2015 Volvo XC90

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Well… It’s been 11 years.
For something that doesn’t look that great.

I mean, they’ve been teasing us with 3 great looking concept this past years. I mean great designs inside and out.
Telling us “The next XC90 will look like that! Yes it will!”
No it doesn’t.

You could put any grille on that thing and it could be any luxury SUV. From anyone.

And the interior has nothing in commun (nothing) with any of the recent concepts.

I guess this is the “Jetta of luxury SUVs”. Boring but not ugly.
It will start at about $49 000 in the US. Which is almost $10 000 more than the current model.
So they obviously think it is great.

So great that they will offer a “first edition” model at launch. And that one will be $66 000!
Sure, getting 316hp from a 4 cylinder is pretty cool.
But $66 000….

The T6 model will be a 2.0 Liter Turbo while the T8 will be a hybrid with 400hp.

So engines are quite modern.
Too bad the design isn’t.

This is fine, but it could have been great…

Conversation 20 comments

  1. I agree that it's not modern Vince and it doesn't match the concepts but I actually like the exterior. The thing I hate is how un-Swedish the bulgy dash is especially the lumpy swath of plastic and/or leather surrounding the climate buttons.

  2. Agree. The design is almost Russian looking. There's nothing upscale or flashy about it about it except for the lighting. The interior looks okay in the pics, but it's not what I would call inviting.

  3. The exterior design I agree with you on. It actually makes me get excited about the design of the next Honda Pilot for God's sake!
    I disagree with you on the interior, that looks pretty nice to me.
    GV-DesignSells

  4. Other than a distinctive headlight treatment (which I'm not sure is so great,) this already looks outdated. The interior is quite nice, but it's common and unremarkable. Volvos have always been one of two things…

    – Purposeful looking and safe
    – Quirky and unique (while also being purposeful and safe)

    This is neither of those things. I don't know how this can possibly do well. The Ford-derived XC60 looks miles better.

  5. I find it better looking than the VW Touareg, which isn’t saying much.
    I’d rather have an S80 wagon if there was one.
    In the case when off-road ability is needed a somewhat more spartan Land Cruiser 70 (the kind favoured by Middle-Eastern terr… I mean militants) would do fine.

    R' Daneel Zeitoon

  6. The low-ish belt line and straight-ish lines are reminiscent of the old 240 wagon, and that's not a bad thing.

    The interior is way better than the dumpy waterfall center console.

    I think Volvo will get decent numbers out of this. Pricing it high is a good idea. Most people lease these anyway, and Volvo needs to make a statement that they are competing with the German "luxury 3" head-on. A low price would put them in a margin war that they can't possibly win: Audi BMW and Merc all have crossovers starting in the mid 30s.

  7. The front styling is 90% of what was expected. The rear styling looks great. This isn't my style, but I guarantee you this will appeal to the people that bought the last generation.

  8. Looks just as goofy as the first one. I was really hoping for something different. As far at the S80 wagon, it's called the V70/XC70. It used to be based on the S60 until the 2007 redesign. Luckily we now have the V60 wagon as well.

  9. It would take something really impressive for me to consider a Chinese owned brand. This isn't even close. The exterior design is…well, nonexistent beyond the headlamps. Though the interior quality looks impressive, the design is nothing extraordinary. I do like the crystal gimmick.

    People will buy it. But I don't expect it to be a huge seller.

  10. Sadly, the simple Scandnavian interior design of previous Volvos is lost with this one. As nicely detailed as the interior is (although way too many shapes), it could be from any company.With the exception of the headlights and rear end, the exterior looks pretty generic. Have owned many Volvos but I will not buy one from China.

  11. I miss Volvo. The real Volvo. The one that has been gone for more than 20 years now, since the venerable 240 disappeared and then Ford finished destroying the brand in an effort to give it's execs their own "BMW" to drive. They were quirky, minimalist cars for quirky, intellectual, minimalist people, and they were wonderful because they were so unique. This isn't a Volvo, regardless of its badges. You couldn't take this to a Joan Baez concert or to vote for Bernie Sanders. Why does everything today have to be so friggen homogenized? It would be nice if Volvo made cars for people with a unique, individual style instead of people cross-shopping a Lexus.

  12. LOL, ok LOL….that is it? Who would have thought they would put the Chinese in charge of the design.

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