New XC90 revealed.

[Mr Daytona]

Am a great fan of Volvo's and the latest generation in particular - but this just doesn't do it for me. Far too generic and not the evolution of the previous generation XC90 I would have preferred. Nearly purchased an XC90 but the lack of a spanish gearbox meant I eventually went for a Mazda CX7 instead, which I've now got rid of and replaced with a......V70.

Must say though, I am looking forward to the new XC60 when that makes an appearance - the current model is just about the best looking medium SUV out their (and I include the Evoque and Q5 in that).

[panholio]

lord trumpton said:

panholio said:

TWPC said:

why the two huge parallelogram shaped holes under the rear bumper?

I hate to be pedantic but I'd say they were nearer a trapezoid.

Or better to say 'I hate to be pedantic, but I would say they were more trapezoidal'.

The comma I'll give you.

[anonymous-user]

I quite like the front, but the rest of the styling is very generic whereas the outgoing model was very unique.

The rear styling very much puts me in mind of the old Kia Carens, especially around the light detail.

[FreiWild]

Concept showed way more promise than this delivered. Still a nice car, but it could have been a lot more beautiful and special.

[Looket]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

My previous gen XC90 was available with a manual with the D5 engine, but why you would want one is questionable.

This new model is rumoured to have a manual option on the upcoming D4 2WD variant.

I'd be surprised if it didn't tbh. Swedes like their Volvos spanish.

[Mr Daytona]

What can I say, just prefer a manual car - not quite ready to hang up my driving gloves quite yet. Suspect though that by the time this model of XC90 drops into my price range, I'll be well into auto mode. Lol.

[flatso]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

And here's one of the primary reasons a lot of people buy XC90s:

http://youtu.be/p0LXJjjReXk

Brick st house, just like the old one.

The rollover part was in deed impressive. Here another interesting vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzHM6PVTjXo

[nullogik]

unsprung said:

Volvo will sell zillions of these to upper-middle-class families. Which mother will not swoon at that smart interior combined with the Volvo mantra of safety ueber alles?

The XC90 is the car of choice for the private/prep school run in my area. The number that are parked outside these schools must out number X5s and MLs by a factor of 10 to 1!

I'm surprised at how many 13 and 14 plate cars there are. I'm surprised Volvo still sell so many considering how elderly the design is (11 years old). It must be one of the oldest mass production car designs still in production, ignoring niche sports car makes.

Edited by nullogik on Thursday 28th August 14:08

[Bluebarge]

Hmm - styling is a massive backward step for me - looks very generic (BMW/Audi mish-mash), front and back appear to have been designed by two different teams and the interior is just dull - the XC 60 is much more imaginative.

The pricing is also plain daft - there is now a massive gap in the market for someone to design a 7 seat 4x4 costing around £30-35k. I wonder if the new Disco family will fill this gap - if not, there's a huge hole to be filled by someone.

[TWPC]

nullogik said:

I'm surprised at how many 13 and 14 plate cars there are. I'm surprised Volvo still sell so many considering how elderly the design is (11 years old). It must be one of the oldest mass production car designs still in production, ignoring niche sports car makes.

Edited by nullogik on Thursday 28th August 14:08

Apart form the fact that design is fundamentally excellent (I think it's still the only large SUV with a transverse engine), discounts have been massive. We bought ours 4 years ago for £28K through a broker, £10K off the list price.

After four years in a VW Touran, SWMBO refused to have an MPV and with the arrival of child #3, options narrowed significantly. For that price what else offers the space, safety, comfort, utility (7 seats were non-negotiable), new car benefits (warranty etc., cheap servicing, no worries about history) and wife-pleasing ability of the XC90. (Also we only do about 7k miles/year.)

I tried to persuade her that what we needed was a Ford S-Max but she was having none of it, specifically citing poor visibility out of the S-Max (and I bet she preferred the idea of driving a Volvo... ).

