Volvo Cars has unveiled a refreshed version of its best-selling XC90 large SUV, the company’s top-of-the-line flagship, adding a newly-developed fuel-saving engine option that marks the next step in the company’s ambitious electrification strategy. The refreshed XC90 will now offer Volvo’s advanced kinetic energy recovery braking system, which is coupled with its existing internal combustion engines to create a new integrated electrified powertrain, under its new ‘B’ badge. A first time on the XC90.
The new ‘B’-badged cars complement Volvo’s existing T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid electrified option on the new XC90. The introduction of the new XC90 ‘B’-badged cars represents a major step for Volvo Cars towards its electrification ambitions. So it is now just a new badge.
According to Volvo, this new electrified powertrain offers drivers up to 15 per cent fuel savings and emission reductions in real world driving. The new brake-by-wire system interacts with the energy recovery system and reduces fuel consumption and emissions by recovering kinetic energy under braking.
The 2015 XC90 is, was a landmark model for Volvo Cars. It marked the start of Volvo Cars’ transformation and introduced the new face of the Volvo brand characterised by the Thor’s Hammer headlights as well as introducing Volvo's new Scalable Product Architecture. It was fresh, new and incorporated a lot of new technology in terms of passenger car design and equipment. As a result, Volvo’s top-of-the-line SUV has become more advanced since its introduction, clocking up over 320,000 units sold worldwide and counting. So this 2019 refresh is most likely aimed to keep the XC90 fighting fit and on top of its game. Not that it needed it as it still seems fresh to us here in Malaysia.
The refreshed XC90 offers subtle upgrades to the original award-winning exterior design, such as new wheels, exterior colours and a modern new grill, among other details on the exterior. As for the interior, the award-winning interior (with its unique crystal gearknob and nice woodgrain dashboard) design remains in place, with the most noticeable addition is the fact that it can be ordered with a range of different seating configurations (we have to see on what is offered here in Malaysia, though).
From the four-seat Excellence variant and the seven-seat family SUV to the brand new six-seat configuration, the XC90 is available with any number of seats that best fits people’s preferences and lifestyles. New interior materials including a wool blend offer further options for personalisation. Again, let's see what will be offered here though.
In terms of active safety technology, the XC90 now offers drivers help with steering on both the City Safety and the Blind Spot Information System. City Safety with Autobrake is still the only system on the market to recognise pedestrians, cyclists and large animals. The Oncoming Lane Mitigation system first introduced on the XC60 is now also available on XC90, while the Cross Traffic Alert technology now also offers autobrake.
All this, together with the safety cage that forms the core of the passive safety technology, makes the XC90 one of the safest cars on the road and underlines Volvo Cars’ unwavering commitment to developing the safest cars possible.
The XC90 when it was launched came equipped with Apple Carplay integration. Now it is also compatible with Android Auto for those who don't like using Apple phones. The Sensus infotainment system has gone through multiple updates in recent years, all of which have been adopted into the XC90. Where available, the Spotify music streaming service is integrated in the XC90.
The model year 2020 version of the XC90 will go in production in May at the Torslanda plant in Sweden and is now available to order in all Volvo markets around the globe.
From the looks of it, we may be getting most of the Sensus infotainment upgrades as well as the Active Safety upgrades too. I personally think that interior trim choices will still be limited to what is offered here today (in Malaysia) as Volvo Car Malaysia locally assembles the XC90 to local market requirements (as well as regional exports).
Here, I think the demand for wool trimmed seats wouldn't get much of a take-up as we love our leather here. I also don't think the CKD version here will see the B-badged car here unless CKD variants are added. We shall see of course.
You can click here to read of what we thought of the XC90 T8 when we tested in back in 2017. Hint - We loved it!
No comments:
Post a Comment