Though Volvo is an 88-year old carmaker, the Swedish giant has had a rather slow start since its advent in India.
Though Volvo is an 88-year old carmaker, the Swedish giant has had a rather slow start since its advent in India. The brand name is known more for a company that has invented and mastered almost all the safety equipment found on a car. Also, to a common man, it means the famous Volvo bus brand, but now they have something that can change the mindset of all, the new Volvo XC90. The latest generation of the XC90 was unveiledon the 12th of May this year, and since then has received a tremendous response globally. The XC90 was also unveiled recently in India and pre-bookings opened for it. As Volvo imports the fully built cars into India (CBU) and does not build them here, the Indian market will get a limited number of XC90s. As per Volvo India, 266 pre-order bookings have been placed for this new beauty, without the buyer even taking a test drive of the car! Well, we were luckier, to test drive the beauty and bring you this Exclusive Road Test. So read on to know all about Volvo’s image-changer and game-changer, the XC90, as we drive it across some very scenic countryside roads.
Volvo XC90 Exteriors: The first look at the Volvo XC90 tells you it is a premium SUV. It oozes a lot of rich and premium body-styling with lots of chrome on its exteriors, but all in the right places. If the older XC90 looked tough and macho, this latest one has a sense of exclusivity and a distinct persona to it. The looks are on the softer side and the designers have worked more on highlighting the premium side of this SUV. The face of the XC90 gets a large chrome grille with a XXL sized Volvo badge on it. It is further made to look distinctive with the Thor hammer-styled LED strip that runs across the headlights. The headlights also get projector beam and a special Viking multi-reflector finish inside them. The front bumper is large and gets a dash of chrome on the lower section besides the fog lamps, and also in the middle section of the bumper. The fog lamps are placed at a very low height on the front bumper. The bonnet runs long and has a clean design to it. The side profile is distinct with a thick chrome door insert that runs across, enhancing the sides. The wheel arches get a design bulge on them to make them look a bit fluffy. The glass area on the sides is large on this big SUV and the windows get a thick band of chrome running around.
The sides also get pronounced with large 20-inch multi-spoke (10-spoke) alloys with 275/45 R20-sized Michelin tyres. There is a side step that, apart from helping in the entry/exit, also makes the XC90 look broader. The sides are left clean with no crease or design lines on them intentionally. The pillars on the XC90 get a glossy black finish on them. At the rear too, the simplistic design continues with no evidence of any crease of design lines. The tail lamp design is a typically Volvo-styled LED strip that runs from the top to bottom, with slight flare in the middle. But these are new-style tail lamps that have more prominence and look a lot more appealing. The rear bumper gets a lot of chrome on the lower section which also houses the twin exhausts on either side and a neat-looking slim reflector. You get a nice rear body integrated spoiler and the typical VOLVO badging in chrome on the middle of the tailgate. The roof gets a little fishtail radio antenna and neat-looking chrome finish roof rails. Styling on the outside is premium and a complete head-turner for sure.
Volvo XC90 Interiors: Step inside the new Volvo XC90 and you instantly notice the super premium cabin area. Like the outside, the interiors are also simple and classy. Top notch quality of materials can be seen and felt in here. The dashboard gets a dual tone design with hand stitched leather taking up the upper part and natural matte finish wood inserts running across the middle. The neat touch here is a thin chrome real metal strip that runs across this real wood insert. There are a lot of these neat touches all over the dash and the door pads. Speaking of the instrumentation, the new XC90 gets a 12-inch, full-color LCD display unit that houses the Speedo, Tacho, fuel meter and all other telltale warning lights neatly and clearly showing here. The display color and style changes as per the drive modes and also can be changed using the theme menu from the MID. The steering is a three-spoke design with real leather wrapping on it and also the real chrome strip inserts and all the needed steering mounted control buttons. The steering can be adjusted manually for height and reach, but we sorely missed an all-electrical steering adjust here. There are no paddle shifters but then we guess they would be added to the XC90 R-Design version later. The central dash is unique on the new XC90, as it has very few control buttons. A super-interactive and addictive touchscreen unit does its job very well.