[anonymous-user]

The version without the extra lower door/sill trim looks very "slabby" from the side view(the glass house looks too small in comparison). I like the back view, which carries the old XC look across with the bold angular side lamps etc, and the front is ok, a bit generic in a "look at my massive grill" kinda way. The version with the extra trim, i assume the "faux X four" version looks a lot better, as the trim breaks up the boring acres of body colour on the doors. It's also lost a bit of it's "estate car on stilts" look, which i quite liked, now looking more generic SUV. Kinda suspect the styling was heavily influenced by the american market.

[unsprung]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

The old model will still be built and sold for the Chinese market as the XC90 Classic for years to come (the whole production line is being shipped from Sweden) with the venerable 2.5T petrol engine.

Wow. Imagine the return-on-investment for Volvo. They've already made a tidy sum from the "old" XC90 and, along the way, they've paid down the development and equipment costs for producing that model.

Now it's repurposed on behalf of the Chinese market... and with less overhead and investment to pay back.

[Fartgalen]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Mr Daytona said:

Am a great fan of Volvo's and the latest generation in particular - but this just doesn't do it for me. Far too generic and not the evolution of the previous generation XC90 I would have preferred. Nearly purchased an XC90 but the lack of a spanish gearbox meant I eventually went for a Mazda CX7 instead, which I've now got rid of and replaced with a......V70.

Must say though, I am looking forward to the new XC60 when that makes an appearance - the current model is just about the best looking medium SUV out their (and I include the Evoque and Q5 in that).

My previous gen XC90 was available with a manual with the D5 engine, but why you would want one is questionable.

This new model is rumoured to have a manual option on the upcoming D4 2WD variant.

My 04 2.5T has a 6sp manual ? Or what do you mean by Spanish gearbox ?

[Accelebrate]

The first editions website is interesting/a little scary. You'll be able to order and pay for an entire XC90 online:

https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media...

[shost]

After staring a bit I've relised they've morphed an old 144 saloon into a X5.

[TWPC]

On the promotional website for the First Edition of the new XC90, Volvo has published the following performance stats for the D5 and T6 powered models with the 8 speed autobox. In each case the first number is for the D5, the second for the T6.
Just shows what new engines and a bit of weight loss can do.

Fuel consumption, litres/100km, mixed cycle:
5,8 = 47.4 mpg
7,7 = 35.7 mpg

C02 g/km:
152
179

Max. power output, kW (hp) at rpm:
165 (225) @ 4250
236 (320) @ 5700

Acceleration, 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in secs:
7.8
6.9

Top speed, km/h:
220 = 138 mph
230 = 144 mph

I know that the composite mpg data is different from reality but I think comparisons with the following are interesting (note that I assume a 4 cyl D5 auto will be available for £45K so I am comparing to similarly priced competitors - i.e. 204hp Audi Q7 and 4 cyl versions of the Merc ML and BMW X5)

Current XC90 D5 0-62 mph: 10.3 secs Composite mpg: 34.4
Audi Q7 3.0TDI 204 0-62 mph: 9.1 secs Composite mpg: 39.2
Merc ML250 CDI 0-62 mph: 9.0 secs Composite mpg: 46.3
BMX X5 xDrive 25d 0-62 mph: 8.2 secs Composite mpg: 48.7

[dazwalsh]

Impressive figures for such a large beast

[Fotic]

dazwalsh said:

Impressive figures for such a large beast

If true.

[mattman]

As an existing XC90 owner, the design is a bit disappointing. Hopefully it will look better in the flesh but the pics just look new front and rear has been grafted onto the existing bodyshell - was hoping for a bit more of a dynamic design

Perhaps it will be a grower, just as well as I will have to wait for them to hit the 2nd hand market before I can afford one, hopefully the current one will keep on long enough

[Looket]

The configurator is now up on their website.

Well, I say that, but it's only for the First Edition so you can't actually select or deselect anything. You can spin it around though if that floats your boat.

Looks like they've more or less got rid of them all anyway. A lot of numbers are already sold, most are reserved and there were only around 20 left when I checked.


EDIT: Looks like you have to go on the Swedish version: http://www.volvocars.com/se/footer/Pages/VDS.aspx

EDIT2: If these scales are anything to go by then it should have a fair bit of... presence on the road.

Edited by Looket on Wednesday 3rd September 19:37

Edited by Looket on Wednesday 3rd September 19:45