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Volvo S90 Saloon to Launch a New Era for the Swedes at 2016 Detroit Auto Show

Right now, there are only two Volvo models that really count: the XC60 compact SUV and the new XC90 medium/full-sized SUV. The rest of the company’s lineup is made up of old, outdated models that don’t stand much of a chance against their competitors from other brands.
Volvo S90 teaser 1 photo
Photo: Volvo Cars
All that is about to change this next January, when Volvo is scheduled to launch its S90 sedan, the car that’s been unofficially unveiled as a toy a few months ago thanks to a very committed Chinese worker.

So, while the overall shape and some rough details stopped being a secret a long time ago, the S90 launch is still surrounded by a lot of excitement. That’s mainly due to the way the new XC90 turned out, with the SUV promptly establishing itself as a very serious contender in the premium segment. This suddenly made a lot of people who previously couldn’t care less about Volvo very interested in what else the Swedish brand was going to put on the market.

Those who foresaw Volvo’s doom when the company was bought by the Chinese are now running out of corners to hide. The XC90 made a very clear statement, and now everybody’s waiting for the S90 to take that one step further (or two steps, since there will be a V90 station wagon version as well).

Peter Mertens, Volvo’s head of research and development, said earlier this year that we should expect the S90 to be better than the XC90 in every way. Well, maybe not at crossing rough patches of terrain, but you get the idea. He said improvements were made in both interior and exterior design, with the whole team putting in even more effort than on the XC90 SUV.

Launching at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2016, the S90 will come to replace the current S80 model, which, as hard to believe as it is, still exists. Volvo will indeed have to work very hard as it’s playing catch-up with some of the most powerful models out there, cars like the BMW 5-Series, the Audi A6, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class (which will launch at the same time) or the Jaguar XF. It’s going to be a pretty interesting contest, especially since Volvo isn’t content with the outsider status and is investing heavily in new technology (see here and here). We’ll know more in January.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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