Volvo has announced some changes that affect the 90 series of cars. However, our main focus of attention is on the powertrain front.
Described vaguely as "several new Drive-E powertrain variants, delivering an attractive balance of fuel economy and drivability," we are actually only dealing with one new engine that's available in a few configurations.
The D3 has been offered on several 40 and 60 series models. The Drive-E version is a 2.0-liter turbodiesel with four cylinders (the old one had five) that produces 150 PS at 3,750rpm and 320 Nm (236 ln-ft) of torque between 1,750 and 3000 rpm. That's a significant downgrade from the D4, which packs 190 PS and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque. But Audi, Mercedes, and BMW all have de-tuned entry-level models of similar caliber.
On the S90, you can have the D3 with either a manual gearbox or a new 6-speed automatic (all the others use an 8-speed). The V90 also introduces a D3 engine, but it can also be had with AWD. The sedan achieves 4.3 liters per 100 kilometers and emits 114 grams of CO2. Both numbers are marginally better than the D4.
Performance is, of course, compromised, with 0 to 100 km/h taking 9.9 seconds as opposed to 8.2s and the top speed dropping from 230 km/h in the D4 to 205 km/h in the D3. If you know Swedish, you can check out the full specs here.
Volvo’s 90 series cars will also now feature a clever Over-The-Air navigation update system, which ensures that the car always has the latest maps without you ever doing anything.
Two new safety systems have been added to the S90, V90 and XC90. Slippery Road Alert increases the driver's awareness of both current road conditions and those on the road ahead using cloud technology. Meanwhile, Hazard Light Alert forewarns drivers of vehicles that have activated their hazard warning lights on the road ahead. But both kind of sound like they only work in Sweden, where Volvos are all over the place.
“Volvo Cars is the only car maker with a split screen interface that allows you to use both your smartphone functionality and your in-car features without changing views. This is primarily a safety-related feature, designed to make our interface the easiest to use on the market. In the same way our Over-The-Air update capability means that you will always have the latest maps updates to hand,” said Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Car Group.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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