After teasing the car umpteen times, Volvo has finally taken the wraps off the 2015 XC90. The car will carry a price tag of GBP 45,785 (Rs 45.90 lakh) for the base D5 Momentum variant and will go on sale in the European market in March, next year. Though the car has been officially revealed, it will make its public appearance in October, later this year, at the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
The new XC90 has been designed along the company’s new design philosophy which was first previewed in the Volvo Coupe Concept. The front gets a prominent chrome grille which holds the company’s logo, flanked by the ‘Thor’s hammer’ headlamps on both sides. The car’s strong shoulder line moulds into the car’s long sculpted bonnet, giving the car an aggressive stance.
Interiors get a clean, clutter-free design for the dashboard with the centre console being dominated by a large touch-screen armed with the latest infotainment software. This panel will control a majority of the functions in the car. For the comfort of the passengers, Volvo has added a new four-zone climate system with clean zone air purification system which offers individual settings for the first and the second row.
The new XC90 is Volvo’s first completely new product to be launched under its new Chinese ownership and also to be based on its Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). This new platform will give designers the freedom to alter the platforms wheelbase, overhang and other dimensions to make it suitable for cars from other segments. The new XC90 is longer, taller and lower than its predecessor, though the weight hasn’t gone up significantly, thanks to the new lightweight architecture. It will be powered by the new and efficient Drive-E family of petrol and diesel engines.
The current generation XC90 has been soldiering on for more than a decade and has grown long in the tooth as compared to its rivals. For the 2015 XC90, the company has put in all its expertise and technical know-how into the flagship SUV to make it competent enough to rival the likes of the BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Touareg and the Mercedes M-Class. Volvo claims that the 2015 XC90 will be one of the most economical, technologically advanced and safest SUVs in the market.