Volvo S90 and V90 2016 Review

Volvo S90 T6 Inscription and V90 D5 Inscription
International Launch
Estepona, Spain

Volvo is pitching the new S90 sedan and V90 wagon at Germany Inc – with prices to match. The good news is that design, execution and refinement appears to be class competitive, although there seem to be some equipment-level glitches. Final verdicts will have to wait until we drive full Aussie-spec cars on our own roads, but there's a lot to admire in what insiders admit is the Swedish marque's first truly premium offering.

These are the cars Volvo has built to take on the combined might of Germany Inc – in its own leather-lined and wood-paneled backyard. Luxurious, large and with equipment and finishes to match, the new S90 sedan and its V90 wagon counterpart expect no quarter and will be given none.

They are also the cars Volvo hopes will change the way you think about the brand forever.

For as much as the XC90 aimed high and is claimed and credited to deliver leading levels of comfort and safety, Volvo had already won 'favoured nation status' with luxo SUV buyers – even with Aussie cynics. In the wagon, and even more so the sedan space, it's still not quite up there. The S90 and V90 seek to fix that.

And they need to if they are to succeed. And that's simply because of dollars and cents – lots of them. The cars will arrive Down Under with price tags that are high for a marque that's traditionally been seen as a rung below Germany Inc!

Set to go on sale in October 2016, with additional variants rolled out later this year and into 2017, the S90 sedan will be offered in turbo-diesel, turbo-petrol and twin-charged petrol PHEV powertrains. In total, up to six model variants of the new Swedish limo could be on sale Down Under by mid-2017.

And while the prices kick off under $80K, there'll be plenty driven out of dealerships well over the $100K mark (before on-roads), including a range-topper that will go very close to $120,000 before any options. It's a strategy that is nothing if not bold.

The S90 was unveiled at this year's Detroit motor show and is built on the same SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) that also underpins the big XC90 SUV. Its 'partner' V90 wagon will eventually be offered in both standard and high-ride (Cross Country) variants.

In Volvo tradition, it's expected that worldwide the five-door will account for up to 70 per cent of the total volume. Volvo Australia will be hoping for closer to 50:50.

The S90/V90 range, like the rest of the 'modern' Volvo line-up, is powered exclusively by four-cylinder Drive-E engines. Designed and manufactured in house, their format is inextricably linked to the modular nature of the brand's current and next-generation cars, which are package-protected for the rapidly approaching era of electrification.

Hybrid will be a huge part of Volvo's future and the man in charge of the 'Cluster 90' family of Volvos, Kent Falck, says they will be the last internal combustion engines the Swedish brand will make. And you wonder why they quit V8 Supercars...

All of the engines are matched to eight-speed automatic gearboxes in the S90/V90 range. Suspension is via double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear with an unusual Corvette-style carbon-fibre transverse leaf spring.

The clever design liberates more luggage room and allows a wide range of spring rates based on how and where the leaf itself is clamped. The set up can be replaced by optional air suspension on some variants. Unlike the XC90, however, the S90/V90 only offers rear air springs – even the upcoming high-ride Cross Country version.

The new sedan rides on a 2941mm wheelbase shared with the V90 but not the XC90, which at 2984mm is 43mm rangier. The sedan and wagon's track measurements are also scaled down from the big seven-seater 4x4.

In terms of overall length, in comparison to the XC90, the V90 is just 14mm shorter, while the S90 sedan is actually 13mm longer.

In its class, both the current Audi A6 and BMW 5 series ride on longer wheelbases but are shorter overall. This rather flies in the face of the suggestion by some that Volvo is tackling its opposition with a car that's a class bigger. Simply not the case.

That doesn't mean there's any shortage of rear legroom however. Notwithstanding the XC90's second row seat's ability to slide (not offered in these cars – even the V90), the couple distance between front and second rows in both S90 and V90 appears unaffected by the wheelbase change.

In addition to mechanical architecture, the S90 leverages Volvo's Sensus connectivity and human machine interface technology. Central to this (literally) is the now-trademark portrait-orientated touch-screen display.

Volvo has addressed critics of the visibility of the screen in high ambient light condition with changes to the glass used and also offers an anti-glare anti-fingerprint sacrificial screen saver a la smart phone suppliers. In the S90/V90 a function of the unique design of the dash means the screen is also more vertical, which undoubtedly improves visibility.

The first S90 models to go on sale locally will be the top Inscription grade, which is also expected to comprise the range's top-selling variants Down Under.

The 173kW/480Nm D5 turbo-diesel Inscription will be priced at $96,900. The 235kW/400Nm T6 turbo-petrol Inscription is $2000 more.

That's before any optioning of the $3000 Tech Pack, a box 'containing' DAB+ radio, CarPlay, head-up display and 360-degree camera that will be ticked on most orders, we expect. At this level of vehicle all of these items should be included. One suspects the separation is simply to ensure the launch models come in under $100K.

The pair will be joined a month later (November 2016) by 140kW/400Nm D4 turbo-diesel and 187kW/350Nm T5 turbo-petrol Momentum entry-level models priced at $82,400 and $79,900 respectively.

Even the base-grade Momentum models will include a high level of safety tech. Indeed, Volvo's latest IntelliSafe driver assistance and safety packages, which are standard across the S90/V90 range, have been bolstered in the roll-out of the new vehicles.

