Get a jump-start on shopping for autos on holiday weekend.
It’s been a long time coming. Volvo introduced its first-generation mid-sized luxury sport utility vehicle in 2002. A stunning and safety-laden new entry to the market, it won the North American Car of the Year and Motor Trend’s SUV of the year, in 2003. Since then, the XC90 has had a few facelifts, engine upgrades and other updates, and been purchased by more than 250,000 buyers in the U.S. On sale beginning this summer is the second generation 2016 Volvo XC90 and, after driving it recently in California, we can assure you that it is all-new and it’s been worth the wait.
Volvo will tell you that its newest handcrafted sport ute is “well-appointed, without compromise, and represents a powerful, forward-looking direction for the brand as it combines Volvo’s new design language, the latest safety and in-car connectivity technologies, and award-winning Drive-E powertrains”.
We’ll tell you the newest XC90 is luxury-filled and beset with an Orrefors crystal gear shift and a diamond-cut volume control knob; boasts cutting-
edge and futuristic active and passive safety technology; and has a host of new incar technologies, including the new Sensus infotainment system, with a 9-inch iPad tablet-like touchscreen located above the center console as its crown jewel. The 2016 XC90 will come in three versions and three trims; all are all-wheel drive and shifted through eight-speed automatic transmissions. A sill-plated and numbered First Edition version was designed with a unique trim to honor the year this Swedish carmaker was founded in 1927; 1,927 individually-numbered cars sold out within 47 hours, after orders opened on September 3, 2014. The 2-liter T6 gasoline models will come this summer and 2-liter T8 hybrid versions arrive later this year.
Trim levels include the T6 Momentum, starting at $48,900, and T6 Inscription at $54,500. The T8 Drive-E twin engine plug-in will be priced at $68,100 for Momentum, $70,000 in R-Design trim and $71,600 in Inscription trim. (The $995 destination charge is additional; T8 pricing does not include federal or state tax incentives.) Trim detail add-ons and packages will also be available, as will as a sport-centric R-Design available in the fall.
Longer, lower and wider, the newest model is penned with a beautiful blend of muscular and elegant styling, a more prominent iron mark logo in the grille, as well as new T-shaped “Thor’s Hammer” LED daytime running lights that will be a hallmark on all future Volvo models. Inside, you’ll find a Scandinavianinspired cockpit that has an open and uncluttered feel as a result of Volvo’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA); the stronger, weightsaving platform provides a more spacious, airy cabin with three rows of seats that ascend slightly at each level for better visibility. The seats have been redesigned with adjustable side bolsters, seat cushion extensions and have a massage feature. The second row has three individual seats with recline adjustment, while a sliding function allows you to create more legroom for passengers in the third row or to make more room for ingress and egress and cargo carrying. An integrated child booster cushion in the center seat is optional and can be moved forward for better access from the front seat.
Volvo said its new drivetrains provide class-leading fuel efficiency and power. The standard T6 Drive-E is supercharged and turbocharged for 316 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. The turbocharged T8 adds an electric motor to the rear axle, for a total system output of 400 hp, and 472 lb.-ft. of torque; the T8 is world’s first seven passenger, plugin hybrid electric vehicle and has a 17 mile range, said Volvo, while the T6 is rated at 20 city/25 highway/22 combined. It can tow up to 5,000 lbs.
The Swedish car manufacturer, now owned by China’s Geely Automobile has a longstanding heritage of award-winning safety. Onboard the XC90 are Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Aid that provide radar-controlled, semi-autonomous motoring in specific conditions, plus standard on all trims are run-off road protection and auto brake at intersection, two world’s first technologies.
We drove both T6 and T8 models and found both versions to be luxurymobiles with notable drive qualities, with plenty of poweron-tap, great brakes and five suspension settings, including a sport mode. Driving in the T8’s Pure mode, we experienced great quiet power, but heard a slight spoolup noise, when the audio system was off. The cabin is styled with luxury materials and surfaces and panoramic glass. Sensus has an intuitive layout for today’s computer/iPad and tech savvy consumers; it has access to cloud-based apps including Internet radio, connected navigation, parking, music streaming, OS mirroring Apple and Android devices in the touch screen display, and makes the XC90 a WiFi hot spot for using a tablet in the car. The highest level audio system is a 1,400W Bowers and Wilkins, with 19 speakers and has one of the first air-ventilated subwoofers in a car.