Volvo aims high with new S90

Volvo has taken aim at the established German brands with the pricing for its new S90 large luxury sedan. And with a model range that will straddle the magic $100,000 mark, the Swedish brand is not shying away from taking on the big three on their own turf.

Set to go on sale in October, with additional variants rolled out later this year and into 2017, the S90 will be offered in turbo-diesel, turbo-petrol and twin-charged petrol-electric plug-in hybrid powertrains. In total, up to six model variants of the new Swedish limo could be on sale Down Under by mid-2017.

And while the prices kick off under $80K, there’ll be plenty driven out of dealerships well over the $100K mark (before on-roads), including a range-topper that will go very close to $120,000 before any options.

It’s a strategy that is nothing if not bold.

The S90 was unveiled at this year’s Detroit motor show and is built on the same SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) that also underpins the big XC90 SUV. It will be partnered by a V90 wagon model in both standard and high-ride (Cross Country) variants.

The S90 range, like the rest of the ‘modern’ Volvo line-up, is powered exclusively by four-cylinder engines. All are matched to eight-speed automatic gearboxes. Suspension is via double wishbones at the front and a multilink arrangement at the rear with an unusual Corvette-style transverse leaf spring (except on air-suspended variants).

The new car rides on a 2941mm wheelbase shared with the V90 but not the XC90, which at 2984mm is 43mm rangier. The sedan and wagon’s track measurements are also scaled down from the big seven-seat 4x4.

In addition to mechanical architecture, the S90 leverages Volvo’s Sensus connectivity and human machine interface technology. Central to this (literally) is the now-trademark portrait-orientated touchscreen display.

The first S90 models to go on sale locally arrive in October 2016. They will be the top Inscription grade versions that are also tipped to be the range’s top-selling variants.

The 173kW/480Nm D5 turbo-diesel Inscription will be priced at $96,900. The 235kW/400Nm T6 turbo-petrol Inscription will cost $2000 more.

That’s before any optioning of the $3000 Tech Pack, a box ‘containing’ DAB+ radio, CarPlay and 360-degree camera that will be ticked on most orders, we expect.

The pair will be joined a month later (November 2016) by 140kW/400Nm D4 turbo-diesel and 187kW/350Nm T5 turbo-petrol Momentum entry-level models priced at $82,400 and $79,900 respectively.

Even the base-grade Momentum models will include a high level of safety tech. Volvo’s latest IntelliSafe driver assistance and safety packages are standard across the S90 range and include an advanced version of Volvo’s City Safe autonomous braking, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control and Pilot Assist, a semi-autonomous driving system which Volvo says now provides hands-free driving up to 130km/h.

Other standard items include leather upholstery and electric-adjustable front seats, four-zone climate-control (with Volvo’s much vaunted air filtration system), keyless start, powered boot and adaptive LED headlights.

Momentum-grade S90s are front-drive only and roll on 18-inch wheels.

In contrast, the Inscription-spec S90s are all-wheel drive and get 19-inch hoops. Other standard equipment items on this grade include keyless entry and start, walnut timber interior décor, LED interior ambient lighting system and Fine Nappa leather upholstery.

Seat heating, sunroof and other ‘luxury’ items are all options, even on this grade. So too is air-suspension.

The most expensive S90, the 300kW/640Nm T8 Twin Engine PHEV, arrives in R-Design form only in mid-2017. No pricing or specs have been announced for that model.

The V90 wagon range is also now a 2017 entrant Down Under. With global production just kicked off, Volvo is being a little coy on exact timing, however, we’re expecting the five-seat only wagon (no rear-facing seats in this generation of Volvo!) to go on sale in April or May.

In comparison to the S90, the range will be somewhat contracted. Expect D4 Momentum, D5 and T6 Inscription and a T6 R-Design to be the extent of the initial wagon offering.

Wagon prices will be announced closer to the launch date, however, Volvo insiders say expect between $2000-3000 premium over the sedan, dependant on grade.

While the T8 PHEV will not make it Down Under in wagon form, a turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder hybrid petrol drivetrain is tipped to eventually join the local V90 line-up.

Volvo is promising an almost unprecedented period of new model activity into 2017 and 2018.

In the next few weeks the T8 Twin Engine PHEV versions of the XC90 launches Down Under, followed by a MY17 facelift and updates for the V40 hatch range in September.

As noted above, the first models from the S90 range arrived in October along with new high-powered four-cylinder S60 and V60 Polestar models. These replace outgoing six-cylinder versions.

The V90s arrive in the second quarter of 2017 with Cross Country variants expected in the second half of next year -- by which time the first of the next-generation of Volvo small cars, the XC40 crossover, is also expected to break cover locally.

Look out for our first drives of the new S90 and V90 Volvos in the coming days.

Volvo S90 pricing (plus ORCs):
D4 Momentum: turbo-diesel 140kW/400Nm FWD -- $82,400
T5 Momentum: turbo-petrol 187kW/350Nm FWD -- $79,900
D5 Inscription: turbo-diesel 173kW/480Nm AWD -- $96,900
T6 Inscription: turbo-petrol 235kW/400Nm AWD -- $98,900