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The 2017 Volvo S90 T6 AWD Inscription sedan offers the most appealing blend of style, performance and technology in the brand's history. It's a strong second act in Volvo's return to relevance after barely surviving the Great Recession.
The midsize S90 is brand-new and uses the same flexible architecture as the award-winning XC90 SUV. Volvo will build a number of other vehicles based on the same program, which it calls its scalable product architecture, of SPA.
The S90 competes with sport sedans like the Audi A6, BMW 5-series, Cadillac CTS, Jaguar XF, Lexus GS and Mercedes-Benz E-class.
Unlike all those cars except the A6, the S90's base model is front-wheel drive. It comes with a 251-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Prices start at $46,950. All S90s have an eight-speed automatic transmission. Volvo has recalled 2017 S90s to fix a seatbelt. Make sure the repair has been completed before you buy one.
A more powerful version of the same engine that adds supercharging develops 315 horsepower and powers the all-wheel drive S90 T6, with prices starting at $52,950.
I tested a top-of-the-line S90 AWD T6 Inscription with the 315-horsepower engine, low-gloss wood, all the latest driver assistance features, Bowers & Wilkins audio and more. It cost $65,370. All prices exclude destination charges.
The S90's prices compare well to similarly equipped competitors.
A plug-in hybrid called the S90 T8 that adds an electrically driven rear axle to the super- and turbocharged 2.0L will be available later, along with a station wagon. Volvo has not announced prices for them. A roomier long-wheelbase model will follow at some point.
The S90's styling is a far cry from the boxy, upright sedans and wagons that built Volvo's enviable reputation for durability and safety. The brand's new look is wide and low and contemporary, with a shape that promises room and comfort. The headlights feature Volvo's signature touch, t-shaped LEDs Volvo calls Thor's Hammer.
The passenger compartment delivers on the promises Volvo's exterior design makes. There's plenty of head and legroom, plus unusually good sight lines as other sporty sedans trend toward more radical beltlines, roofs, pillars and rear decks. The interior of my car embodied Scandinavian modern design, with low-gloss brown wood, comfortable oyster shell colored leather seats, and black leather on door and dash tops. The controls are simple. An iPad-style tablet handles many features. It's intuitive, but does not always respond as quickly as I'd like in a moving vehicle. Volvo's built-in voice recognition worked well, but I had some problems giving spoken commands to the Apple CarPlay system. CarPlay worked well otherwise.
The trunk has a wide opening and offers plenty of room for luggage or a large flat screen TV.
Volvo touts the S90 as pioneering semi-autonomous driving, but the system doesn't accomplish much that's not available in other vehicles. Adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist maintain a set speed and following distance and help the car stay in its lane and follow slight curves.
It works, but the concept of semi-autonomy is fairly meaningless, like ?limited free will.? There's no middle ground; You either have it or you don't.
There's nothing middling about the powertrain, which is a technical tour de force. The AWD system transmits power smoothly, delivering the little four-cylinder's pound-feet of torque for good handling and traction. The adaptive suspension's sport setting keeps the S90 composed and stable in fast maneuvers and provides a comfortable ride on broken surfaces.
The S90's EPA fuel economy is good: 22 m.p.g. in the city, 31 on the highway and 25 combined. The key combined figure beats similarly powerful AWD versions of the A6, 5-series, CTS, XF and GS. Mercedes doesn't offer a 300-horsepower-plus version of its new E-class yet, but the 241-horsepower E300 4Matic's 2.0L turbocharged engine only rated 24 m.p.g. combined, so the S90 should remain the m.p.g. champ for the immediate future. The CTS's V6 uses regular gasoline, which the EPA estimates will make it less expensive to run despite its lower fuel economy.
The S90 puts Volvo in the heart of the luxury car market, an advanced and lovely car with a style and personality that are refreshingly different from the leading German Japanese and American brands.
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