives in late summer, it will be available in R-Design and Inscription trims. The R-Design retails for $73,400; Inscription is $75,000.