First drive: Volvo takes the high road
BY BRUCE NEWTON | 23rd Aug 2002
But the category is just too much of a boom market in the US for even Volvo to ignore, even if the traditional image of the Sports Utility Vehicle - as they are known in the US - is of truck-based goliaths with a huge appetite for raw materials and fuel mated to an unwieldy chassis with poor safety performance and the unfortunate tendency to topple over.
Enter the XC90 - given the green light in June, 1999, revealed at the Detroit auto show in January, 2002, and on-sale in Australian mid-2003.
What Volvo has developed is about as far from the traditional Yank tank off-roader as you can get.
It includes a raft of new safety technology and a clever interior that provides up to seven seats in three rows melded to a new electronic all-wheel drive system, mechanicals borrowed from Volvo's car range and a look which incorporates existing styling cues with a more macho and traditional off-roader body.
Volvo calls it a "next generation SUV". In Australia we would categorise it as a soft-roader or cross-over vehicle, with a pool of competitors that includes BMW's X5 and the Mercedes-Benz ML.
How soft-road is the XC90? Very. Volvo admitted as much with its 340km test drive program through California's Napa Valley. Not a square inch of gravel was encountered. From suburbs, to freeways, to country roads, to mountain passes - it was all on bitumen.
And that's because Volvo knows that is where virtually all XC90s will spend virtually all their time.
Volvo will build 50,000 XC90s over the next 12 months and 65 per cent will go to the US, where the company's research tells it up to 98 per cent of buyers will never venture seriously off-bitumen.
The XC90 has none of the signatures of the serious off-roader like low range, live axles or a separate chassis. It is automatic only with fully independent suspension by struts up front and multi-link at the rear, and the chassis is a car-like monocoque.
We will get two XC90 variants, the choice being between two inline engines and specification levels. First off is the five-cylinder, 2.5-litre turbocharged T5, which will be priced around $75,000, while the bi-turbo 2.9-litre T6 will retail for about $85,000.
The 2.5 - a development of the current 2.4 in several Volvo models - produces 154kW at 5000rpm and 320Nm of torque between 1500 and 4500rpm. Volvo claims a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 9.9 seconds. The bi-turbo produces an impressive 200kW at 5100rpm and 380Nm between 1800rpm and 5000rpm, with a 9.3 seconds 0-100km/h time. Both cars have an electronically governed top speed of 210km/h.
Being Volvo engines, they are also extremely clean. The T6 meets the tough American ULEV standard and the T5 the even tougher ULEV II.
Each engine sits transversely in the engine bay, a significant point for improved packaging of the interior, with the T5 mated to a five-speed automatic and the T6 to a four-speed, both with the Geartronic semi-manual mode. The more expensive, more powerful model gets one less ratio because the bi-turbo engine is too long to fit a longer gearbox in the engine bay.
The bi-turbo S80 luxury car has the same problem and the same solution, and that's no surprise because the XC90 and Volvo's luxury car share the same platform, codenamed P2. Frugal Volvo also uses the P2 under the S60 sedan and the V70 wagon, including the XC90's closest relation in the range, the XC70.
Sitting under both XC90s is the same intelligent electronic "on-demand" all-wheel drive system developed by the Swedish firm Haldex, which replaces the viscous coupled differential we get in Australia in the V70XC.
Volvo claims the new system, which fundamentally comprises a hydraulic pump, a "wet" multi-disc coupling and a control valve with electronics, is quicker and more efficient, transferring up to 65 per cent of drive to the rear wheels virtually instantaneously when slip is detected.
The two XC90s also share a series of claimed world safety firsts:
- Roll safety control (RSC), which addresses the increased propensity of SUVs to roll over because of their higher centre of gravity than traditional passenger vehicles. RSC uses a gyro-sensor to measure the car's roll angle and the dynamic stability and traction control system (DSTC) to cut engine power and brake one or more wheels if lean angles are starting to get extreme and a roll-over is possible.
- A lower cross-member in the front subframe designed to avoid the problem of compatibility - when a high-riding 4WD collides head-on with a traditional passenger car and simply rides over the top of it.
- Inflatable side curtains for all three rows of occupants.
- An integrated middle seat child booster that can slide closer to the front of the car
- Seatbelt pretensioners for all seating positions.
