New Volvo XC90 offers plenty

Taking the best of Volvo’s innovative safety systems and adding to that list, the XC90 comes fully equipped with the IntelliSafe package as standard, delivering two world firsts – Run-off Road Protection and Auto Brake at Intersections.

“We look at real life accident statistics and study real crash scenes with our Traffic Accident Research Team. We do not develop new safety systems or features to pass tests – we develop them to save lives. This is why we can confidently aim to meet our Vision 2020 goal of having no one killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. We believe we have developed the safest SUV,” says Dr Peter Mertens, senior vice-president of research and development at Volvo Car Group. Thanks to the efficient performance delivered by Volvo’s four-cylinder Drive-E engine programme, the XC90 provides a broad range of power options.

“Our Drive-E four-cylinder engines deliver a wide band of power for the XC90 in both petrol and diesel, front and all-wheel drive configurations. On top of that, we are introducing our no compromise Twin Engine technology in the XC90 T8, which delivers 300kW, 470Nm and only 49g CO2/km. It makes the all-new Volvo XC90 the most powerful and cleanest premium SUV on the market,” says Mertens.

The Volvo XC90 has launched. Picture: Supplied

The introduction of Twin Engine technology in the XC90, which was developed in cooperation with Siemens, sets a new benchmark in terms of efficient performance in the luxury SUV segment. Volvo Cars has a long history of electrification – its first hybrid concept car (the ECC) was produced back in 1992. Volvo Cars also introduced the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid in the V60 sportswagon in 2011.

Volvo Cars has developed advanced and engaging ride and handling characteristics for the XC90 in Volvo’s new state-of-the-art chassis simulation lab. The results speak for themselves. The new Volvo XC90 delivers a smooth and nimble character in the city, an engaging drive on country roads and a comfortably solid presence on the highway. “The brief I gave to the chassis team during the development work was to deliver a driving experience that you might call ‘relaxed confidence’. The XC90 chassis is designed to cater for individual driving styles in all road and weather conditions, thanks to the Four Corner Active Air Suspension system we have developed,” says Mertens.

Featuring a complete re-imagination of traditional in-car controls, the XC90 driver interface is based on touch screen technology and an intuitively tiled menu system that takes the effort out of personalisation and interaction. Volvo’s Sensus control system delivers true connectivity with a range of useful cloud-based applications and services which can be operated via the touch screen, through steering wheel controls or via the advanced on-board voice control system.

The Volvo XC90 has launched. Picture: Supplied

With its all-new XC90, Volvo Cars is introducing a whole new trim level system, which resembles a tree with two branches. Kinetic is the base, followed by the competitive Momentum level.

Inscription and R-Design form the two branches on the tree. The Inscription package is designed for customers who want an elegant look and a luxurious experience, while R-Design has a sporty and dynamic aura.

The SA line-up will consist of Momentum, Inscription and R-Design derivatives and will be on sale from August 1, with the T6 and D5 derivatives first and the D4 and T5 derivatives to follow toward the end of the year. The T8 is set to arrive in SA during the first half of next year.