The Volvo XC90’s console is among the very best in the world.
The pain now appears over for Volvo cars.
Volvo turned the corner in Canada and around the world in 2015. In Canada, after seeing sales plunge from 2012 to 2013 to 2014, Canadian Volvo sales jumped 7.2 per cent (to 4,788) in 2015. Globally, Volvo sold 503,127 units in 2015 — the first time Volvo has climbed above half a million cars in the brand’s 89 year history.
The key piece in that story is the XC90, its trend-setting SUV (sport-utility vehicle) on a number of fronts. Granted, the exterior design is at best unoriginal, at worst bland, but the overall technology and quality execution are excellent, the road manners first rate and the whole interior outstanding.
The seven-seat XC90 is the right type of vehicle to launch an automotive comeback.
Volvo last redesigned the XC90 in 2002, and while it’s silly to say this new version was worth the wait, there is no denying the excellence here. Consider the reviews:
The Wall Street Journal says the XC90 “plants a tasteful Scandinavian ax between the ears of several prominent players, including the BMW X5, Audi Q7”; and Autoweek says “the XC90 is loaded to the gunwales with safety technology.”
The huge touchscreen that dominates the centre console is the second-best of its kind in the automotive world, just short of the fabulous control/readout console in Tesla’s Model S. The seats may be the very best you can buy at any price. The gizmo interface is pretty straightforward, too.
The T6 engine in the base model ($61,300 base) is smooth and powerful enough, but nothing special – more the sort of engine you’d expect in a comfortable SUV, not a sporty one. If you want special and super-powerful, the XC90 hybrid ($74,150 base) is your choice. It’s driven by what Volvo calls its “T8 Twin Engine.”
The coming Volvo S90 luxury sedan suggests that Volvo under Geely will not be a one-hit wonder.
The “Twin” piece refers to a gasoline-electric powertrain that Volvo claims makes the XC90 “the world’s most powerful and cleanest SUV,” delivering 49 g/km CO2 with 400 horsepower combined from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine tied to an electric motor. In pure electric range, the XC90 can go up to 43 km.
Volvo had the good sense or good luck to re-launch the brand not with a sports car or a sexy saloon (Jaguar’s road to slow recovery), but with a seven-seat SUV that boasts “green” credentials, yet does 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds. Oh, and there is on-demand AWD (all-wheel drive), too. The world is rapidly moving to SUVs and crossovers and away from cars, so this was the right call for Volvo – and a lesson for rivals.
China’s Zhejiang Geely Holdings bought Volvo Cars from a then-struggling Ford Motor in 2010 and spent the next five years re-stocking a product cupboard left bare by a Ford desperate to stave off bankruptcy and avoid a government bailout six years ago. So the Volvo turnaround has taken a lifetime in car industry terms.
But the XC90 shows Volvo is finally on track. Moreover, the S90 luxury sedan officially unveiled at the recent Detroit auto show, suggests Volvo with its XC90 is not doomed to be a one-hit wonder — the Looking Glass (“Brandy, You’re a Fine Girl”) of the auto industry.
The Volvo XC90’s console is among the very best in the world.
The pain now appears over for Volvo cars.
Volvo turned the corner in Canada and around the world in 2015. In Canada, after seeing sales plunge from 2012 to 2013 to 2014, Canadian Volvo sales jumped 7.2 per cent (to 4,788) in 2015. Globally, Volvo sold 503,127 units in 2015 — the first time Volvo has climbed above half a million cars in the brand’s 89 year history.
The key piece in that story is the XC90, its trend-setting SUV (sport-utility vehicle) on a number of fronts. Granted, the exterior design is at best unoriginal, at worst bland, but the overall technology and quality execution are excellent, the road manners first rate and the whole interior outstanding.
The seven-seat XC90 is the right type of vehicle to launch an automotive comeback.
Volvo last redesigned the XC90 in 2002, and while it’s silly to say this new version was worth the wait, there is no denying the excellence here. Consider the reviews:
The Wall Street Journal says the XC90 “plants a tasteful Scandinavian ax between the ears of several prominent players, including the BMW X5, Audi Q7”; and Autoweek says “the XC90 is loaded to the gunwales with safety technology.”
The huge touchscreen that dominates the centre console is the second-best of its kind in the automotive world, just short of the fabulous control/readout console in Tesla’s Model S. The seats may be the very best you can buy at any price. The gizmo interface is pretty straightforward, too.
The T6 engine in the base model ($61,300 base) is smooth and powerful enough, but nothing special – more the sort of engine you’d expect in a comfortable SUV, not a sporty one. If you want special and super-powerful, the XC90 hybrid ($74,150 base) is your choice. It’s driven by what Volvo calls its “T8 Twin Engine.”
The coming Volvo S90 luxury sedan suggests that Volvo under Geely will not be a one-hit wonder.
The “Twin” piece refers to a gasoline-electric powertrain that Volvo claims makes the XC90 “the world’s most powerful and cleanest SUV,” delivering 49 g/km CO2 with 400 horsepower combined from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine tied to an electric motor. In pure electric range, the XC90 can go up to 43 km.
Volvo had the good sense or good luck to re-launch the brand not with a sports car or a sexy saloon (Jaguar’s road to slow recovery), but with a seven-seat SUV that boasts “green” credentials, yet does 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds. Oh, and there is on-demand AWD (all-wheel drive), too. The world is rapidly moving to SUVs and crossovers and away from cars, so this was the right call for Volvo – and a lesson for rivals.
China’s Zhejiang Geely Holdings bought Volvo Cars from a then-struggling Ford Motor in 2010 and spent the next five years re-stocking a product cupboard left bare by a Ford desperate to stave off bankruptcy and avoid a government bailout six years ago. So the Volvo turnaround has taken a lifetime in car industry terms.
But the XC90 shows Volvo is finally on track. Moreover, the S90 luxury sedan officially unveiled at the recent Detroit auto show, suggests Volvo with its XC90 is not doomed to be a one-hit wonder — the Looking Glass (“Brandy, You’re a Fine Girl”) of the auto industry.
About the Author / Jeremy Cato
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