Upgrades, facelifts & new derivatives

Priced from R718 300

WITH its last three new vehicles, Volvo has been riding a wave of style, with the XC90 SUV, V90 and S90 garnering praise for their impressive design aesthetic. The R-design derivatives always up the ante with further styling upgrades and now Volvo Cars SA has added four R-design models to the S90 range. Positioned between the base Momentum and range-topping Inscription trim levels, the R-design variants expand the local S90 line-up to 12 models.

Opt for the sportiest-looking S90 and your car will be fitted with deeper front bumpers featuring more aggressive air dams and glossy, model-specific grilles. Satin-chrome trim adorns the glasshouse, while the side-mirror caps are finished in matte silver. Round back, you’ll find rhomboid-shaped tailpipes poking out of a sportier bumper with a colour-coded diffuser plate. Nineteen-inch alloy wheels are standard, and 20- and 21-inch upgrades are on offer. Other optional accessories include new side sills, a front splitter, a boot spoiler and split-integrated tailpipes.

Inside, R-design models boast charcoal sports seats finished in fine Nappa leather with Nubuck inners, along with a sports steering wheel with perforated inserts and an R-design badge. Aluminium sports pedals and gearshift paddles are standard fare, too, as are model-specific floor mats and illuminated R-design step sills.

Under the skin, Volvo promises a tauter suspension setup, which has been optimised for enhanced dynamics, as opposed to the comfort-oriented chassis experienced in other S90 models. Interestingly, air suspension is not available on R-design models.

The R-design trim can be specified in conjunction with any of the four engines already in the S90 range: the 140 kw/400 N.m D4 diesel; 173 kw/480 N.m all-wheel-drive D5 diesel; 187 kw/350 N.m T5 petrol; and 235 kw/400 N.m all-wheel-drive T6 twin-charged petrol. No date has been set for local introduction of the T8 petrol-electric-hybrid variant.