India has not heard from Volvo for a long time but we've been continuously bringing you news about what the Swedish car manufacturer has been up to. The latest from their stable is the all-new SUV - the Volvo XC90. Tomas Ernberg, MD, Volvo Auto India, today announced that the car will launch in India in September this year.
The new 2nd generation Volvo XC90 is a make or break model for the Geely-owned carmaker. The second generation Volvo XC90 has come after a long gap - 12 years since the first generation was launched.
Also Read: Volvo XC90 Review
The SUV is based on the new scalable product architecture or SPA, which is a modular strategy that will spawn a host of products. The car looks good - great proportions on the side, good height and a good sense of space, without looking stretched. This is good, as it does accommodate 3 rows of seats, but doesn't look bulky to the eye. The XC90 sports the face of Volvo's new design direction, with an impressive grille that houses the iron mark, and the striking all-LED headlights.
The interiors look fresh, roomy, welcoming and very modern. Volvo has done away with all the buttons and now the central console has only 8 of them. The main focus is on the iPad-like touchscreen control panel that makes up most of the central console. The home screen is horizontally divided into four zones: Navigation, Music, Phone and Sound Experience. Each of these tabs can be expanded by simply touching it.
It is the Sensus system, however, that's going to be the big game changer for Volvo. It integrates with Apple Car Play, it also has the android functionality that's coming very soon, and of course it hooks up to all your devices very easily. You can access all your information, and it has voice commands that have been designed in a way where you can use regular phrases, just talk to the car - like you would talk normally.
The Volvo XC90 will take on the likes of the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GL & ML Class, Land Rover Discovery Sport, and the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. But its chief rival will be the very successful Audi Q7.
