With the 2016 Volvo XC90, the company has made a dramatic advance in terms of interior, exterior as well as underneath. It is quite rare to notice a manufacturer that makes such immense changes in the new version of a car, compared to its earlier generation models. Most automakers are scared of making too big a move, which might cause buyers who have a negative opinion about it.
However, Volvo had the guts to make the necessary changes and thankfully, the end result is just fine, resulting in the production of one of the most sophisticated, unique and innovative SUVs that money can buy. The new Volvo has been given a beefy look, thanks to its upright grille, new face and the presence of slightly boxier lines.
The headlights are great with the sideways T shape of the LEDs being a nice touch. At the same time, the overall design is distinct and clean. If you like this design, you will definitely want it to make it to other cars in the Volvo lineup. There are plenty of knick-knacks inside, which make the Volvo a glamorous vehicle inside.
One of the best details about the 2016 Volvo XC90 is its ignition. It features keyless ignition with the help of a turn crack knob instead of a push button. This way, it is completely similar to turning a key but different at the same time.
The fact that elegance keeps oozing from every corner of the vehicle’s interior is a clear sign of how much the developers worked on make the 2016 Volvo XC90 as classy as possible.
The ergonomics of the XC90 is quite pleasant with digital gauge cluster being easy to understand and read. The driving position is comfortable and you won’t find any weird buttons. The vehicle has an intuitive layout with everything having a purpose. The interior isn’t simple, but definitely tidy and highly refined.
It is quite comfortable with enough leg room and the back seats are highly refined. The rear hatch in the XC90 is opens and closes automatically and a strong point of this vehicle is its great cargo capacity.
Usually, around 15.4 cubic feet of space is available with the third row of seats in up position and it dramatically increases to 41.8 cubic feet behind the second row. Behind the first row, it is undoubtedly spacious with at 85.7 cubic feet of space.
The USP of the cabin is the presence of a huge iPad-like infotainment system. Besides Tesla, Volvo is the only other manufacturer that offers this setup and it is one of the best designed systems in the car industry.
With people using a lot of big smartphones and tablets these days, Volvo will definitely find this system intuitive with functions like poke to select, pinch to zoom and flip through pages by simply swiping.
However, instead of a shiny glass screen, Volvo should have added a matt black variant. You can pair your phone with the HVAC system and easily find some music to play. The XC90 excels in a lot of stuff but one area where it needs improvement is navigation.
The GPS doesn’t look like its well calibrated and simple stuff like cancelling a route seems an impossible task. Overall, the navigation system is fine but could definitely use some improvement.
The interior of the 2016 Volvo XC90 uses contrasting leathers with wood and metal along with a matching style of controls. This vehicle is available in 3 trim levels with varying prices.
These are the base Momentum at $49, 895, the luxurious inscription at $55,495 and R-Design at $55,495. With the Climate Package ($1950), the XC90 uses a heated steering wheel along with a graphical heads-up display.
It comes at a price of $1950 and comes with heated rear seats as well. There is a built-in child booster seat at the back as well. With the Vision package ($1600), you get several nifty features like a 360-degree surround camera, cross traffic alert along with blind spot information.