The Volvo XC90 received a major redesign after 13 years in the market. Early this year, the Swedish car manufacturer introduced its second generation XC90 T8 to the Malaysian market.
We had the chance to test drive it, and we find that it really brings car safety and technology to an all new level.
The XC90 T8 is powered by a 2.0 litre four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged Drive-E petrol engine with an electric motor mated to an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The combustion engine is capable of produces 320hp at 5,700rpm and 400Nm of torque from 2,200 to 5,400rpm.
Meanwhile, the electric motor produces 87 hp at 7,000rpm and 240Nm of torque from 0 to 3,000rpm.
The plug-in hybrid petrol-electric luxury SUV measures in at 4,950mm in length, 2,008mm in width, and 1,776mm in height. It has a 50 litre fuel tank capacity and 436 litres boot space. It weighs about 2,343kg.
Volvo claims the XC90 T8 can sprint from zero to 100 kilometres per hour (kph) in 5.6 seconds, with a top speed of 230kph. Fuel consumption is as low as 2.1 litres per 100 km. It has a 9.2 kWh lithium-ion battery that requires 3.5 hours to charge from empty to full with a 230-volt, 10-amp power supply.
To allay fears about charging, Volvo Cars Malaysia Sdn Bhd said they will send a technician to check the owner’s home power supply to make sure that it is safe to charge the SUV.
The XC90 has five driving modes to suit unique driving situations, namely Hybrid, Pure electric, Power, All-Wheel Drive (AWD) and Save.
In Hybrid mode, the XC90 T8 will draw power from the petrol engine and the electric motor, depending on driving conditions, while in Pure Electric mode, the luxury SUV will rely entirely on its electric motor for propulsion. Volvo claims that it can be driven up to 40km with a fully charged battery.
In Power mode, maximum power is delivered, while AWD mode will force the XC90 T8 to maintain its all-wheel drive.
Save mode prevents the vehicle from drawing energy from the lithium-ion cells, and at the same time, recharge the battery, storing the power to give pure electric range for later.
The XC90 is a handsome SUV, with a bold grille that defines the front end.
It comes with LED day running lights, 20-inch wheels, dual exhaust tips and a power-operated tailgate with handsfree operation. Its interior is fitted with premium finishing such as a crystal glass gear knob from Swedish glassmaker Orrefors, Nappa leather, three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, and diamond-cut engine start/stop button and volume control knob.
The XC90 has a 12.3-inch Adaptive Digital Display instrument panel and a nine-inch vertically-positioned tablet that has all the car settings in it. It also comes with a 10-speaker 330-watt sound system.
The Swedish car manufacturer has always set safety as the top priority in all of its vehicles. In terms of selection of materials for chassis strength, the XC90 T8 has body parts that are made from boron steel, the strongest type of steel in the world.
The Volvo XC90 T8 comes with an extensive list of safety features that includes seven airbags, adaptive cruise control, city safety with front collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, as well as full auto brake, lane departure warning, lane keeping aid, roll stability control, LED active bending lights, active high beam control, hill descent control, park assist, 360-degree view, rear collision mitigation, drowsy-driver warning, blind-spot warning and pilot assist.
The XC90 T8 is the first model to be based on Volvo’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), whereby the batteries are fitted right in the middle of its central tunnel, to minimise the possibility of it being damaged during an accident.
With all the safety planning, we think that Volvo is well on its way to achieving its ambition of having no one killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo vehicle by year 2020.
The XC90 is priced at RM403,888 inclusive of Goods and Services Tax but without insurance. Each XC90 T8 comes with a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty and five years’ free Volvo On Call roadside assist.
The Drive
We were fortunate to be able to test drive the Volvo XC90 T8 over a long weekend and managed to clock over 1100km in it. We drove through cities, highways, urban, good and rough roads. There is plenty of space in this luxury SUV and it has no issues carrying seven tall and large adults, giving them more than enough leg and head room.
The XC90 T8 is very powerful, luxurious and comfortable. It can easily achieve its top speed of 230kph. It sits well on the road during high speed corners and its steering response is instantaneous. The suspension absorbs most road conditions very well. However, bigger holes and bumps could be felt. That’s no surprise as it is fitted with 20-inch wheels.
All the safety features on the luxury SUV are extremely helpful. Features such as park assist and 360- degree view helps in parking such a huge vehicle. Its lane departure warning, pilot assist, and adaptive cruise control makes driving on the highway safe and easy.
With pilot assist, when activated, driving in traffic jams is a breeze. It will basically follow the vehicle in front below 50kph and brakes when it stops.
The adaptive cruise control is a smart cruise control. Once you set it to a certain speed, it will cruise at that speed. However, when the XC90 detects that the vehicle in front is slowing or has come to a stop, it will slow down to the speed of the vehicle in front and stops accordingly. If you decide to switch to a clear lane, the adaptive cruise control will automatically cruise on the speed that was set.
The lane departure warning not only vibrates to warn the driver that the SUV is entering into another lane without a signal indication, it has a lane keeping assist features that will automatic correct the steering to keep on the lane.
In electric mode, the SUV is very quiet but the engine noise is noticable during high speed driving. There is minimal wind and tyre noise. The XC90’s multimedia system is very use friendly. Everything was clear and legibly displayed.
We managed to clock 3.4 to 5.6 litres per 100km in hybrid mode. During a combination of highway and city driving, it consumed about 8.9 to 11.5 litres per 100km. After pedal-to-the-metal driving, it recorded 12.2 to 13.1 litres per 100km.
Overall we were impressed with the safety features, looks, comfort and the space of the XC90 T8. There are a few areas that can be improved, such as the battery for its electric motor which runs out pretty fast, requiring us to change mode to charge the battery.
Another aspect of the car that we encountered problems with was the multi-function steering wheel’s buttons, especially the buttons to switch stations. Volvo designed it very close to the grip of the steering wheels, and for drivers who have bigger hands, it causes them to switch channel most of the time when they have to do a full turn of the steering wheel.
Lastly, we felt that there are not many charging bays in Malaysia. We had problems looking for charging stations to charge the battery when it ran out of power.