The Swedish carmaker debuts the all-new 2017 Volvo S90 ahead of January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. With the critically acclaimed XC90 SUV firmly reestablishing Volvo as a strong European carmaker, the company moves forward with its next product launch of a premium midsize sedan.
“The S90 has taken a big step forward in terms of driving dynamics, performance and ride. We have completely redesigned the Volvo driving experience from the ground up to deliver a sense of precision, engaging control and comfort,” said Dr. Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Volvo Car Group.
The S90 originally was set to release before the XC90, but Volvo management decided to produce the SUV first, which was a good strategy given the market’s insatiable demand for crossovers and SUVs. Naturally, the two models share their architecture (Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture, or SPA) and their powertrains; their electronics interface and design language also mark them as siblings. The newer sedan pushes a bit further in the areas of autonomous driving and collision avoidance as the company moves towards its goal of no one should be killed or seriously injured in a Volvo by 2020.
Three engine choices will be available: the award-winning four-cylinder, 2.0 liter turbocharged and supercharged T6 engine, the turbocharged T5 variant and the clean and powerful T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid.
The Volvo S90 offers space for five passengers in a spacious, well-lit cabin built using upscale materials such as soft leather, glass buttons, and open-pore wood. The sedan’s navigation, connectivity, climate control, and entertainment functions are grouped in a state-of-the-art infotainment system controlled by a large tablet-like touch screen whose display is three times brighter than that of an iPad. Grouping key functions into the touch screen also gave Volvo designers the possibility of fitting the S90 with an uncluttered, crisp-looking dashboard underlined by an elegant strip of chrome trim.
The new luxury midsize S90 steps into the ring with some strong competitors such as the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Lexus GS and Cadillac CTS.
We’ll be able to get our first hard look at the new S90 at the Detroit auto show in January 2016. Pricing and ordering details should be available shortly thereafter, with cars arriving in dealerships in early summer.
Check out this “everything you ever wanted to know” video of the 2016 Volvo XC90 since the new X90 shares the same chassis and some of the major pieces of technology.
