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Volvo has unveiled its S90 flagship, a car the Swedish brand believes will enable it to compete against the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Jaguar XF in the premium saloon sector.
The all-new S90 has been revealed ahead of its public unveiling at the North American Motor Show in Detroit in January. It goes on sale in the UK in summer 2016 and will be followed by a V90 estate version due to be revealed at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.
Volvo Car Group president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson described the S90 as the company’s “entry ticket to the premium saloon club”.
“We are now clearly and firmly in the game – with $11bn of investment over the past five years, we have not only reimagined what Volvo Cars can be – we are now delivering on our promise of a resurgent and relevant Volvo Cars brand,” he said.
The new S90, which replaces the S80, is built on Volvo’s latest versatile Scaleable Platform Architecture most recently seen underpinning the new XC90 SUV, and the two cars share many technologies, notably the powertrain line-up which will include the 320bhp T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid unit, and with which Volvo intends the S90 to become the most eco-friendly car in its class. Allied to an all-wheel-drive transmission, the T8 offers combined cycle fuel economy figures in excess of 147mpg along with CO2 emissions of 44g/km.
The engine will also be offered in T6 non plug-in hybrid form, though possibly not on the UK market, while the mainstay of UK sales are likely to be the familiar 190hp D4 and 235hp D5 units from Volvo’s latest DriveE range and also offered in the XC90.
Volvo claims to have completely redesigned its chassis dynamics when creating the S90, research & development head Dr Peter Mertens describing the car as “a big stride forwards in terms of driving dynamics, performance and ride”.
Technology will also be a central element of the S90’s appeal, and will include Pilot Assist, a semi-autonomous drive feature showcasing Volvo’s many years of research into the concept of driverless cars.
The system will aid the driver by adding its own slight steering inputs to ensure that the car stays correctly aligned within lane markings on the road. It will function at speeds up to 80mph and unlike previous versions does not need to be following another vehicle to function.
New safety advances include an addition to the City Safety system that can detect large animals, such as horses ahead of the car and take suitable action to avoid or lessen the severity of a collision.
The interior will share many cues from the XC90, including a portrait-format infotainment display screen, but according to the S90’s designers has also advanced to a new level of luxury.
IHS Automotive believes the S90’s shared underpinnings with the new XC90 will help establish the model as a viable alternative in the premium saloon sector.
“Volvo is perhaps better known for their estates and now crossovers than their sedans these days. In the new S90, Volvo will be looking at turning over a new leaf in the premium E sedan segment after the weak performance of the S80 that it replaces. It will follow the same technology and design direction that has already been revealed in the popular XC90 SUV, and given the strong initial performance that has been seen by this model, this will prove to be strong starting place,” said IHS Automotive’s principal analyst Ian Fletcher.
