![]() A small gasoline engine working on high load with turbocharger on, actually has lower fuel efficiency than a naturally aspirated/larger displacement engine working in medium load. This harms the refinement of the powertrain, and offer very limited benefit in fuel efficiency. Personally I do not agree on Volvo’s decision to put a small 4-cylinder engine in a 2-ton SUV. Generally speaking, the XC90 T6 will be a very good highway cruiser but you will find it quite jerky in the stop-and-go city traffic: the engine RPM will vary within a wide range, and the power delivery is not smooth and consistent within the lower-gear range. This may be due to the supercharger and turbocharger have entered their optimal working range. The power delivery in the 1st gear is just so-so, but it suddenly become quite strong after the Aisin-sourced 8AT shifts to the 2nd gear. When you turn into local roads and want to accelerate, you can immediately tell you are driving a heavy SUV with a small displacement engine: to keep up with the traffic flow during rush hours in southern California, it is NOT infrequent that you need to rev the engine up to 4,500 RPM (sometimes even more than 5,000 RPM) to get enough power to accelerate from a standstill to catch the 40mph traffic flow when the traffic light turns from red to green. ![]() From our test drive, the engine does give you a “strong” torque feeling when the car is running slow in the parking lot. Obviously Volvo brings in the supercharger to solve the turbo lag issue inherited from the turbocharging mechanism, and tries to improve instant low-end torque. This seems to be too much, but this small engine is aided by two kinds of assist: one supercharger, plus another turbocharger. This is not light at all, however the workload is completely on a small 2.0L 4-cylinder engine. The 2016 XC90 T6 AWD has a curb weight close to 4,400 lbs. Overall this is OK if the price is at around $55k, but definitely below par considering the test vehicle’s $75k+ price tag: with such amount of money, we can buy other SUV with better interior.įirst is its powertrain. Interior material quality: many places are wrapped in leather, and the design is clean and stylish. The XC90 looks big outside, it has a modern style with a high and flat roof line, which provides excellent headroom. Spending another $3,000+ for 21/22-in wheels (like what our test vehicle has) is simply excessive and wasteful, unless your personal taste “force” you to get those big wheels. People buying the XC90 not for performance/handling but for daily practicality and ride comfort. From our perspective, 19 or 20 inches is more than enough to fulfill XC90’s tasks. Volvo offers different wheel options from 19-in to 22-in. You can see our extensive gallery at the end of this review for more detail looks of the interior spaces. The cargo space behind the 3rd-row-seat is spacious. If you need to use the 3rd-row-seat frequently, I suggest you to buy a minivan instead, since it is not easy to get access to the XC90’s 3rd row seat, especially if you have already put infant/child seats in the 2nd row. ![]() If the second row seats are at their most backward position, the 3rd row is not suitable to carry any adult: you must move the 2nd row at least 1-2 cogs forward to make room for the people sitting behind you. ![]() ![]() Generally speaking the XC90’s cabin is a little bit narrow, however the headroom is good for all 3 rows of seats. The No.1 factor that most potential 3-row-seat SUV consumers are focusing on is probably the interior space. We will check this XC90 out based on SUV around the $55k price level.Ībove image: window sticker of our test vehicle Interior Space Although we all know part of its options have nothing to do with the handling or material/assembling qualities, we still take the Inscription package and air suspension into this review’s consideration. The XC90 we have test driven is the T6 AWD Inscription trim, and it is fully loaded to the level that its MSRP reaches an astonishing $75,395, a whopping $26,495 more than the base trim price ($48,900). Recently we had the opportunity to test drive the 2016 XC90, so let’s see how the new XC90 hold up against other competitors. As we have mentioned in our previous article, the new generation of XC90 is extremely important to the whole Volvo brand. The first generation of XC90 runs from 2003 to 2014, which is an extremely long product life. The 2016 Volvo XC90 is the second generation of the Swedish auto maker’s flagship SUV. ![]()
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