![]() ![]() It can be a double-edged sword when a flagship model receives the latest generation of a maker’s infotainment system: new is good, but it tends to come with bugs. The effect is as uncluttered and pleasing as an electric sauna heater and almost as simple. What it does instead, in that typically understated Swedish way, is make everything as pleasant to use and as thoughtfully positioned as it could possibly be – often with an idiosyncratic tweak that you won’t find anywhere else.Ī large multimedia screen has allowed the Swedes to follow their inclination for tidying and clean surfaces, the switchgear having been reduced almost to the legal requirement while leaving the basic media controls we all endlessly push. There is rumours gathering that Volvo are planning to let their performance division Polestar loose on the XC90 and create a rival to the Audi SQ7. Thanks to i-ART, which locates fuel pressure sensors in individual injectors rather than collectively controlling them via the common rail, the unit develops 222bhp and 347lb ft of torque for CO2 of 149g/km, putting the two-tonne XC90 on a par with a two-wheel-drive BMW X5. Sharing an identical four-cylinder architecture with its diesel equivalent (along with an eight-speed Aisin automatic transmission), the unit employs turbocharging and supercharging to improve on the output of its predecessor’s V8 while emitting just 179g/km CO2. Up front, the T8 uses the same 317bhp petrol engine found in the T6. The hybrid T8 differs in that its all-wheel ability is delivered by the 81bhp electric motor on the back axle. Its on-demand system is based around a fifth-generation Haldex coupling that’s capable of sending 100% of torque to the rear but generally taxes the front alone. The manufacturer is adamant that its design, when incorporated into a new multi-link suspension, means it has less of an impact on third-row space.Īlternatively, you can opt for air suspension, which does away with the leaf spring and the coil springs in the front wishbones and offers a range of driver settings that include the ability to raise the body by 40mm in off-road mode.Īlthough it is not particularly intended for the muddy stuff, the XC90 will initially be four-wheel drive only. Preservation of interior space and weight reduction are also the reasons given for the use of a transverse composite leaf spring in the rear axle. The platform also enables shorter overhangs and a longer wheelbase, a layout helped by the engine bay’s need to be big enough for only four-cylinder engines. This technology claims to use a higher percentage of hot-formed boron steel than any other manufacturer and allows the XC90 to be larger, lighter, safer and better balanced than previously. ![]() The XC90 is the first car to sit on Volvo’s new modular platform, dubbed SPAR (Scaleable Product Architecture). There are five trim levels available: the base Momentum (B5 petrol only) Inscription Expression (T8 only, and is effectively Momentum kit but with Inscription styling) R-Design (the most popular, and therefore available on all the engines) R-Design Pro (D5 petrol and T8 only) and lastly the all-singing-all-dancing Inscription Pro (T8 only). With diesel being offered on one trim level only, that alone tells you where the market is heading. Unsurprisingly, manuals are absent, with every car getting an eight-speed Geartronic auto 'box with an all-wheel drive transmission. This offers a claimed near 60-mile electric-only range. There's also the Recharge T8 AWD, which not only has super- and turbo-charged boost for the petrol lump, but is also a plug-in hybrid (the clue's in the name). ![]() Volvo XC90 engine line-up and trim levelsĪ total of three engines are available on the XC90 (and all of them are four cylinders), with the B5 nomenclature applying somewhat confusingly to both the base petrol and diesel ICE units. The entry-level D5 model is likely to be the most popular, so that’s what we’ll focus on here. There are three trim levels to choose from: Momentum, R-Design and Inscription and only two four-cylinder engines, plus a plug-in hybrid version.
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