MoneywebDRIVE: Driving Impressions
That great Volvo
nose works
beautifully from a
stylistic point of view
as it gives so much
more character to
the car than the
previous XC90.
nose works beautifully from a stylistic point of view as it gives so much
more character to the car than
the previous XC90. Yet I didn’t find
it too lengthy when pulling away
from a parking slot, in terms of
placing the car accurately.
The engine fitted to the D5 is a
two-litre diesel with dual turbocharging, and producing an
impressive 165 kW and 470 Nm.
The engine is a nice mellow
mix for this car which, despite
its size, weighs in at just over
2 000 kg, which is not excessive
in this heavyweight SUV league.
Volvo’s emphasis on safety always means that you get a
rock-solid feel from the bodyshell and this is possibly the
most solid Volvo in a long line of
cars that seem to be hewn from
20
rock! In fact the XC90 has just
been awarded one of the top
ratings ever for an SUV in the
Euro NCAP safety testing programme for new cars. For the
record, the XC90 has as standard items like lane departure
warning, a head-up display
with Forward Collision Warning,
park assist, hill start assist and
a host of other technologies
across the range.
The test car was fitted with the
so-called Premium Pack option,
which includes heated front
seats, a graphic head-up display (over and above the standard LED version), a 360 degree
camera – which it really needs,
being such a big car – cross-traffic alert which warns you if you
are about to stick the car’s nose
or rear end into a spot where it