The new Volvo XC90 is possibly the most advanced car ever made. Volvo has put everything they know into this flagship, and they know a hell of a lot!
The new car will be released in spring next year with a start price tag of £45,785. All the First Edition XC90's Volvo made available online at the start of this month have been sold. The cars, with a substantial price tag of £68,000 for the launch edition, went on sale on September 3rd, and there was so much demand, they had all been taken within 24 hours.
The old XC90 was an excellent car lasting in production for 12 years and still had a good place in the market years after it was first conceived. The new model has a lot to live up to. For around a year Volvo has been making a wild coupe and estate concepts, but everyone knew the design language was meant for the new 4X4.
The new car will be released in spring next year with a start price tag of £45,785. All the First Edition XC90's Volvo made available online at the start of this month have been sold. The cars, with a substantial price tag of £68,000 for the launch edition, went on sale on September 3rd, and there was so much demand, they had all been taken within 24 hours.
The old XC90 was an excellent car lasting in production for 12 years and still had a good place in the market years after it was first conceived. The new model has a lot to live up to. For around a year Volvo has been making a wild coupe and estate concepts, but everyone knew the design language was meant for the new 4X4.
It is surprising though that the design isn't as wild as the concept car, Volvo has been conservative using the new Volvo face but keeping the basic shape and rear similar to the SUV released in 2002. The design isn't disappointing as the car looks good, but the concepts make me feel that personally, they could have tried harder to make something that looked more daring and futuristic. For example, thinner and curvier rear lights spreading over the tailgate like on the estate concept would have made the XC90 look so much more special.
The technology in this car is at new levels, Volvo wants no serious injuries or deaths by 2020, an optimistic yet hopeful goal. Rampant foreign roads are far away from the calm roads in Sweden and most of Europe. Like many premium cars, it's available with adaptive cruise control, Park Assist and city braking. Pedestrian and cyclist detection, Road sign recognition, and queue assist are available like on other Volvos. There are two ‘World Firsts’ on the XC90, first is run off-road protection, this protects the occupants of the vehicle if the car detects that it has left the road. It does this by monitoring the road via sensors, then tightening the cars seat belts and protecting the passenger’s spine when landing from vertical pressures. This is done by absorbing energy between the seat and the frame.
The second stops collisions at box junctions, it does this by detecting if a car is coming and stops the car if the drivers turn in front of an oncoming car. This car should be the safest if the world, in Europe it needs to beat Volvo's own V40 which should be simple, but in the US, it needs to beat the Tesla Model S. The Tesla hasn't been tested in Europe yet, but in us it scored the highest ever safety score due to the lack of engine meaning there is a larger crumple zone between the driver and the impact.
The Volvo has a four-cylinder engine between the two, but it should still score well as Volvo is more experienced in the safety department. The engines available in the XC90 are all 2.0l 4 cylinder which will be as with most future Volvos. There will be the turbo D4, with 195hp and an impressive 56mpg. The D5 will be a twin turbo with 225hp and 47mpg. The best engine in the line-up is the 'Twin Engine' T8, this is a 400hp petrol plug-in hybrid emitting 60gkm of Co2 and around 100 mpg.The XC90 shows how all new Volvos in-car entertainment will look like in future models. In the centre, there is a large display that controls many of the car's functions like heating and ventilation. Music can be streamed through Spotify and played through the British Bowers and Wilkins Stereo system. Apple's Car Play and Android Auto are supported so you are able to use all of the functions on your smartphone through your car.
The Volvo has to go against the M-Class, X5, Q7 and RX. Pricing is about right so with good marketing it should succeed. The Volvo and Audi are the only ones to have 7 seats as standard, but the Q7 is getting old now and the only real rival to the XC90 is the X5. The BMW X5 is the only newer rival with 7 seats. The X5 is also cheaper than the XC90, but when the optional third row is added they cost around the same. The range of engines on the X5 is slightly better depending on your needs, but the Volvo's safety cannot be disputed.
This is an excellent car that is way ahead of any of its rivals and most of the car industry, maybe it will last another 12 years with a few face-lifts adding lifesaving tech between.
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The Volvo has to go against the M-Class, X5, Q7 and RX. Pricing is about right so with good marketing it should succeed. The Volvo and Audi are the only ones to have 7 seats as standard, but the Q7 is getting old now and the only real rival to the XC90 is the X5. The BMW X5 is the only newer rival with 7 seats. The X5 is also cheaper than the XC90, but when the optional third row is added they cost around the same. The range of engines on the X5 is slightly better depending on your needs, but the Volvo's safety cannot be disputed.
This is an excellent car that is way ahead of any of its rivals and most of the car industry, maybe it will last another 12 years with a few face-lifts adding lifesaving tech between.
For more CarCliq reviews click here
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