After months of teasers, Volvo has finally launched its all-new Volvo XC90 seven-seat luxury SUV.
The Swedish automaker says the XC90 took approximately three years in the making and it is part of an $11 billion investment program. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in the company’s history, showcasing its future design direction, incorporating its own range of new technologies and utilizing its new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) technology.
“This is one of the most important days in our history. We are not just launching a car, but re-launching our brand. This day marks a new era for our company. The XC90 paves the way for a portfolio of exciting new cars to come in the following years,” said Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo Car Group.
The new XC90 will be the first of its cars to carry the company’s new iron mark logo, which has the iconic arrow aligned with the diagonal slash across the grille. This is together with the T-shaped “Thor’s Hammer” LED daytime running lights that looks pretty awesome. The XC90’s larger hood with its new topography, the beltline and the sharpened shoulders connecting with the tattoo-like, new rear lights are other important design signatures that will be carried across the range as well.
Under that new front end is a choice of two powerful yet very efficient powertrains. The standard XC90 gets a 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged engine with all-wheel drive making an impressive 316hp. Or if buyers want to be a little greener but more powerful, there is the XC90 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid with the same engine, albeit augmented with an electric motor to produce a staggering 400hp with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of around 60 g/km (NEDC driving cycle). Volvo says this will be the world’s first 7-seat plug-in hybrid available in the market.
Volvo is well known for its class leading safety package and the new XC90 is no different with some brand-new tech. First, there’s a run-off road that detects what is happening and the front safety belts are tightened to keep the occupants in position. To help prevent spine injuries, energy-absorbing functionality between the seat and seat frame cushions the vertical forces that can arise when the car encounters a hard landing.
Meanwhile, the Volvo XC90 will automatically apply braking if the Volvo driver starts to turn in front of an oncoming car that is going quicker than expected. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on highways, where the speed limits are higher. City Safety becomes the umbrella name for all of Volvo Cars’ auto brake functions, which are standard equipment in the all-new XC90. It now covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car, day and night.
As with other Volvo cars, the XC90’s interior is the epitome of Scandinavian luxury. The interior combines materials such as soft leather and wood with handcrafted details, including a gear lever made of crystal glass from Orrefors and diamond-cut controls for the start/stop button and volume control. On the centre console, you’ll be able to find tablet-like touch screen control console that allow drivers to control their car and access a range of Internet-based products and services.
The genuine 7 seater features new designed seats that also free up interior space for passengers both in the second and third seat rows. The third row seats were designed to accommodate passengers in comfort up to 5’7″ inches tall.
The top-of-the-line system in the XC90 features a 1,400 Watt Class D amplifier and 19 Bowers & Wilkins speakers. It also includes one of the first air-ventilated subwoofers in a car. Integrated into the car body, it turns the whole interior space into a giant subwoofer. How cool is that?
The all-new XC90 is available with a range of accessories that allows its owner to personalized car. There are two major exterior styling themes:
The Urban Luxury package combines a colour coordinated body kit with polished stainless steel details, such as front deco frames, front and rear skid plates and side scuff plates. The 21-inch exclusive polished wheels complete the look.
The Rugged Luxury kit enhances the ruggedness of the XC90 SUV with tech matte black exterior trim, stainless steel skid plates, running boards with illumination and integrated exhaust pipes. This version is supplemented by 22-inch wheels.
