Montreal, QC – Frigid temperatures and a snowy atmosphere set the perfect stage for the Canadian unveiling of Volvo’s all new XC90 and V60 Cross Country. We were all given a tease of what Volvo planned to do with the XC90 roughly a year ago with the unveiling of the XC Coupe Concept in Detroit. The V60 Cross Country however marks Volvo’s re-entry into the adventure wagon market, a segment dominated by the likes of the Subaru Outback and Audi Allroad.
Volvo says the goal of the V60 Cross Country was to offer customers a sporty driving experience while still maintaining a comfortable ride, and the premium experience expected from a Volvo. The engineers at Volvo took to raising the suspension of the standard V60 by 2.6 inches, adding rugged fender extensions and skid plates to make the Cross Country stand out from the standard V60. More than just a tall V60, the car features downhill descent assist and standard all-wheel-drive for that off-road street cred to slot it against its Allroad and Outback competitors.
Powered by a 2.5 Litre 5-cylinder engine, the T5 powerplant offers up 250 horses and 266 lb-ft of torque, enough to push the car to 100 km/h in 7.2 seconds. Mated with a 6-speed Geartronic gearbox, the car is able to push out estimated fuel economies of 11.8/8.3/10.2L per 100KM of City, Highway, and combined driving respectively. With a starting price of $44,100 and 4 trim levels to choose from with the top maxing out at $50,400, the V60 Cross Country looks dead set to replace the hole in Volvo’s lineup left by the outgoing XC70.
The XC90 however is a whole new ball game for the brand. Having been relatively unchanged since its launch in 2002, the 12-year-old XC90 finally gets a complete overhaul with the new XC90. As mentioned earlier, the XC Coupe Concept first unveiled January of 2014 was a good indication of what the new XC90 will look like. Lo and behold, a year later, Volvo’s stuck with the design and even dug deeper into their Scandinavian roots for the new XC90.
Fans should note that Volvo’s kept the daytime running lights affectionately dubbed “Thor’s Hammer” in the production model of the XC90. The new car features Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture, a modular unibody chassis and electrical framework. The company says they were able to use the architecture to produce a lighter, and lower XC90 than the predecessor. Fear not, the car will be longer and wider than the previous model to provide ample seating for 7.
Inside, the car receives a complete redesign that sets it apart from the interior design of current Volvo’s. The cabin features wood, metal, and (as always) fantastic leather seats. The designers really drew on their Scandinavian roots with the pragmatic approach to the cabin design. Attention to detail has been incredible with diamond cut drive mode selector knobs and start/stop engine buttons. The cabin certainly receives the premium treatment as well with an available all digital instrument cluster, and 1400-Watt 19-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system. At the heart of all this is the new vertically mounted touch screen infotainment system. Volvo claims the system was designed with the usage of an iPad in mind.
Currently Volvo has only one powertrain option for the car with an additional PHEV variant offered as well. The base engine is a T6 supercharged and turbocharged inline-4 with a power output of 320 horses and 295 lb-ft of torque. The T8 PHEV features the same base engine with an additional 80 hp electric motor as well. The 80 hp motor is powered by a 9.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted in lieu of the front-to-rear driveshaft (the electric motor is placed on the rear axle providing AWD for the XC90) and bumps hp output to 400 with 472 lb-ft of torque.
Along with the debut of the XC90 comes the debut of Volvo’s new three trim level pricing strategy. The base trim (Momentum), mid-tier (R-Design) and top-tier (Inscription) aims to offer customers flexibility in finding the perfect XC90 to suit their needs. Pricing starts at $60,700 for the Momentum with the T6 AWD and goes all the way up to $75,000 for the T8 PHEV AWD.
First Look: 2015 Volvo XC90 and V60 Cross Country Gallery
