2016 VOLVO XC90 T6 Review

Picking up the car and (literally) climbing inside its posh, beautiful interior, triggered a sort of flashback. I remembered the first time I flew to Sweden and the moment I walked into the Arlanda airport in Stockholm.

What impressed me immediately was the simplicity of the place and how the designers decided to decorate it. Want to guess what greets you the moment you step on Swedish soil? A hall filled with the faces of iconic Swedes that are more or less known around the world.

However, if you’re expecting a dull showcase of black and white pictures of researchers, scientists, and writers, you’ll be drastically disappointed. To show the world how things should be done, the Swedish authorities let the citizens choose whose portrait would befit the halls.

That’s how pictures of Tove Lo, Avicii, and Sebastian Ingrosso ended up next to Noomi Rapace, Veronica Maggio and various kids that have promptly been dubbed ‘up and coming’ stars. Yes, the Swedes are a proud people and the new Volvo XC90 shows that by the plenty.

If the writing on the outside of the new model doesn’t tell that clear enough (“Made by Sweden”), the exterior and interior design should be clear indicators.

It was no coincidence that they were called “Thor’s Hammers,” and the God of the Scandinavian mythology is probably smiling down from Valhalla at them.

And he’s not the only one. These things work as Volvo’s new daytime running lights, and they catch the attention of everyone on the road. Forget about BMW’s corona rings or Mercedes’ new “eyelids,” this is the car that attracts the most attention with its new headlights.

But that’s not the only thing that changed on the outside. Sure, that’s where the biggest and most notable differences can be spotted but, compared to the old XC90, the rest of the car feels like a well deserved evolution.

Round the back, the taillights are exactly that, featuring the same overall shape but with a slimmer, more modern look. In terms of absolute size, the XC90 grew just enough to avoid being mistaken for its predecessor.

The car is very intimidating in person. It feels imposing, massive and a lot bigger than it really is. Compared to the previous version, the new XC90 is 139 mm (5.5 inches) longer, 109 mm (4.3 inches) wider and sits 6 mm lower. However, there are huge differences in terms of space offered inside the cabin.

Everything in here can be described using one word: minimalism. The Volvo designers probably had this word written above their drawing boards as they hustled to get things done, and you can feel all of their concentration while sitting inside. Unlike last time, we were now greeted by Nappa leather on the optional Comfort seats and a different trim for the dash and the doors.

While we appreciated the brushed aluminum look of the D5 XC90 more, the one used inside the T6 wasn’t all that bad either. And then we came across Volvo’s innovative infotainment system.

Around the office, the opinions were split on it. While some enjoyed its speed and found it easy to use (even though you do have to go through various menus to activate essential functions) others complained about the fact that there were simply too few buttons to go around.

Our count revealed that Volvo considers seven buttons enough to operate the functions of the car, the rest being included in the portrait tablet-like system. And yes, the Swedes weren’t shy to migrate from the usual landscape orientation of screens found in new cars and go the other way, reminding us of Tesla.

While some complained about the infotainment system and how many pages you have to scroll through to get stuff done, I found that once you have the car set up the way you like it you’ll find yourself scrolling through menus less and less as time goes by. This editor also found that learning where everything is takes less than 24 hours and eventually you’ll be doing things like setting the AC temperature or ventilation areas out of habit.

It reminded us of the Swedish people we met during our Gumball 3000 adventure this year, and it’s pretty obvious that was no accident.

Everything has a meaning and has to serve a purpose, with nothing left to chance, except maybe the small places where the dash meets the center console. Depending on how long your legs are and how you adjust your seat, your knee might end up banging against a rather rough, rounded off corner from the dash and on longer trips that might become an issue.

The materials used were of the premium variety in most cases. The Nappa leather felt good to the touch, and the dash was done from a soft-touch plastic that you’d expect from a flagship Volvo. The trims are also made of high-quality materials while the doors of our particular tester featured aluminum covers for the high-end Bowers & Wilkins audio system.

The driving position could’ve been better but then again, Volvos aren’t exactly known for their driving dynamics. To me, the whole dash felt like it was placed a bit too low and the steering wheel could’ve been positioned in such a way as to allow raising it a little more. If that was impossible, maybe enabling the driver’s seat to go down a bit more would’ve solved the problem.

On the other hand, if Volvo is known for something, that’s safety and this move could’ve been done on purpose because the way you’re sitting inside the XC90 offers you an excellent view of the surroundings and makes you feel in control at all times.

The instrument cluster looks great and the resolution it offers is definitely on par with other cars in its segment such as the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE and the Audi Q7, for example. It responds quickly, and it’s easy to see, even in direct sunlight.

However, since the move to a digital dash was made, some more adjustment options could’ve been offered. For example, the space between the speedometer and the rev counter could’ve been optimized to show you more than just the navigation and music details. Maybe allowing you to see the speed in digits could’ve been an option, or the fuel consumption and other trip indicators.

As it stands now, you can only get to see various info about your current trip in the bottom right corner of the dash and to do that, you have to navigate to them using the dedicated buttons on your steering wheel. Not all that great or easy to do.

And there’s one more thing. Since the new XC90 is connected to the last model, why not allow the customers to change the look of the instrument cluster into something closer to the green hue the old analogue dash used to have? Fans of the Volvo brand would definitely like that and it couldn’t be all that hard to implement, considering it’s all digital these days. We do appreciate the themes offered, though.

In terms of comfort, the seats are decent but they don’t hold you like you’d expect. Looking at them from the side reveals why that is: they are simply too thin. While this won’t cause any back pain on longer trips (after all you do get to adjust them in about 16 different ways) things could’ve been better.

And it’s the same story throughout the entire cabin. We loved the simple, minimalist design and some of the materials offered, but there were some downsides as well, such as the material used to cover the B-Pillar and the roof as well as the carpeting on the transmission tunnel.

The door panels looked and felt great, and Volvo offers little curtains for the rear windows too, if you want more privacy. Storage spaces are aplenty, and they match the car in terms of size, which means they’re basically massive. The front doors, for example, have spaces big enough for 1.5-liter bottles (50 oz) and that will be welcome.

Speaking of storage, the boot space should also be mentioned. The XC90 offers room for up to seven occupants, but you’ll have to make a hard decision. Taking no more than four people with you on a longer trip will offer 721 liters (25.5 cubic feet) of luggage space which is enormous. Raising the last row of seats will reduce that to 314 liters (11 cu. ft), and you definitely won’t have enough room for everyone’s luggage.

With all this added space and comfort, the XC90 is still one of the lightest cars in its segment. Thanks to Volvo’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform, the SUV weighs just a little over 2 tons, and that’s impressive, to say the least, considering its size.

In this regard, it’s better than the X5, the GLE and it’s just marginally heavier than the new Q7 that seems to be the absolute champion in this aspect at the moment. Therefore, Volvo decided 2-liter mills were enough for the entire range.

That’s right, all new XC90 models come with 2-liter plants in various guises. We tested the D5 model with its diesel 225 HP output and found it satisfactory but decided to go one step further and take the T6 model out for a spin too.

Under its bonnet lies a 2-liter 4-cylinder petrol mill that is both turbo and supercharged. This solution seemingly aims at reducing turbo lag at “just a distant memory” levels while also providing incredible amounts of power and a reduced fuel consumption. The best of both worlds, if you will. Is it working, though?

Theoretically, the engine should make 320 HP and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque, plenty for a car even of this size. The fuel consumption should also be rather low at a combined value of 30.5 mpg (7.7 l/100 km) but as our real life test showed, you need to curb your enthusiasm.