Volvo XC90 EXECUTIVE RANGE
If You Take Your Creature Comforts Seriously,
Volvo Have The Car For You. Andy Enright Takes A Look At The XC90 Executive
The Volvo XC90 must have come as a rude shock to the established players in the luxury 4x4 sector. Straight out of left field this company with no real experience in this market built a car that went straight to the top of the class, winning award after award. Premium products are curious things however, many manufacturers recognising that for a small percentage of customers, the product can never be too premium. Hence the existence of the Volvo XC90 Executive, a model that offers a standard equipment list that runs and runs.
Granted, the standard XC90 isnt shy of gear but the Executive offers the sort of refinements that go beyond what even the most luxurious Range
Rover,
BMW X5,
Volkswagen Touareg and Mercedes M-class models offer. Its a gadget lovers dream. Theres a DVD system with twin 7-inch screens integrated into the front headrests with remote control and cordless headphones. Then theres a
mini-disc player with a huge sub woofer system and rear headphone sockets, a built-in GSM phone and even a refrigerator incorporated into the armrest between the front seats.
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Volvo have fitted walnut wood inlays on the centre console, gear lever, glovebox and centre console. Even the electric window buttons are finished in walnut. The interior trim has been upgraded to soft feel leather throughout with contrasting piping for the first two rows of seats and chunkily padded armrests on the front doors. Theres even thick pile floor mats in the passenger compartment and load bay.
Electrically adjustable driver and passenger seats and folding door mirrors complete the ensemble indoors but Volvo have paid just as much attention to the exterior look and feel. A rear skidplate and aluminium roof rails are included, as is a silver square mesh grille and Executive badging. Body-coloured door handles and waist mouldings give the car a sleeker appearance and the split-rim 18-inch BBS Nereus alloy wheels and bi-xenon headlamps add the finishing touches. Naturally, with this level of luxury equipment the options list is left to scratch its head and wonder what to offer.
Volvo have managed to come up with dark tinted side and rear windows and separate air conditioning for the third row of seats. The XC90 range has been well oversubscribed since launch and demand is sure to be strong for the future despite a series of price nudges in an upward direction. This demand notwithstanding, a total of only 500 XC90 Executives will be offered annually, split between the 272bhp T6 petrol engine, the 163bhp 2.4D and the 185bhp D5 turbo diesel.
Prices start at £43,295.
"With this level of luxury equipment the options list is left to scratch its head and wonder what to offer "
Perhaps we should have foreseen the XC90s impact. After all, if one company could be relied upon to tap into the lucrative luxury 4x4 market better than any other it would have to be Volvo. The companys core brand values of safety, family and quality are nowhere better exemplified than in a big Sports Utility Vehicle. Okay, so the other Volvo brand value, Environment, may have to play a slightly withdrawn role, but its a wonder the XC90 hadnt appeared earlier.
Unlike most of its rivals, the XC90 seats seven as standard with a set of rear seats that adults can occasionally use. Despite this, the cars footprint is no bigger than a
Land Rover Discovery. Part of the reason for this apparent miracle of packaging is the compact transverse engine. Despite needing US sales to make the venture commercially viable, no monster V8 power unit is available, Volvo instead comfortable with either the D5 five-cylinder diesel engine or the familiar T6 turbocharged six-cylinder petrol powerplant.
Parent company
Ford will, after the Explorer/Firestone debacle, be glad to hear that the XC90s innovative Roll Stability Control (RSC) system received the World Traffic Safety Symposium Manufacturers Award. Volvo have approached this thorny issue with a three-pronged attack. In order to prevent the XC90 going dirty side up in the first instance, sophisticated gyroscopically controlled stability software steadies even the most radical lane changing behaviour. Should you hit a kerb or ditch and roll the XC90, it features a boron-reinforced roof to prevent the upper body deforming.
Finally, the XC90 also features curtain airbags that stay inflated ten times longer than normal bags in order to ensure passengers are kept away from flying glass and insulated from doorframes during a roll. Other road users may have little problem spotting the Executive coming, but the Volvo driver gets an innovation that gives almost superhuman visionary powers. Infrared technology allows the driver to see up to five times further at night than is usually the case with conventional dipped beam. Although only offered as an option, it transforms night driving, and means you wont feel the need to constantly dazzle oncoming traffic with the XC90 Executives ridiculously powerful bi-xenon main beam.
The XC90 Executive is at the same time a very convincing yet quite perplexing proposition. With its blend of savvy design, luxurious features and emphasis on safety its an impressive all round package and one that has the right badge to appeal to buyers with the better part of £50,000 in disposable income. It may just be too successful for its own good, however, eating into the profits of that other Ford Premier Auto Group product, the Range
Rover. Still, as problems go its a nice one to have.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Volvo XC90 Executive range
PRICE: £43,295-£45,820 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 17-18
CO2 EMISSIONS: 219-309g/km
PERFORMANCE: (T6) Max Speed 130mph / 0-60mph 9.3s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (D5 Geartronic) (urban) 26.4mpg / (extra urban) 40.9mpg /(combined) 34.0mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Front and side airbags / ABS / SIPS / WHIPS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4733/1860/1562mm
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