The All-New XC90: Substance over Style?

Since Volvo introduced the utterly new XC90, I have read and heard so much positive feedback about it that has piqued my interest. Here I am, telling you how it felt to drive this car around the UAE for three days.

With its potent hybrid powertrain, cutting-edge tech, and Scandinavian minimalism, the Volvo XC90 T8 R-Design Polestar isn’t your dad’s Volvo.

Volvo seeks to outperform its competitors in this popular category by combining efficient power, safety, technology, and a touch of Scandinavian flair. Almost everything about the car is unique – the platform, the powertrain, the infotainment system and the safety package. To develop this vehicle, Volvo invested billions in R&D. And yes, it shows.

Our test model was the XC90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid R-Design Polestar. It runs on a 2-litre, 4-cylinder turbo-charged and supercharged engine and an 80-hp electric motor that can join the band or play solo.

The minimalist interior felt like a futuristic command center, while the intuitive touchscreen responded seamlessly to my touch. Meanwhile, the air suspension offers a cloud-like ride, even with sporty settings engaged.

There are several reasons to love this car. First of all, Thor’s hammer LED headlight. Second, the all-new Drive-E powertrain. Third, the plug-in hybrid has 4-wheel drive, ultra-low emissions, a combined output of 400 horsepower and almost 630 Nm of torque. Fourth, the innovative, flexible platform (Scalable Product Architecture) Volvo has built upon. Fifth, the appealing, harmonious design with high luxury & super-advanced safety & comfort for all the seven passengers the car can accommodate.

I would attribute my love for this vehicle to two key factors. As a tech enthusiast, this car has plenty of it. In addition, I like minimalist design in general, and this car has the most beautiful interior design I’ve ever seen.

Looks Are Not Deceptive With Volvo!

When you spot this car on the street, you immediately recognize it’s a Volvo. There is some signature design to it that you can’t miss.

The R-design model is quite remarkable. It has sharper-looking wheels, more beautiful-looking silver mirrors, and bigger wheels.

Visually, the car looks lighter and slimmer than its German rivals, but it still weighs almost as much. In the end, this is a premium luxury full-size SUV, so it is heavy. The hood cover feels too light, though. The fact that it has a small engine helped it lose some weight, too.

Exceptional Power-Train

Under the hood lies an inline 4-cylinder engine. Now, you must be thinking that’s quite a small motor for such a large vehicle. Well, with the wonders of forced induction, small engines can act big—big. There are supercharging and turbocharging. This car has both: it’s twin-charged.

It also has a plug-in electric engine, a rare combination in today’s world. With its combined power, this car can make 400 horsepower and 639 Nm of torque, allowing it to hit 100 kilometres per hour in just 5.7 seconds—as quick as sports cars ten years ago.

What makes this car stand out is that it uses the supercharger’s powerful low-speed torque together with the turbocharger’s remarkable high-rpm horsepower at the same time. Thanks to this fantastic combination, this relatively small engine delivers power and performance equivalent to those offered by engines three times its size. Moreover, it is mated with an advanced, crisp-shifting 8-speed gearbox that works in harmony with an all-wheel-drive system & multiple modes of driving.

Top-Notch Cabin Interior

Inside the cabin, there’s enough room for seven passengers, with very comfortable seats and plenty of head and leg room. The car was based on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) chassis, and it was developed with the battery pack in mind from the beginning. Thus, the hybrid system did not come at the expense of interior or luggage space.

The XC90 T8 Polestar’s acceleration is surprisingly quick, even compared to some dedicated sports sedans.

The seats are very comfortable and adjustable in multiple ways. As a tall person, I particularly liked the lower-leg cushion, which extends further out to provide better comfort for the legs.

Another feature I enjoyed was the laminated panoramic sunroof, which gives the XC90 an airy feel. The four-zone electronic climate control allows passengers to adjust the temperature in their zones individually.

A remarkable perk is also limited to the T8 model: a single crystal gear lever made by Orrefors of Sweden. Alongside it lies an ignition knob that turns right & left to start & stop the engine – instead of a push button.

Minimalist Design at its Best

Through its new infotainment system (Sensus), Volvo has reduced the clutter of buttons you often see on most cars’ dashboards. There are only a few physical buttons on the dashboard: basic controls for the audio system, defrost buttons, hazard lights buttons, and a button to open the glove box. Everything else is accessible & adjustable via the central touchscreen.

However, I wish the physical buttons had included the air conditioning controls instead of the audio system ones. Touchscreens could go wrong, hang or even malfunction. One wouldn’t bother driving a car without music for some time but would surely suffer driving one without A/C, especially during the burning summertime.

