New beginning for Volvo with XC90
Volvo has launched its second-generation XC90 in New Zealand, and it is even more of a revolution than the original model, says Dave Leggett.
WHEN the first XC90 was launched in 2003 it was a game changer for Volvo. It put the Swedish car maker back on track with car buyers, offering a safe, practical vehicle with the space and size that the motoring public was starting to demand.
The XC90 was bigger than anything Volvo had done before and it put the brand back on car buyers’ want lists, helping change perceptions of a brand that had languished in the sales charts for years.
Part of the XC90’s success was that it was one of the first SUVs that hadn’t been designed as an offroader. Volvo recognised that buyers of these types of vehicles didn’t necessarily want the ability to ford streams or battle steep muddy slopes. While they wanted a vehicle that could cope with some snow and ice in the winter and the occasional unsealed road they preferred their high sitting SUV to be safe and sure on sealed roads and to have a luxury presence that would look good on the drive way. So the XC90 became one of the first prestige crossover types of vehicle – and it became Volvo’s biggest seller worldwide.
Twelve years on from the first model Volvo is back with its second generation XC90. And the new model is even more of a revolution than the original car.
It has a squarer, cleaner styling than its predecessor and so this new car is a more solid, purposeful looking vehicle. It retains the design features that particular to Volvos like the large tail-lights that run up the rear pillars along the edge of the electric tailgate while the big Volvo badge emblazoned grille is pushed out from the front of the car.
A neat touch that makes this new car so obvious on the road are the daylight running lights set into the slim line headlights in the shape of the Hammers of Thor.
The all-wheel-drive XC90 will be initially offered with petrol or diesel power and in three specifications. The plug-in hybrid T8 Twin Engine model, with a power output of 300kW and 640Nm of torque – and a fuel economy figure of 2.1-litres per 100km – comes in February next year.
The XC90 is the first model to use Volvo’s new platform technology. Called Scaleable Product Architecture (SPA) it offers the car maker the opportunity to build a variety of models on the same basic platform – the only common structure is from the front axle to the firewall. There are big efficiencies associated with this sort of technology and over the next few years a number of Volvo’s new models in a variety of sizes will use the SPA platform.
The XC90 is also using Volvo’s other big technology change. It’s the Drive-E drive train and it means that every XC90, including the T8 Twin Engine car, will have a 2.0-litre engine at its heart.
The last XC90 was available with a variety of engines including six and eight cylinder units so it’s a big drop in capacity. But Volvo insists that customers just have to drive the vehicle to see that nothing has been lost – and a lot gained.
The 2.0-litre petrol engine is a direct injection unit that is turbo and supercharged and produces a massive 236kW and 400Nm, an incredible output that would not have been imagined when the first XC90 came out.
At the media launch of the latest model it was hardly recognisable as a four cylinder and its performance would have just as impressive if it had been twice the size.
The turbocharger and supercharger worked in tandem to give a solid progressive acceleration from rest and the mid-range push that the driver would expect from a big six when overtaking. And it never felt like it was straining.
Volvo says the petrol-powered XC90 will do the 0 to 100kmh sprint in 6.5 seconds and that’s a huge time for a 2000kg vehicle. Yet the huge power output doesn’t sacrifice fuel economy. Combined cycle fuel economy is rated at 8-litres per 100km.
The diesel-engined variant is a common rail twin-turbocharged unit that uses the same block as the petrol engine. Output is 165kW and 470Nm, again the sort of performance most would have expected from a very big six. As expected from a diesel there is a different sort of delivery. There’s more low-down push and it doesn’t rev out as long so changes through the eight speed transmission used behind both engines are more obvious. The diesel-powered XC90 will still sprint from rest to the speed limit in 7.8 seconds and return a fuel economy figure of 5.8 seconds.
The suspension has been designed to offer a solid, comfortable cruise at high speed. In the standard cars it’s a double wishbone system up front with an integral link rear axle that incorporates transverse leaf springs made of composite material which with a greater use of alloys right round helps bring back the car’s total weight by around 100kg on the old model.
However the car can also be fitted with an optional air suspension with continuously variable damping. This allows the ride height to be adjusted and gives the car a more compliant ride at high speed and more stability under hard cornering.
Safety features are even more to the fore in this new generation XC90.
The vehicle is the first to get a system that senses when the car is about to run off the road and brings a number of features into play to help mitigate the damage.
It will also detect if another vehicle is about to hit the rear of the car and again brings the systems to help prevent injury.
A range of electronic safety assist features are available including active cruise control, active headlights, lane change and blind spot monitoring and auto braking.
But the new XC90’s interior is designed to appeal just as much. Like the exterior it is clean and functional, especially in those vehicles trimmed with the lighter coloured blond leather. And the way the driver interacts with the vehicle is designed to be just as easy.
Volvo have reduced the number of buttons on the fascia from the more than 38 in its competitors to just eight, grouping the car’s functions and features into the nine-inch centre mounted touch screen. This is controlled just like an iPhone or with voice control for the functions used most.
The result is a clean, uncluttered interior with just the minimum of controls. And even those that are left are a little different. The engine start-stop is a switch in the centre console unlike the typical button in the fascia more commonly seen.
The XC90 is a full-sized seven seater with the extra two seats in the rear row able to accommodate full-sized passengers. The three rows of seats are built theatrestyle for extra passenger visibility, and the middle row seats are individual units with the centre seat incorporating a special child’s seat base that can be elevated. The two third-row seats fold away into the boot floor until they are needed.
XC90 prices start with the $97,900 D5 turbo diesel in Momentum specification. The next step up in the range is Inscription spec with the D5 at $104,900. The petrol T6 is another $6000 while the T8 hybrid is $134,900. Three R-Design models are an additional $2000 over the Inscription models.