Big Volvos - showroom view
 

As I had a bit of time to while away this afternoon in a Volvo dealership, and my reading material was getting boring, I had a good look round a couple of top-spec flagship cars in the showroom - an S90 and an XC90.
To quote Volvo: S90 - Sophisticated, intuitive and powerful. An executive saloon, without compromise.
and XC90 Twin Engine - Luxury performance without compromise.

Finishes and materials were pretty good, but things I noticed that weren't:
1. Front seat thigh supports were quite "lumpy" when not extended.
2. Manual adjustment of the steering wheel (unlock lever and "wrangle")!
3. Manual adjustment of seatbelt shoulder height.
4. No adjustment of front headrests.

The XC90, like IT's favourite Audi, has 3 rows of seats and is equally enormous.
And the S90 did at least have a space-saver spare wheel. The XC90 I don't think did, seats and batteries presumably get in the way.

Just first impressions, but they count.

You've become desensitised to luxury with your S8 :ROFL:

Volvo are churning out some really striking cars in the last couple of years with the S90 and XC90, but I can't tell the smaller SUVs apart. XC60? XC70? XC40?

No just demanding of accuracy; "without compromise" does not mean "cheap manual adjustments because we couldn't be bothered to do it properly". :angry2:

Maybe it's to save weight so the "powerful" (ok the T8 helps) engine can haul the weighty barge along!

Our XC90 "classic" has a J-shaped upper seatbelt slot that automatically adjusts to the correct height for your shoulder. Why they've strayed from that excellent design feature (and then didn't make it electric) is anyone's guess.
They've had their own design here for quite some time. Fixed and unadjustable. As it's primary purpose is as a safety feature, they may be quite right in implying that if no adjustment is available, you can't adjust it to the wrong spot in case of an accident. I think their safety record speaks quite loudly here, especially in the case of the XC90 (no deaths (in the UK at least) in an XC90 since it's debut in 2003).
I agree with that. I'm not a fan of not carrying an "insurance policy" in the boot. Though the one blow-out I've ever had was in the XC90 and the tyre inflation kit did do an excellent job!
Ours doesn't have one simply because it has the R-Design twin exhaust on it! The "classic" did have a space saver with the standard exhaust. I ended up finding a full sized alloy spare and we have that in the garage for carriage on long trips.
Melanie has orders to stay put and phone me if she has tyre problems driving locally.


Yes, we've started getting the XC40 adds here and until they actually said "XC40" at the end, I thought it was an add for the XC60!
They're not the only ones to do it though... How about Aston's? Or closer to home: D3/C6 nose, B8.5/C7 front and rear, Q5/Q3!
They've brought out a new XC70 have they? It was always previously based on the V70 a'la Allroad.


Yes, twin turbo 4 cyls are a bit on the small side for the big barges (and the XC90 is big - just try parking the bugger!) despite their claimed outputs!
Still VW did it with the Amarok for quite some time until they saw the light and realised their luxury arm had a very capable 3.0tdi staring at them!