The centre console display is a 9-inch all color unit, and Volvo calls it the Sensus, which allows the user full control over the media, navigation, multimedia, car information, etc. by full touch control or voice control. This is the very first innovative system that Volvo has introduced on its cars, starting with the New XC90. Use the Sensus OS powered infotainment system for 5 minutes and you get addicted to it. You need not even touch the screen fully, there are two diode sensors on the screen that sense your finger reaching out to the screen and activate the function on the screen that you want. The large touch screen system also doubles up as the control unit for the Aircon, Seats, Drive modes, Parktronics etc. For Parktronics, you have Park In and Park Out, along with three modes with lines, PAS and Zoom modes to guide you. The other talking point on this Premium SUV is the acoustics which are done by Bowers and Wilkins known as B&W. This unit powers 19 speakers that convert the cabin into a live concert performance room. The audio quality is unmatched and this is one of the better audio units we have seen in recent times. The centre console has a neatly designed drive mode shifter and a unique engine start dial that needs to be twisted to crank up the engine instead of the usual key start or push button start. Lots of real chrome is spread out on here too, enhancing the premium visual appeal of the cabin. The drive mode selector is placed behind this shifter. A CD/MP3/DVD player is placed inside the centre armrest inside the storage area. You have a choice of three genuine leather upholstery to choose from – Black, Blonde and Beige. The key remote too gets the matching leather wrapping, same as the upholstery you choose. You also get a unique waterproof, dustproof, freeze proof second remote for your extreme rough use.
As we said earlier, the cabin area on the new Volvo XC90 feels very premium and rich, plus it also feels a lot larger than it actually is, thanks to the panoramic sun roof. The front seats are fully electrically adjustable, and can be heated or cooled as the need may be. We are informed by Volvo that orthopedic doctors have helped in designing the seats for the New XC90 and we don’t doubt that as they offer extreme support and plush comfort. The middle row seats can be adjusted for reclining, and for heating or cooling them. There is a two-zone climate control at the rear too, and passengers can control their air-con individually. You also get an AC power charge point in the middle row which should be very useful for many. Three adults can sit very comfortably in the middle row with tons of shoulder, head and leg room. You have a special foldable seat for kids in the middle row that would seat your kid at a higher position than on the normal seat. The third-row seats on the new XC90 are large in size and can seat two average adults with decent comfort. The new Volvo XC90 boasts of a boot area of 530 litres with the third row in use. All in all, the new Volvo XC90 boasts of one of the best-appointed cabins in recent times on a new car, using some top class technology and quality, offering utmost comfort.
Volvo XC90 Engine, Drive and Performance: Though the New Volvo comes with a D5 badge on the boot lid, the motor doing duty in here is a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder diesel unit. This 1969cc unit pumps out 225PS of power and has a ground-breaking 470Nm of torque on it. This unit is mated to an 8-speed Aisin automatic transmission. As mentioned, you need to twist the engine start dial on the centre console to start this beast. Once started, the engine settles into a nice smooth idle. The cabin is super silent, shift to the drive mode and this heavy beast moves ahead with utmost ease. The 8-speed Aisin transmission shifts well and the gears change without getting noticed. You can select from the preset drive modes – Eco, Comfort, Off-Road and Dynamic. In the Eco mode, the throttle response is mapped for more fuel efficiency and best used in city conditions. In Comfort, you get a softer suspension and the steering weight is also light. In Dynamic mode, you get the most throttle response, the gear shifts are faster and the air suspension lowers the car by 30mm of its actual ground clearance of 238mm. You also have the Off-Road mode that raises the height of the car using the air suspension from 238mm of ground clearance to 268mm, also sets in the off-road aids like Hill Descent control.
The new Volvo XC90 does the 0-100km/hr run in around 7.9 seconds and has a limited top speed of 230kmph. The 2.0-Litre engine has very good performance and never feels underpowered or out of breath given that this is a two ton heavy SUV. Volvo says they haven’t tuned the New XC90 to win races but for utmost comfort and refinement, and we agree with them on this. Power delivery is very linear and this is a very well-engineered engine. Yes, driving in the tip-tronic mode does make you feel more spirited, but then the real comfort is in the normal automatic drive mode. The new XC90 gets an AWD system that helps it glide over mud roads, puddles etc., as we did during our drive. On the highways too, the new XC90 feels amazingly safe. It is at high speeds that you realize and appreciate all the safety inventions that Volvo has made so far and also how well worth they are. 17.2km/L is what the new XC90 claims to deliver in terms of fuel efficiency. In real world conditions expect a fuel efficiency of 12 to 13km/L, which is good for a full-blown SUV of this size and weight.
Volvo XC90 Safety: If it is a Volvo, then the safety equipment is always endless. You get tons of safety features like six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, Roll Stability Control, Driver Alert Control, Road Sign Information, Speed Limiter, Safety Cage, Run-Off-Road Protection, Whiplash Injury Protection System, Park Assist Pilot (Optional) and Integrated Booster Cushion (Optional).
Final Road Test Verdict: Volvo has been around for some time now in India, its cars have been slow sellers, but the New XC90 is the perfect model to change all this and go big. It has all the needed ingredients to make this into a blockbuster for the Swedish carmaker. Top class features, futuristic infotainment system, class leading quality of materials used and a lot more. The only thing lacking is the weak dealer network that Volvo claims to be working hard to improve on. After spending nearly two days in the New XC90, it can be said that this is one of the best Volvos till date. It may not be a run-gunner but it is the most comfortable SUV amongst its segment.
Pics – Ritesh Madhok
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