Volvo debuts V90 Ocean Race trim level

A total of 17 boats with 324 crew sailed all or part of the way in the first Whitbread Round The World Race in 1973 – ’74. Since then, there have been 12 editions of the gruelling event, the latest of which started in 2017 from Alicante, Spain. Over 11 legs and nine months, each of the seven teams have crossed the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Atlantic (twice), covering an incredible 45,000 miles.

Things have changed a lot over the years. In the first races the yachts were far more comfortable, featuring fridges with fresh meat and an onboard chef. Without the benefit of GPS, navigation was largely done by sextant and legs followed the old trade routes.

Now, carbon fibre boats are made as light as possible. The fridges have been given the heave-ho, fresh meat replaced by freeze-dried packets of noodles – the only thing that can be ‘cooked’ onboard is water. Navigation is done by satellite-driven GPS, which helps when trying to sail as far south towards Antartica as possible to get the strongest winds. Advanced sonar helps with avoiding icebergs.

The people who subject themselves to these races are an unusual breed. Men and women, many of whom are Olympic-class athletes (and even gold medal winners), face up to 45 days at a time living at sea in very – that’s very – close quarters with up to 11 team mates; there is an open carbon fibre bowl for a toilet, no curtain. On the Pacific crossing they go past Point Nemo, where land is so distant that the closest human is in the International Space Station.

The Volvo Ocean Race, as it is now known, is now the world’s pre-eminent off-shore sailing race. All yachts are the Volvo Ocean 65, so-called as they have a 65-foot waterline. Each team has an identical boat and virtually nothing can be changed, should it give an unfair advantage.

To celebrate the brand’s association with the event, Volvo has released a new special edition, the Ocean Race. These are based on the V90 D4 and D5 Cross Country estate variants (for this test, Motor Trader drove the D4 version). The powertrain for the D4 Cross Country is the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel (190hp, 1,750Nm at 2,500rpm; 54.3mpg, 139g CO2/km) that sends power to all four wheels via an eight-speed auto transmission – no flappy paddles here, manual shifts are made using the gear stick. Suddenly, memories of Rickard Rydell in the ’94 British Touring Car Championship (driving the 850 wagon) come to mind, but while the manual shifts are slick, they’re not quite so fast. Best leave it to the rather intelligent auto and enjoy the ride.

Speaking of ride, it’s pleasantly compliant in Comfort, perhaps even a touch too soft; over suburban speed bumps the shock absorbers have a tendency to hit the bump stops at any reasonable speed. That leaves Dynamic as the setting for everything other than motorway cruising. This situation could be exacerbated by the car being a fulsome 1,826kg which, in combination with standard 20″ rims, does little to assist the suspension.

But make no mistake, those five-spoke wheels do look good. Like many elements of the car, they are branded Volvo Ocean Race and completely fill the arches. Other version-specific touches around the car include a series of Kaolin grey body parts (grille, wheel arch extensions, lower mouldings, etc.), front and rear orange piping trim, specific badging, etched and backlit footplates. With it’s raised ride height, the 4,936mm/2,052mm (length/width) all-white Ocean Race has the presence of a freight train.

In the cabin there is a plethora of Volvo kit, including the upgraded 12″ touch screen that’s inserted into the centre console in a portrait orientation. It operates most in-car functions (infotainment, safety, etc.) and is good in terms of touch reaction, although operation of such GUIs is better when there’s just a small rest to steady your hand. The power front sports seats are supremely comfortable and the orange trim is not overbearing (except maybe the orange seatbelts). Other features of note are the Pilot Assist, which can self-steer and brake/accelerate the car on a dual carriage way using a comprehensive vision system. The system performs well, but it’s a party trick for anyone who is a keen driver.

On to the primary reason for the Ocean Race. You would have to have been living under a rock not to know the issues the world is having with plastic waste and there is no area more affected than our oceans. To help quantify the problem the boats in the Volvo Ocean Race are equipped with sensors to measure salinity, algae levels and temperatures which, in combination with other data, should allow a more accurate picture of how plastics are spread through the water. Currently, estimates state there is one piece of plastic for every cubic metre of sea water – and there are billions of cubic metres out there.

To help with the clean up of our oceans, Volvo has pledged to donate 100 euros to the Volvo Ocean Race Science Programme for each of the first 3,000 Ocean Race variants sold (the programme funded the boat sensors, amongst other projects). To highlight that plastics removed from the ocean do not simply have to go to landfill, the floor mats of the Ocean Race edition cars are made in part from plastic reclaimed from used fishing nets. Other equipment highlighting the adventurous nature of the car includes waterproof front seat covers, (rear) bumper dirt protection mat, and a Karcher portable high-pressure washer – no dirty bikes allowed in your clean Volvo, naturally.

The V90 is a great car and the Cross Country is a capable and worthwhile addition to the range. The Ocean Race version of the car looks fantastic and performs admirably as well. Beyond that, if it manages to raise awareness of the problem of plastic waste in our oceans with just the 3,000 people who buy those cars tied up to the donations, that’s 3,000 people who might think twice about buying products with plastic microbeads or excessive plastic packaging.