The Star: November 30, 2017

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday November 30 2017 43
Driven
Big Volvo has benefit
of powerful engine
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VOLVO S90: Luxury sedan with price and driveline
suprises.
• By Ross Kiddie
FROM THE company that
brought us some of the
most delightful internal
combustion engines of all
time, I was surprised to
hear that Volvo is planning
to make electric vehicles
only from 2020.
That being the case, I
must say that I’m disappointed
to see the end
of the wailing, Yamahainspired
V8 that thrilled us
so much, and the fabulous
five-cylinder series that
characterised the company
for decades.
However, Volvo is saying
farewell to petrol
power with a bang, they
have a new four-cylinder
engine which can only be
described as extraordinary,
the power outputs are
mammoth for a 2-litre unit
– 235kW and 400Nm.
The car I experienced
this engine in is the Volvo
S90 T6 – a four-door luxury
sedan, in this case in
Inscription specification.
Of course, those power
figures can’t be achieved
without some sort of forced
induction, the engine is
both supercharged and
turbocharged. That’s not
unusual, Volkswagen had
a design which used both
techniques but it didn’t
glean quite as much power
as Volvo claim.
That aside, the S90 is
quick, it will launch to
100km/h in 5.9sec and will
top end at 250km/h, that’s
not bad for a two-tonne
vehicle. Yes, the S90 is big,
at almost 5m it cocoons
those on board with space
to burn and high levels of
comfort.
When you think of a
prestige vehicle you normally
associate that with
a premium price, but at
just on $100k the S90
Inscription is a bargain for
its level of kit and performance.
The specification details
are way too comprehensive
to detail at length, but I
must make mention of the
central command centre,
which bears a close resemblance
to an iPad and has
a similar operating system,
its functions are deep and
control most of the cabin’s
integral features.
You would guess correctly
that the S90 has safety
features in abundance,
all of the new-age gear is
included and, as we know
from Volvo, it has some of
the items which are preautonomous,
Volvo is just a
short step away from producing
driverless cars.
However, the S90 is all
about the driving experience,
and there is a threemode
driveline management
protocol system
which the driver can select
to best adapt for each journey
– economical, comfort
and sport.
• Price – Volvo S90 T6,
$99,900
• Dimensions –
Length, 4963mm;
width, 1879mm;
height, 1443mm
• Configuration
– Four-cylinder,
four-wheel-drive,
1998cc, 235kW,
400Nm, eight-speed
automatic.
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 5.9sec
• Fuel usage –
7.2l/100km
I used comfort mostly,
the engine is just so
powerful it will respond
dynamically in that mode
if requested. The surge of
power is delightful and
the subdued shriek as the
supercharger winds up is
delightful to listen to.
Drive is channelled
through an eight-speed
automatic transmission.
The engine/gearbox combination
is smooth, shifts can
barely be felt, and with the
close proximity of ratios
the engine is kept honest
and eager.
That is if you make wilful
use of the accelerator, if
you want to drive sedately
then the engine works
almost in a lethargic manner,
changing at around the
2000rpm mark, optimising
the torque curve and
the low area at which the
engine develops its power.
Incidentally, like most
forced induction engines,
peak power is rewarded
at just 5700rpm, while the
strong torque maximum
is listed from 2200rpm to
5400rpm. The result is a
fluid flow of power which
is strong and exciting right
up to the red-line area.
No matter what speed
you are travelling, the S90
is a relaxed and capable
traveller.
Volvo claims a 7.2-litre
per 100km/h (39mpg)
combined cycle fuel usage
average. I couldn’t get anywhere
near that, but my
10l/100km (28mpg) figure
could be excused by a couple
of in-traffic, stop-start
trips across the city.
Even though the S90 is
a quite bulky, it feels agile
and a lot of that can be put
down to the chassis. Drive
is fed to all four wheels,
and with 20in Pirelli tyres
the car has steering to envy.
The PZero rubber is often
regarded as the world’s
finest in terms of grip and
quality, the steering in the
S90 is accurate and feedback
is simply delightful.
I took the evaluation car
on my usual high country
run and it covered ground
effortlessly and capably,
and that from a vehicle that
could almost be regarded
as limousine-like.
I’m scheduled to drive
a new Volvo XC60 sport
utility vehicle soon,
depending on what future
models are released by
Volvo it could well be
my last drive of a pistonpowered
vehicle from
the company. Whatever
the outcome, Volvo has
certainly saved one of its
best powerplant to last, or
thereabouts.
However, I am sure whatever
the company produces
in the future, there will be
more surprises.
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