Sunday drive: Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription

Saturday, 15 May 2021

Volvo wants to reduce its annual CO2 output by 2.5 million tonnes by 2025. Here's how it will do that.

VOLVO XC90 T6 INSCRIPTION
Base price: $105,900
Powertrain and economy: 2.0-litre turbocharged/supercharged inline four, 235kW/400Nm, eight-speed automatic, AWD, combined economy 8.5L/100km, CO2 195g/km (source: RightCar)

If the 2021 XC90 looks familiar, that’s because it’s largely identical to the 2015 model.

Vital statistics: 4953mm long, 2008mm wide, 1776mm high, 2984mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 356 litres (third row up), 21-inch alloy wheels.
Safety: Five stars (ANCAP tested 2015)
At a glance: The same high-quality XC90 as we’ve had for a few years now but with more bells and whistles and more recycled materials than before.

Remember when that infotainment display looked massive? It’s still pretty big but compared to what brands like Tesla are packing now...

Who should consider it: Those who like large Swedish SUVs and, for whatever reason, don’t have an XC90 yet.

Volvo’s current XC90 has been a benchmark in quality since it debuted here in 2015. That shows in the fact that six years later it’s still selling in essentially the same form. For 2021, Volvo decided to simply make a bunch of options standard, which should be an easy win for the Swedish brand.

Those seats are made from 70 per cent recycled polyster and are quite superb.

ON THE OUTSIDE

The XC90’s design has remained fundamentally the same but the new options-as-standard for this mid-range Inscription model include nicer 21-inch black diamond-cut alloys, body-colour door handles with illumination and puddle lights, and special aluminium decorations on the sides, rear and front grille.

Nothing special here, just a turbocharged AND supercharged 2.0-litre inline four.

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It’s a big thing but that twincharged engine is quite good at getting thew XC90 moving.

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Those are on top of the base Momentum’s new additions of body-colour side mirror covers and wheel arch extensions, fog lights in the front spoiler, bright aluminium roof racks and window trim, and a ‘touring’ chassis, which appears to be a new addition for 2021. That’s basically the suspension from the R-Design model which has trickled down to every XC90 trim level.

ON THE INSIDE

So the XC90 is quiet, refined, full of kit and not all that expensive. A winning recipe?

The MY21 update follows a similar process inside the XC90. As standard, the only new extra for Inscription models is a ‘tailored dashboard’, while Momentum-and-above get a head-up display, a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, auto-dimming mirrors, heated front seats, more premium inlays and headlining, and wired smartphone mirroring for Apple and Android users.

This tester had a couple of extra packs applied, which added a Bowers and Wilkins sound system, panoramic sunroof, tinted rear windows, heated seats for the second row and special front seats made from a blend of 30 per cent wool and 70 per cent recycled polyester, which carries across to the upholstery around the cabin.

As you’d probably expect, they’re very comfortable and supportive, with the added benefit of being more environmentally friendly, which is a big focus for Volvo at the moment.

It’s funny – five years ago, Volvo’s nine-inch Sensus touch-screen felt like the most cutting-edge thing in a car. It looked massive and we all marvelled at the whole “iPad in a car” thing. Now it almost feels old, with thick bezels disguising the single-digit LCD size.

Of course, that’s not to say the display is ugly or bad – it’s still fantastic even half a decade later. It’s just interesting how expectations change. Although the 360-degree camera does show its age – it has a funny fishbowl look to it which can be a bit sickening if you look at it while reversing.

UNDER THE BONNET

The T6 isn’t the most powerful XC90 available but it’s still quite grunty, with a twincharged 2.0-litre inline-four providing thrust. Twincharged means it has a turbocharger working in tandem with a supercharger, which is enough to boost output to 235kW/400Nm.

Personally, I love twincharging, although it’s hard not to feel like it introduces more things to go wrong in a world where electrically spun turbochargers exist to basically do away with turbo lag and electric motors with minimal moving parts can be used to feed low-end torque into a powertrain.

Yet more options-as-standard include Volvo’s full active safety suite, adding stuff like adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist.

ON THE ROAD

Despite the 2.1-tonne heft of the XC90, Volvo’s two-litre keeps things moving nicely.

The meat of that torque kicks in at 2200rpm and it’s a smooth progression through the boosts of the supercharger and turbocharger. Volvo’s eight-speed auto is fine here too, though best left to its own devices. You don’t really gain much by paddling yourself.

It’s not particularly loud either, both in engine and road noise. Volvo really knows how to do quiet and refined, even with the larger 21-inch wheels.

This model also had the ‘Four-C’ air suspension, which can switch between a firmer, sportier ride, and one more spine-friendly. That makes it better to drive hard but, at the end of the day, this is a large SUV and not one from a brand that lives and breathes Nurburgring times, so don’t toss it into a corner and expect miracles.

VERDICT

For a base price of just over $100k, it’s hard to find competition that can equal Volvo’s on-road refinement and level of standard kit without pushing the number on the sticker north of $150k.

One option would be the Land Rover Discovery, but you’re really looking at the D250 R-Dynamic S, which costs $119,900, or roughly the price of this highly-specced Inscription tester.

In a similar position is the BMW X5 xDrive30d, as is the Volkswagen Touareg V6S R-Line.