The family van. It doesn’t stir your soul, doesn’t it? Of course not. Commonly associated as being a lurid box on wheels, it’s a means of transport only reserved for those with over productive wedding vegetables. Still, you have to value the practicality that it delivers. It’s an all-in-one: shuttling the kids to school, ferrying the wife to work and dropping off the dog for de-worming—a sad picture actually. There may be Sport Utility Vehicles or SUVs, but beyond the four-wheel drive, Robocop-like body cladding and a ride height that towers over Yao Ming, its main mission is still to carry everyone around town, period.
These days though, daddy doesn’t want vanilla ice cream anymore. He wants a low-carb pistachio ice cream with hot fudge syrup with a cherry on top: he wants a family freighter that is as practical, reliable and comfortable, but would still make him stand proud beside it on the company parking lot. He wants the Volvo XC90.
From the sample company that brought you sedate boxy wagons in the eighties, Volvo has thrown a curve ball to produce this sexy people carrier that’s as unique it is to look at as it is practical. The exterior is still predominantly boxy with squared front and rear sections. Still, it isn’t a ‘designed by rulers alone’ case; it still has enough curves to successfully emulate the muscular flank bulge that the new Volvos carry. It isn’t about design alone, the distinctive feature here is its two-piece tailgate. This will surely help everyone who has business loading stuff into the cargo bay, from shopping moms to D-I-Y dads to even Ginger, the pet dog on his exciting trip to the vet.
As it role as the troop carrier, the XC90 is a mixed bag. On one hand, it has tons of clever stuff like a built-in booster seat for the middle row, a magically disappearing third row and even a removable front console. However, try fitting seven in and things can get pretty ugly, especially on the third row. You see, the third row, do have two seats which look prim and proper complete with proper belts, except that it is missing proper knee room. Adding more insult to the injury, with the third row up, the XC90 is cargo loading challenged, not even able to swallow a week’s worth of groceries. That’s sad since the XC90 provided separate audio entertainment (with headphone jacks) and rear vents for the last row, only to find out that most dads would opt to fold the last row and carry more luggage instead.
Swallowing seven in one go isn’t its strong suit then, but reduce the number to five, and this Volvo will easily become the best thing since sliced bread. The first two rows are lounge chair comfortable with ample back and bum support to satisfy any sort of body shape. Likewise, the space is surprisingly huge and fit for kings. The controls generally have a great solid feel with only the exception of silver trim, which don’t exactly mix well with the almost invisible wood trim on the glove box and ashtray. The chunky buttons may make even junior curious, but the mish-mashed layout will make him think twice before pressing anything.
Whether loaded with one, five or seven people inside though, the XC90’s road manners are akin to everything Volvo: quiet, swift and refined. Despite carrying the same light-pressure turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-5 from its smaller XC70 brother, the XC90 still manages to feel every bit as nimble. It proves to be a perfect tool to dart in and out through traffic thanks to gobs of power available from well low in the rev ranges. It does a good impression of a V8 only it’s more refined. The characteristic sense-and-sensibility of the XC90 will all disappear once the throttle is mashed. The scenery blurs and this Volvo transforms into a road-going rollercoaster ride. The kids will definitely like it.
Unlike other cars in its class, piloting the XC90 won’t require a maritime license. It doesn’t wallow through corners the way other land yachts do. For a change, the suspension feels rather right and the steering is communicative. It’s clear too that engineers did their homework, making the company’s first full-blown SUV effort handle much like a raised station wagon: perfectly stable and predictable.
Sadly though that the world isn’t made completely of highways and high-speed winding roads. Here, of all places, the phenomena called ‘bumper-to-bumper traffic’ exist, and this proves to be a problem for the XC90. Though it can make short order of some cars by bullying them off the road, the horrendous front and rear visibility makes squeezing between a motorcycle and a bus on EDSA a bit of a challenge.
As a Volvo, this is perhaps the best yet to come out their err…stable, or whatever they call those things that house reindeer in Sweden. It is the best lifestyle vehicle that money can buy. It fits any sort of billing too, enabling it to have the same flexibility as Gary Oldman: it looks appropriately suited on the golf course as it does in front of a five-star hotel. It does the highway cruising bit quite well too. But is it the ‘all-in-one vehicle’; the car to finally end all other future car purchases? That, largely depends on your opinion on birth control
By Ulysses Ang | Photos By Ulysses Ang
As published in the September issue of BBC Top Gear Philippines
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