Volvo provides clues to next-gen XC90

Volvo used the recent Frankfurt motor show to reveal its Mercedes E-Class/BMW 5 Series rival in the form of the Concept You, and now the Chinese-owned Swedish brand has released these renderings that point to the successor to the long-serving XC90 SUV.

Each of the four accompanying sketches is slightly different, illustrating the various design directions the company is exploring for the crucial new SUV. A couple of the renderings indicate a clear visual link will be retained with the existing model via cues such as the familiar ‘waterfall flanks’, while the others are more closely aligned with the Concept You.

It’s believed the all-new XC90 replacement will debut in 2014, with the mainstream engine line-up comprising only four-cylinder units (with turbocharging).

The vehicle will also reportedly be available with an ultra-frugal diesel-electric hybrid powertrain, which recently debuted in the V60 Hybrid.

As fitted in the V60 Hybrid, the diesel-electric powertrain features a 158kW 2.4-litre D5 turbo-diesel driving the front wheels and a 50kW electric motor powering the rears. The combo is good for total outputs of 208kW and 640Nm of torque, enabling a 6.9sec 0-100km/h split.

The V60 Hybrid has an ell-electric driving range of about 50km and battery charge time is claimed to be 4.5 hours with a 10-amp electric system – increasing to 7.5 hours with a 6A outlet and decreasing to three hours with a 16A system.

The current-generation XC90 has been around since 2003, but it still remains one of the brand’s mainstays with 1001 Australian sales until the end of October this year, eclipsed only by the slightly smaller XC60 (1233 sales).

The all-new replacement will be the first model to use Volvo’s new Scalable Platform Architecture (SPA), which will introduce added efficiency and economies of scale by allowing different models of varying sizes to be built on the same assembly line.

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