The systems include an advanced version of Volvo's City Safe autonomous braking and lane keeping, but now also include adaptive cruise control as standard, plus Pilot Assist – a semi-autonomous driving system that Volvo says now provides hands-free driving up to 130km/h.

Expect the MY17 XC90 models to follow suit. Again the absence of adaptive cruise in a near-$100K SUV was not kosher in our opinion.

Other standard items in the S90 and V90 at Momentum level include leather upholstery and electric-adjustable front seats, four-zone climate control (with Volvo's much vaunted air filtration system), keyless start, power boot and adaptive LED headlights.

Momentum-grade S90s are front-drive only, and roll on 18-inch wheels.

In contrast, the Inscription-grade S90s are all-wheel drive (a Haldex-style system) and get around on 19-inch hoops with 20s (and even 21s) as an option.

Other standard equipment items for this grade include keyless entry and start, walnut timber interior décor, LED interior ambient lighting system and Fine Nappa leather upholstery.

Seat heating and cooling, sunroof and other 'luxury' items are all options, even on this grade. So too is air suspension. Power adjustment of the steering column is not offered on any model.

While the sedan hits the road in Australia this year, the V90 wagon range in all its variants is also now a 2017 entrant. With global production just kicked off, Volvo is being a little coy on exact timing. However, we're expecting the five-seat only wagon (no rear-facing third-row seats in this generation of Volvo!) to go on sale in April or May.

In comparison to the S90, the range will be somewhat contracted. Expect D4 Momentum, D5 and T6 Inscription, and a T6 R-Design to be the extent of the initial wagon offering.

Wagon prices will be announced closer to the launch date, however. Volvo insiders say expect between $2000-3000 premium over the sedan, dependent on grade.

If the S90's boot is big (although not well finished on the early-build car we drove), in the V90 wagon you get one of the best luggage bays in the business – total litreage is 1526 (560 with rear seats in place). Volvo may have ditched its traditional square-rigged wagon silhouette for a faster look and some compromise on ultimate volume, but there's a shedload of space. If you need more, buy a van.

Electric seat 'tumblers' are standard on the V90 too. And although Volvo has eschewed the XC90's 40:20:40 tri-fold rear seat, the 60:40 set up is claimed to be more comfortable for the centre rear occupant and retains a load through ski-port function.

The auto hatch has Volvo's clever 'close and lock button' too. I love it!

We drove the new Volvo luxos at their international debut in Spain and as you would expect, the first impressions are that there's plenty of space and cabin refinement is impressive – it's a calming place to spend miles.

There are high levels of comfort (the XC90's excellent seats are carried over with optional massage function) and a design sense that is pure Scandinavia, pure Volvo...

The launch cars were somewhat unrepresentative, however. Closer inspection found that they all feature expensive double-glazing and a whole swag of options boxes were ticked.

The extra options aren't so much an issue but the acoustic glass definitely is. The V90 turbo-diesel we drove was markedly quieter than similar engine XC90s we've spent plenty of time in but it's impossible to say whether that's due to serious improvements Volvos says it's been making or the extra attenuation supplied by the clever glass.

Something to check when we get home.

What was appreciably different was the performance of the D5, now fitted with Volvo's Powerpulse anti-turbo lag system.

While brands like Audi are fiddling with expensive electric-assisted turbos, the Swedes have gone their own way. Powerpulse uses a compressed air reservoir to inject extra gas flow to the exhaust side of the turbocharger to accelerate it more quickly and increase boost – especially from a standstill (it works under 3000rpm).

The company claims the simple system makes its D5 faster 0-60m than any of its class competitors and gets rid of that 'no go' feeling laggy turbo-diesels sometime deliver. While we haven't instrumented the effect, it certainly seems to work.

It too will come as a running change to the XC90 D5 models.

Mechanically, the eight-speed auto is smooth and competent. But even with the benefit of reduced sound levels, the combined powertrain soundtrack isn't necessarily what many of us would call premium – especially in the diesel. Perhaps that's the price you pay for an engineering philosophy that dictates frugal four-cylinder engines only.

'Cluster 90' boss Falck says Volvo has played with artificial sound symposers to tune the powertrain noises, but the company has stopped short of creating a soundtrack a la BMW or Audi.

That said, the T6 twin-charged petrol four has an inherently pleasing nature to its soundtrack along with spirited performance. Would I opt for it over a sonorous inline six? No. But there's a bit of hot hatch and timbre there that will please a few.

In truth, nobody's going to confuse any of the 90 Series Volvos for sports cars – at least until the higher-powered hunkered down Polestar versions arrive (also sometime in 2017) – but that's no sin.

The standard Drive Mode choices deliver a reasonable range of 'tuning' to drivers' tastes and an individual setting allows some customisation. At its minimum settings steering weight is Yank-tank light; at its heaviest, heavy. The air-suspended cars we tested rode well, albeit on excellent Spanish roads.

At first flush, decent dynamics, good body control, ride comfort and real world performance mean that both the sedan and wagon take most of the punches you dish up. Relaxed Confidence is the mantra Volvo's chassis boffins have worked to, and in a large part delivered.

Indeed, overall there's a lot to like about the S90, and that holds even more so for the V90. If there's one thing Volvo has been good at over the years, it's been fast, spacious, estates.

But a big Volvo sedan with a BMW or Benz price tag? Is that a recipe for disaster Down Under – or at least rampant depreciation?

We'll deliver an initial thumbs-up but hold our final decisions on the cars' full-fat premium price tags until we've examined the completed Aussie spec-sheet and driven them on our own roads.