And while it does not actually endorse NCAP, Volvo is willing to promise confidently that the XC90 would achieve a five-star EuroNCAP rating - the best possible result only ever handed out to two passenger cars and certainly never an "SUV".
While Volvo Car Australia is not saying too much at the moment about standard equipment, we expect both models to include dual zone climate control, cruise control, trip computer, electric front seats, roof rails, reverse warning system, driver and passenger airbags as well as the inflatable curtain, ABS braking with electronic brake force distribution and emergency brake assist, and lap-sash seatbelts for all passengers.
The T6 adds at least 18-inch alloy wheels over the T5's 17-inch items and slightly lower profile rubber, a Dolby sound system, leather interior trim and wood inlays.
The options include a DVD player, personal headphones, a range of exterior decorations and the third row seating option.
The complexity of this option is hinted at by the $5000 to $6000 premium VCA is forecasting it will charge. It also reckons up to 70 per cent of XC90 buyers will opt for it as well.
In addition to the seats themselves, there's additional ventilation in the C-pillar and rear floor, an inside rear door handle, the third row inflatable curtain, three individual slideable second row seats, including the middle child seat, and self-levelling rear suspension.
VCA is forecasting 800 XC90 sales in 2003 and 1100 in its first full year on sale in 2004. The T6 is expected to be the more popular, at least initially.
DRIVE IMPRESSIONS:
IN photos the XC90 looks a little awkward - a bit high thanks to its 218mm ride height, with wide, staring headlights and a deep V slicing through the bonnet.In the flesh it is far more resolved and attractive, particularly from the side. It has real power and more than a touch of BMW X5.
Inside, it is more typically Volvo with a clean, simple and elegant instrument pod and centre console display, soft-touch finishings and those big, soft, squishy armchair front seats that never seem to become uncomfortable.
Move into the second row and it immediately becomes apparent that Volvo's claims about interior space are no hype. There's gallons of room for second row passengers in all directions, with the added advantage of easy entry and exit thanks to the off-roader ride height.
The only letdown here is the middle seat that is high, hard and narrow, and in fact pretty useless unless you've opted for the third row and have the sliding baby seat.
Those third row seats are clever but definitely best left to the children, not only because of their size and the available headspace but also because it is a reasonably tortuous exercise to get in and out through the passenger doors.
Despite Volvo's claims, it has not managed to build a seven-seater and retain really adequate luggage space, although there's certainly enough space back there for a briefcase or two with the seats up. Fold the third row down and it is a different and far more impressive story. Access is by a neatly engineered horizontally split tailgate.
Lots of fun was had flipping, folding and sliding chairs about individually in the cabin, although we got nowhere near the 50-plus combinations the car can be set to. We found the mechanisms a bit stiff and unco-operative at times, but were assured this would be made more user-friendly by the time production starts in September.
And that isn't all that's changing. Having driven a pre-production T5 first-up and been disappointed by the woolly steering and slow-responding transmission, we were promptly informed these were two areas that had already been addressed for production. One senior engineer even went as far as to describe the revised steering as "firmer and more BMW-like".
That would be welcome - and while they are at it they can try and get a bit more crispness into the engines as well, neither of which seemed too excited or enthusiastic about hauling the 2.0 tonne-plus kerb weight along.
The T6 obviously did it better, able to respond vigorously to the throttle when required. Its steering and grip also seemed better than the T5 - perhaps because it has firmer front springs to cope with the extra engine weight and the self-levelling rear end.
The ride too, across some pretty horrendous roads, was better than any Volvo passenger car we can recall, which too often suffer from a lack of refinement in the damping.
There is some lurch and roll as well, accentuated by the high seating position. But the trade-off there is an outstanding viewing platform, with only the chunky B-pillars getting in the way of peripheral vision.
Back in the real world of traffic lights, school pick-ups and freeways, we can see the XC90 fitting right in thanks to its ease of use and flexibility. We fancy there'll be quite a demand for them from mums in some of our more affluent suburbs.
It's a typical Volvo effort - full of cleverness, quality and sincerity. Just wish it inspired a little more passion in the driving. We await a local drive with interest. And Mr Volvo, can we try it on dirt next time?