Volvo
Cars finally unveiled its all-new Volvo XC90, its premium quality seven-seat SUV with world
leading safety features. The car comes with new powertrain technologies, delivering
unrivalled power and fuel efficiency.
The
new XC90 took three years in the making and was part of a US $ 11bn investment
programme. The vehicle marks the beginning of a new chapter in Volvo’s history.
The vehicle captures the company’s future design direction, incorporating its
own range of new technologies and utilising its new Scalable Product
Architecture (SPA) technology.
Håkan Samuelsson, President and CEO of Volvo
Car Group mentioned that the company was not just launching a car, but re-launching
its brand. “This day marks a new era for our company. The XC90 paves the way
for a portfolio of exciting new cars to come in the following years,” he said.
According
to a company note, the new XC90 will be the first of its cars to carry the
company’s new more prominent iron mark, which has the iconic arrow elegantly
aligned with the diagonal slash across the grille. Together with the T-shaped “Thor’s Hammer”
DRL lights, the iron mark introduces an entirely new, distinctive and confident
face for Volvo’s forthcoming generation of cars.
The XC90’s larger bonnet with its new
topography, the beltline and the sharpened shoulders connecting with the tattoo-like,
new rear lights are other important design signatures that will be mirrored
across the range. The XC90 now comes with a range of wheel sizes up to 22
inches.
The new XC90 offers a range of two-litre,
four-cylinder Drive-E powertrains. The top of the range XC90 Twin Engine
combines a two-litre, four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine
with an electric motor. It delivers around 400 hp of power.
There
are lot of features on the safety front for offer. It has a run-off road
protection package and auto brake at intersection capability. In a run-off road
scenario, the vehicle detects what is happening and the front safety belts are
tightened to keep the occupants in position. To help prevent spine injuries,
energy-absorbing functionality between the seat and seat frame cushions the
vertical forces that can arise when the car encounters a hard landing in the
terrain.
The XC90 is the first car in the world with
technology that features automatic braking if the driver turns in front of an
oncoming car. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on
highways, where the speed limits are higher.
Besides, day or night, this car will not knock
down anyone or anything. City Safety becomes the umbrella name for all of Volvo
Cars’ auto brake functions, which are standard equipment in the all-new XC90.
It now covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car, day and
night.
Inside the car there is a tablet-like touch
screen control console, which forms the heart of an all-new in-car control
system. This system is virtually button free and represents an entirely new way
for drivers to control their car and access a range of Internet-based products
and services. It also helps create an interior that is modern, spacious and
uncluttered.
The new XC90 interior combines materials such
as soft leather and wood with handcrafted details, including a gear lever made
of crystal glass from Orrefors, the famous Swedish glassmaker, and diamond-cut
controls for the start/stop button and volume control.
The seven seater features new, innovatively
designed seats that also free up interior space for passengers both in the
second and third seat rows. The third row offers class-leading comfort for two
passengers up to 170 cm tall.
The XC90 features one of the top audio systems
available in the automotive world after Volvo Cars audio experts joined forces
with their counterparts at the renowned British audio equipment company Bowers
& Wilkins.
The top-of-the-line system in the XC90
features a 1,400 Watt Class D amplifier and 19 Bowers & Wilkins speakers.
It also includes one of the first air-ventilated subwoofers in a car. Integrated
into the car body, it turns the whole interior space into a giant subwoofer.
All this was stated in a Volvo Cars press release issued on August 27, 2014.
Picture of the new Volvo XC90 SUV. Picture
courtesy Volvo Cars.