One of the easiest-driving cars you’ll experience
Volvo’s recent SUV option shows new ownership’s merit
“What a carrrr!” my Scottish aunt exclaimed in her Glasgow brogue as she climbed aboard my 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 tester at Pearson airport.
I wondered if I’d agree after a week driving this big, loaded SUV. The new XC90 has piqued my interest from the outset. It is a beast, with a curb weight of two tonnes. Yet under its expansive hood sits a gasoline engine with only four cylinders and two litres of displacement.
From those numbers, it seems to promise nothing but underpowered, sluggish disappointment.
But a few other figures suggest something different: Because it’s super- and turbocharged, the puny power plant puts out 320 horsepower along with 295 foot-pounds of torque in a useful band of 2,200 to 4,500 r.p.m. The transmission offers eight speeds and power goes to all four wheels. Add one more number — three, for the rows of seating — and the XC90 becomes a contender in my quest for a “green” family hauler.
Much has been written lately about the revival of Volvo under the ownership of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. After acquiring the languishing Swedish carmaker from Ford Motor Company in 2010, the new Chinese owners invested $11 billion, told the long-suffering engineers and designers in Gothenburg to do what they do best, then, miraculously, got out of their way.
The result: Volvo now produces handsome, high-quality vehicles that attract increasing attention in the marketplace.
The Volvo/Geely lineup has, until now, included five- and six-cylinder engines. The plan, though, is to produce only boosted fours. The new XC90, in its first major reworking since its 2002 introduction, demonstrates what that will mean.
The original XC90 came with a choice of five, six or eight cylinders. But even the smallest of those power plants consumed, officially at least, about 25 per cent more gasoline than the new version, and the hulking, gas-guzzling V8 generated a bit less horsepower and only slightly more torque.
The 2016 version is spacious, well crafted and loaded with connectivity, safety and comfort goodies that the designers of the original likely couldn’t even imagine.
Bear in mind that Volvo provided me with the most upscale of the three XC90 models in a lineup that starts with the base $60,700 Momentum, and moves up through the sporty R-Design to the deluxe $66,800 Inscription. My tester was also outfitted with every additional option, bringing its total price to a lofty $77,650. plus $1,195 destination charge.
That’s a lot of money at any trim level, and price is, in fact, a drawback that keeps the XC90 from soaring above its competitors for the title of ideal family hauler.
Basic to every XC90 is the little four-cylinder engine, which hauls this beast around effortlessly mainly because the super- and turbochargers in Volvo’s “Drive E” system boost power at both low and higher speeds with no noticeable lag. It’s a delight to drive, even in Eco mode but especially up through Comfort and Dynamic. (In the week I had the vehicle I didn’t have a chance to explore the fourth option, Off Road.)
The only other powertrain choice, to be available here in the final quarter of this year, will be the T8, a plugin hybrid, with an electric motor powering the rear wheels.
On 400-series expressways, twolane highways and city streets, the XC90 T6 is one of the easiest-driving cars I’ve experienced, with stability and solidity spiced by a healthy dose of fun. While it won’t lure you to a track, power and handling bear some resemblance to a smaller, sportier car — a quality undoubtedly heightened by the presence of “4-corner air suspension,” a $2,350 option.
Outside, the XC90 is elegant but not boastful. Inside, it’s a delightful world of plush leather (including a handsome stitched dashboard), bright metal and, in the Inscription, lighted crystal shift lever.
The back bench accommodates a medium-size adult in reasonable comfort. The rest of the seating is, as expected with Volvo, exceptional — seeming to reduce fatigue.
The instrumentation features a heads-up display that, unlike some others, appears to be well ahead of the car, right where the driver is looking. A bright, nine-inch touchscreen on the centre console handles entertainment controls, the main navigation screen, connectivity devices and “driver performance” readings such as fuel consumption. After a couple of minutes to get acquainted, it’s easy to use.
Among my favourite features is the backup camera, which provides a clear, precise aerial view, as if a camera-equipped drone was hovering above — making parallel parking a breeze.
If the mantra is that you get what you pay for, then the XC90 is great value. It’s far enough above any other three-row I’ve tested — including the Toyota Highlander and Nissan Path- finder hybrids, Nissan Rogue, Mitsubishi Outlander and Kia Rondo — to be worth the price to anyone who can afford it.
As for green, though, it’s a different story. Earlier this spring, I tested a much smaller V60 crossover with a five-cylinder engine. It’s urban fuel consumption seemed unusually high. Volvo said the four-cylinder system would improve that performance.
Natural Resources Canada rates the XC90’s fuel consumption as 11.5 L/100 kilometres of city driving, 9.5 highway, and 10.6 combined. That’s respectable for a vehicle of this size and luxury and in line with some of the other three-rows.
On our journey to show my aunt the beauty of Lake Huron, the tester achieved pretty close to the official highway score, although usually a bit higher. In the city, though, it was well above the NRCan rating, consuming more than16 L/100 kilometres on my usual 30-kilometre downtown route. With some arterial roads added to the mix, consumption was about 13.5 litres.
The Highlander and Pathfinder hybrids, both of nearly equal size, beat the XC90 hands down on the highway and the Highlander’s urban consumption was 50-per-cent lower.
The T8 plug-in hybrid should brighten the environmental picture — but for another $8,000 to $9,000.