4 The Sunday Times MOTORING
FEBRUARY 19, 2012
FIRST DRIVE Volvo XC90 D5 AWD SE Lux
AT A GLANCE TOP SPEED 127mph.
0-100km
10.3 seconds.
ECONOMY 34mpg.
C02
219g/km.
ENGINE
Still looks great MATT KIMBERLEY
T
he XC90 is 10 years old this year and, despite not having changed all that much, it looks none the worse for the time gone by. It is Volvo’s most successful model, responsible for £3.8 billion (€4.58 billion) of revenue worldwide in its most successful year in production. For 2012 it has been freshened up ahead of a completely new replacement scheduled for 2014, so what better way to test it than to take it for a very long drive. Active types – sailors and the like – are more likely to own a Volvo than any other brand of car, according to Volvo’s own research. Over the years, sales figures have indirectly pared the XC90 range down to just one engine. More were offered for some years but the vast majority of people never looked past the D5 diesel so these days that’s all you can have. Nobody seems to mind.
The latest version is smooth, quiet and refined, although since this one is as new to the world as a tiny lamb in spring, its full performance and efficiency will take a while to show. With so few miles under its belt it’s quite obviously a bit tight. What’s most impressive about the XC90 is the almost complete lack of wind noise. For such a big car with hardly inconspicuous frontal dimensions, it is a real surprise how quietly it cuts through the air. But all things considered the car is really very comfortable for cruising. Even on German motorways where the speed limit is just a recommendation, anything up to 90 mph feels almost perfectly relaxed. Only almost, though, because parts of the XC90 are showing their age. The six-speed automatic gearbox simply doesn’t have a tall enough top gear, and 70 mph equates to well over 2,000 rpm. It always feels like there should be an extra gear or two. The handbrake is another bugbear. You press a lever with your
foot to engage it, and then pull a separate one with your hand to release it. But when you do the latter, the loud thunk as the foot-operated lever flings back to its original position is pretty unnecessary. The practicality on offer is more impressive. The seven seats and
extremely flexible configuration mean that the seating arrangements can be set up just how you most need them to be. A split tailgate provides a perch for sitting, and the buttons on the dashboard are all big, chunky and robust so you can use them even with thick gloves on. The SE Lux model I drove had a very handy feature for driving on the continent, which alters the direction of the headlights to suit driving on the right. It sums up
2.4-litre turbodiesel producing 197 bhp and 310 lb.ft.
TRANSMISSION Six-speed automatic gearbox driving all four wheels.
how well the XC90 has been thought out and developed over time. On detours through London and Ingolstadt, the XC90’s relatively slow-reacting steering is obvious, but that only encourages the kind of slower, more relaxed driving that suits family life. It is in no way sporty, though. It is not as obviously stylised, as extrovert or perhaps as fashionable as some of the other options out there, but it definitely makes some of its rivals look more than a little overpriced. The engine is generally bulletproof after so long in existence, and I cannot think of any location or situation where the XC90 would look out of place. It has a kind of understated, inoffensive class that tends to inspire respect and appreciation, rather than automatically getting people’s backs up as so many large 4x4s do. The XC90 showed what it is all about. It’s not as flashy as some, but it still looks great and it copes with all aspects of life at least as well as anything else on the road.