IT’S been a long time coming for the new XC90, and Volvo has been making a lot of noise about it for some time.

Quite rightly, too – the XC90 heralds the beginning of a transitional phase, a renaissance if you will, for the indomitable Swedish brand. Thanks to largely invisible support from its new Chinese masters Geely, the team in (head office) have spent big on the future, tipping more than $15 billion into a plan that will see every car succeeded by 2018.

As the managing director of Volvo Australia, Kevin McCann told GoAuto “it's an exciting new car today, but in between three and four years, it'll be the oldest new car in our range.”

Built on the highly adaptable new SPA platform that is specific to what Volvo calls its ‘9 cluster’, the XC90 was a late starter, started just four years ago when the winds of SUV change were just starting to blow.

Volvo Australia has had great success with the first generation car, moving more than 15,000 since 2003 and spending five years as the company's number one seller.

But can the much-hyped successor live up to such lofty expectations?

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