Volvo gave the world their XC90 12 years ago. Now, with almost 6.4 lakh of them on the road, Volvo will end production to bring in their all-new XC90 2015.
The Volvo XC90 was one was of the most sought-after vehicle when it arrived. Being a safe 7-seater with individual seat-belts each with their own tensioner, together with Roll-over Protection System (ROPS) and Roll Stability Control (RSC), it raised the plane for safety, comfort and practicality in the 7-seater segment.
Till date, Volvo has sold over 6.36 lakh XC90s, powered by five-cylinder diesel engines and six- and eight-cylinder petrol engines. The new XC90 will change all of that with revolutionary new drivelines. For starters, there will be four-cylinder turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel models from the company’s Driv-E line of 2.0-litre motors, with a D5 also being made available, uprated to 225 PS and 470 Nm of torque. However, the big news is the T8 Twin-Engine variant.
The 2015 XC90 T8 will be a plug-in hybrid vehicle, and will offer a turbo-supercharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol motor paired with a 60kW electric motor. The combined output, when used in ‘Sport’ mode, one of three available like in the V60 D6 PHEV, will be up to 400 PS and 640 Nm of torque. The car will also offer zero-emission pure electric mode, with a hybrid mode as well. The overall CO2 emissions, as low as 60 g/km, point to the advancement which the company has achieved.
Production of the all-new XC90 will commence at the end of January 2015. It will offer more luxury, higher quality infotainment systems, developed with Bowers & Wilkins, more connectivity and even greater safety, and thus, will have a higher price-tag as well. We hope to have a preview and first drive of the car soon, prior to its launch next year.
Story: Jim Gorde
