Review: Volvo’s big XC90 reboot is worth the wait
According to Tom Silva, general manager of Boston Volvo Village, New Englanders are probably not going to be able to drive their own 2016 Volvo XC90s until July. And drivers who are only now getting around to ordering the new model of Volvo’s mid-size luxury SUV will probably be waiting a little longer, said Silva.
But when it finally gets here, the XC90 is definitely worth the wait.
A bet on Volvo’s future
Volvo first introduced the XC90 model in 2002 and it hasn’t been redesigned until now.
“This is a long overdue successor to the last version of XC90,’’ Silva told Boston.com “It’s been highly anticipated by Volvo dealers around the country.’’
It’s also the car that will shape future Volvo vehicles with its Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). In other words, the XC90 provides a frame upon which other Volvo brands will be built.
“This is the template for future Volvo products, like the XC60,’’ said Silva.
Consumers who are only now getting around to ordering the new model of Volvo’s mid-size luxury SUV will probably be waiting a little longer, said Silva.
To commemorate the release of its new XC90, Volvo built 1,927 limited edition cars each with its own individual number. The limited edition vehicles went on sale last year and sold out in just under 48 hours. The number 1,927 is a throwback to the year Volvo was founded.
Our review
Boston.com took a quick spin behind the wheel of one of Volvo Village’s XC90 demo units. Our test model was an XC90 with an “Inscription’’ option featuring Nappa leather upholstery and walnut wood inlays. It also had 20 inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels, illuminated tread plates, and the model’s namesake inscribed on the lower door molding.
The XC90 delivered a very smooth and comfortable ride as we drove around Storrow and Memorial drives. With plenty of cars on the road, the safety features like lane departure warning and blind spot detection were very helpful, especially when our drive took us on a brief detour through Kenmore Square.
But the car’s real safety features are the ones you can’t see from the outside. Volvo increased the amount of hot-formed boron steel used in the XC90. Hot-formed boron steel is one of the strongest metals used by automakers today, and makes up about 40 percent of the XC90’s body weight, compared to 7 percent in previous generations.
The perks
One of the XC90’s cooler features is the car’s 360-degree “surround view’’ that pulls images from cameras mounted on four corners of the car and merges them into a single overhead view displayed on the car’s console screen to help the driver navigate in and out of parking spaces.
But even with a 360-degree overhead view, the XC90 doesn’t need much help with parking. In fact, it barely needs a driver. Once it has selected a spot, the XC90’s park assistant feature takes control of the car as it slides into place.
But in our experience, having a human behind the wheel comes in very handy. While the XC90 pulled out of our parking spot it came close to tapping the car next to us. Fortunately, we were able to hit the brakes in time to stop it.
The nitty-gritty
The MSRP on the XC90 starts at $48,900 and comes with an in-line 4-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged engine, all-wheel drive and, with three rows, can fit seven passengers. The second and third rows fold down very easily to offer 85.7 cubic feet of cargo space. It has 295 lb.-ft. of torque and weighs 4,394 pounds. The XC90’s 4-cylinder engine also offers 316 horsepower to get the car moving and has a 5,291 lb. towing capacity.
Check out more images of the 2016 Volvo XC90.
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