The Volvo XC90 this year debuted in the Edmonton Motorshow in Canada in April which was thanks to the top-selling Volvo dealership in Canada, Volvo of Edmonton. The new Volvo seats seven people in a stylish and comfortable manner, so calling it mid-size is an understatement. The linear wood inlays and Nappa leather interior in the Inscription Trim level are an exquisite addition to the already attractive interior features.
The controls appear to be pretty intuitive from the driver’s seat. The adjustment of your seat according to your preferences takes some time but once you have experienced the customizable lumbar support in the Volvo XC90, it will be difficult for you to go back to one that doesn’t.
The central console appears to be an iPad and is easily navigated with a lot of the same gestures which are swiping and tapping. Temperature can be adjusted with a couple of swipes along with music navigation on the iPhone or engaging the park assist for perpendicular or parallel parking. The park assist appears to be quite intuitive and helpful. It can easily park in a mid-size within a matter of seconds without any post-park adjustments necessary at all.
The bird’s eye view camera in the XC90 further facilitates the parking experience and lets you see 360 degrees around the vehicle. It also provides you a good sense of the surroundings as well.
The Drive Mode settings are another interesting feature in the Volvo XC90. The Eco Mode places a bar on the power of the XC90 and introduces a significant amount of fuel economy. Environmental friendliness and fuel economy comes at a price of minor sluggishness offered by your XC90.
This particular mode is perfect for city-driving, especially when you don’t need to hurry off somewhere. In the meantime, switching to the XC90’s dynamic mode brings the engine roaring to life, outside the city. The XC90 can travel in highway speeds in no time and with a little effort, once it reaches that speed, you will be amazed with the sheer level of smoothness.
The XC90 makes a powerful and a suave statement. If the vehicle is topped in the Eco and Comfort mode, the engine shuts off completely until you are ready to keep up and then it starts back on quietly. There is a host of safety features behind the screen which include blind spot detection to lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control.
Along with that, you have pedestrian detection that brakes for you in case it is necessary. The spacing between vehicles can be adjusted to increase and decrease with the adaptive cruise control. The fully loaded version of the XC90 is quite pleasant to drive. The 2016 Volvo XC90 starts at a price of $60,700 and churns out power/torque of 320hp/295 lb-ft. The fuel economy ranges from 11.5 in the city to 9.5 on the highway.
In other news, the Volvo XC90 earned good safety ratings in all the five crashworthiness tests of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. The SUV comes with a standard front crash prevention system. An upgraded version of the Volvo’s City Safety feature has been included in the XC90 and the automatic braking system now has the ability to function in higher speeds.
The new run-off road protection system has the ability to detect when the XC90 has accidentally left the roads and tightens the seatbelts immediately. Feel like whistling? Hold on. The seats are designed in a way that ensures the ability to absorb spinal loads in order to reduce injuries during a hard landing.