Cutting-Edge Infotainment System

Thanks to its intuitive and feature-loaded infotainment interface, this car has received the “Best Auto Tech Award.” The 9-inch central touchscreen is so easy to use—it’s more like an iPad. You can pinch, zoom, and double-tap. It has an intuitive user interface with beautiful graphics, and it’s just the right size. With it, I could configure, control, adjust, and personalize the car’s ins and outs.

With Apple Car Play, I managed to set up my iPhone and access all its data easily. This feature turns the 9-inch touchscreen display into a giant iPhone, especially since the touchscreen has a “home” button that takes you back to the landing screen, where the main menu is.

The Bowers & Wilkins sound system filled the cabin with concert hall acoustics, letting me rediscover nuances in my favourite tracks. It boasts 1400 WATS and delivers stunning clarity and separation. Ten high-quality speakers are tucked away to provide incredible sound.

I would attribute my love for this vehicle to two key factors. As a tech enthusiast, this car has plenty of it. In addition, I like minimalist design in general, and this car has the most beautiful minimalist interior design I’ve ever seen.

If you sometimes don’t fancy using the touchscreen, you can adjust different settings using the controls on the steering wheel. Alternatively, you can use voice control, which came in handy at times when I didn’t feel like reaching out to the central screen. By voice commands, I could turn on and off features, phone contacts, and settings.

With all these advanced features, the heads-up display feels a bit secondary in comparison. I’m not quite a fan of this feature, as I enjoy looking at proper gauges, but it’s an excellent feature for many other drivers. It usually shows your current speed and the speed limit on the road.

When you exceed the speed limit, the digits begin flashing, alerting you to slow down. When the navigation system is in use, navigation instructions also appear on the heads-up display. As you approach your next exit, for instance, the road and your upcoming turn will be displayed.

Semi-Autonomous Car

Switching on advanced safety features, such as lane assist and auto braking, adaptive cruise control, and the pilot assist feature, which automatically steers the car for you, makes the XC90 a nearly self-driving vehicle. It can ultimately drive itself on highways using sensors to track the car in front of it and follow it at a certain speed, maintaining a certain distance you can control. However, it would help if you held the steering wheel once every 15 seconds, or the pilot assist would disengage itself.

As I was driving the XC90, I felt the steering wheel directing itself into the correct position within the existing lane. In the beginning, it felt a bit weird, but I quickly got accustomed to it. And now, I’m finding my car lacking so much without this feature!

The car has an advanced auto parking system that enables it to park itself in and out by simply hitting the “P” button in the centre console. The 360-degree cameras are helpful indeed when parking. The cameras and sensors carefully monitor the surroundings and alert you when you get too close to anything on any side of the car.

The vehicle is also equipped with many other technologies to assist the driver, including a collision avoidance system that proved very effective throughout my test.

Other sensors reside underneath the car to make loading and unloading easy. Just move your leg under the car, and the boot will open or close. This is quite handy when you are carrying a lot of goods.

Multiple Driving Modes

The T8 has several drive modes that can be selected via a distinctive silver rolling wheel behind the gearshift lever. On “Pure” the car runs on electricity only for a range of 20 kilometres. The “Save” mode lets you use the petrol engine’s power to charge the electric motor. However, the car consumes more fuel to do so. There’s also the “Power” mode if you need a lot of power, whereas the “Hybrid” mode is the best for general driving. Also, there is an “All–wheel–drive” option and a dedicated “Off-road” one.

Green and Clean

Volvo engineers are real wizards. Their new twin-engine drive-train generates 400 horsepower and 630 Nm of torque with CO2 emissions of around 60 g/km. That’s better than the famous Toyota Prius, which emits 91 g/km.

The vehicle’s all-electric range is about 40 kilometres for city driving. That makes the XC90 T8 an emission-free rear-wheel-drive premium full-size SUV.

Meanwhile, in the Real World

It seems Volvo has a star in the new XC90. The car has been making up more than half of the company’s sales this year, and its success is undoubtedly well-earned.

In this part of the world, Volvo faces a complicated challenge. Everyone seems to respect the brand and appreciate what it does. However, very few would buy any of its cars due to several factors that play a significant role in purchasing.

The two significant concerns for car buyers are the after-sale support (running costs) and the resale value. Volvo needs to work closely with its regional distributors. They must do this to counter concerns by making and introducing grand schemes.

These schemes will bring peace of mind to Volvo owners. They include service packages, affordable warranties, a repurchase option, and more. The region has good case studies from which to learn.