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Volvo XC90 T6 R-Design Looks Good, Takes 100 KM/H Test With Polestar Kit

There's no question that Volvo has lost many things while chasing the rabbit down the emissions hole. However, the Swedish company has discovered new things for its customers to enjoy.
Volvo XC90 T6 R-Design Looks Good, Takes 100 KM/H Test With Polestar Kit 22 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
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So while the all-new XC90 doesn't have a V8 or even a V6, making due with 4-cylinder engines, the design and attention to detail are a cut above the predecessor model.

Many automakers offer "official" tuning kits that you can specify right from the configurator, such as the AMG Line from Mercedes or Audi's famous S line. For Volvo, it's called R-Design, even though the real performance vehicles are marked with a Polestar badge.

While the XC90 doesn't and will likely never have a Polestar derivative. The famous racing division has put its name on several ECU update packages. In the case of the popular D5 model, the output will hop to 233 hp and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm), up from 225 hp and 347 lb-ft (470 Nm).

However, here, we are dealing with the T6 model here, and it's gone up from 320 hp and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) to 334 hp and a respectable 324 lb-ft (440 Nm).

However, neither Volvo nor Polestar has provided any information regarding what this means performance. PDrive from Australia always gets good acceleration times due to the good conditions they test acceleration under. And they managed a time of 6.69 seconds (0.2s faster than stock) from 0 to 100 km/h, which is remarkable for a 2-ton SUV with a 2-liter engine.

However, if we were to compare this to something like a BMW X5 or even the Audi Q7 3.0 TDI, we'd find that it's an underwhelming time.

The cost for the upgrade is $1,285 US and can be carried out in just half an hour by any authorized Volvo dealer. However, all the R-Design stuff is part of a trim level, one of the most expensive ones. It includes everything from the 22-inch wheels to the black leather interior. However, the Bursting Blue is another extra.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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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.
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