A magnum opus welcome for Volvo’s 90 series cars

After Volvo and Ford Motor parted ways in 2010, the Swedish automobile maker, with a $11 billion investment from its new owner, China’s Geely Holding, set about reconceiving, redesigning and re-engineering a new lineup of cars in its home country for the global market.

The first result was the reincarnated 7-seater Volvo XC90 that since its global launch in 2015 has earned over 118 awards worldwide such as Car of the Year, Best Luxury SUV and Overall Best in Class.

Last week, at a glittering gala dinner in a five-star hotel ballroom in Bonifacio Global City, the second result of this intensive redevelopment effort was revealed: the S90, Volvo’s fully reconceived flagship luxury sedan built on a new platform, with a new engine under the hood, a new design concept and no carryover from the aging S80, the car it is replacing.

Present to preside at the unveiling were Scandinavian Motors directors and top executives led by its president Albert Arcilla, Mary Lou Lee, Selene Lee Yu and Viking Cars, Inc. president Cristina Lee Teehankee.

The VIP guests included Ambassador of Sweden Harald Fries and the chairmen and presidents of Volvo dealerships in Makati, Alabang, North Edsa, Cebu and Iloilo.

While partaking of the sumptuous five-course dinner, the guests were entertained with classical music, jazz and Broadway hits performed by soprano Nicole Asensio, tenors Opus One and Daryl Ong, guitarist Kettle Mata, Triple Fret, and the Manila String Machine. Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo hosted the musical program.

The 90 series

Scandinavian Motors Corp., Volvo Cars’ exclusive distributor in the Philippines, then announced that the XC90 and S90 are the models of Volvo’s magnum opus, the 90 Series.

“Tonight, we launch the Volvo XC90 and S90, each a masterpiece, where every little detail is there for a reason,” Arcilla said. “Where everything we know about technology, design, and safety are brought together to take your journey to the next level.”

With its clean, uncluttered, svelte lines and distinctive Swedish design, the S90 captures the understated elegance and style of the award-winning XC90 in a sedan package.

The S90 is not flamboyant in design, but its lean, long and wide proportions, pure, unadorned, beautifully crafted shapes, and swept-back silhouette combined with the large, upright Volvo grille and Thor’s hammer LED headlights make an impressive case for classic refinement.

Volvo-developed components

The XC90 and S90 share two new all-Volvo-developed components: the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) chassis and the Drive-E powertrain.

SPA is a highly adaptable platform whose wheelbase and width can be extended or pruned as needed to underpin a variety of cars and sport utility vehicles.

The wheelbase of the S90, for example, is nearly 2 inches shorter than the XC90’s.

SPA made its debut with the all-new XC90 SUV in 2015, this year with the S90 premium 4-door sedan and next year with the V90 wagon. SPA will also underpin the next S60 and XC60.

4 cylinders only

Determined to reduce its carbon footprint, Volvo has pledged to equip its new lineup with 4-cylinder engines only, without the 6- and 8-cylinder options offered by its competitors.

The S90, for example, was purposefully designed for comfort rather than performance, and for relaxed confidence in almost any kind of driving situation.

But this doesn’t mean the S90 is a slowpoke. The S90 T6 AWD is powered by a 2.0-liter, 4-wheel-drive, turbocharged, supercharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve, inline-4 aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection petrol engine producing 316 bhp and 295 lb-ft max torque at 2,200 rpm.

With an 8-speed automatic transmission, the S90 T6 springs from standstill to 100 kph in 6.1 seconds, and its top speed is 250 kph.

The other S90 variants are the standard front-wheel-drive 250 bhp S90 T5 and the most powerful coming soon, the plug-in hybrid 400 bhp S90 T8 whose electric motor boosts output. All Drive-E powertrains, whether petrol or diesel, are mated to an 8-speed A/T.

Intellisafe

Volvo is known to make the safest cars in pursuit of Volvo’s Vision 2020, which declares that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by that year.

In the 90 Series, the active and passive safety systems work harmoniously together under Intellisafe.
Aside from City Safety Technology (automatic braking and collision avoidance systems), which is standard in all Volvo cars, the 90 Series cars will be equipped with Intersection Traffic Detection, Large Animal Detection and Run Off Road Mitigation.

Pilot Assist is an option on the XC90 and S90. Pilot Assist interfaces active cruise control, lane-keep assist and forward collision systems, and works up to 130 kph on clearly marked roads, making the 90 Series models semi-autonomous cars.

Summing up, the S90 is the XC90’s twin under the skin, mixing style, understated elegance, comfort and safety in a uniquely Swedish way.

As such, the two new Volvos deserved the magnum opus welcome they got at the
glittering 90 Series launch last week.