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Volvo will add the all-new V90 estate to its line-up to give the brand a three-strong range-topping line-up by the end of 2016, with which to take on premium heavyweights such as BMW’s 5 Series.
The Volvo V90 estate, announced ahead of its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March, will go on sale in Q4 2016.
The car will slot into the top of the Swedish brand’s range alongside the all-new Volvo XC90 SUV, and the Volvo S90 saloon which was unveiled at the Detroit show in January and goes on sale in the summer.
With the rear seats down the Volvo V90 estate will offer a total of 1526 litres of storage space, including underfloor storage. This is, however, less than its two perceived major rivals, the BMW 5 Series Touring and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate, which offer 1670 and 1855 litres respectively.
The car is built on the same SPA (Scaleable Product Architecture) platform as its saloon sister and actually measures up 27mm shorter, at 4936mm. However it is 32mm taller, at 1475mm, with the same 2019mm width and 2941mm wheelbase.
Volvo V90 powertrain options will be similar to the saloon, headlined by the T8 ‘Twin Engine’ petrol plug-in hybrid unit of 401bhp that recently went on UK sale in the XC90, and which claims 134.5mpg combined cycle fuel economy and CO2 emissions of 47g/km.
The rest of the powertrains are based around 2-litre four cylinder units, with the prime UK seller expected to be the 187bhp D4 diesel. This outguns its rivals on efficiency and emissions with 62.7mpg fuel economy and 119g/km CO2 emissions.
There will also be a D5 twin-turbo diesel of 232bhp, which along with the turbo and supercharged 315bhp T6 petrol unit will be offered with an all-wheel-drive chassis, and an entry-level T5 petrol engine of 250bhp. Whether all these units will be available to UK buyers is yet to be confirmed.
The Volvo V90 is likely to sell heavily on its technology, which replicates that of its saloon and SUV sisters and includes the Pilot Assist semi-autonomous drive system, described by Volvo as the most advanced standard safety package on the market. The car’s infotainment, meanwhile, includes smartphone connectivity with Apple’s CarPlay system.
Volvo is predicting a third consecutive year of record sales in 2016, having achieved 503,127 cars in 2015. The brand’s UK registrations were 41,066, up 25.7% on 2014.
