Eight years back Volvo cars had officially come to India, setting up their first dealership here. However it is only in the last three years has Volvo looked at the Indian market seriously with new dealerships and models. Still, the sales numbers are only a tenth of what the German trio manage in a year with Volvo holding onto a small 5 percent share of the luxury segment. They intend to change that, and to that end, Volvo has lined up six new launches for the next few months. Some of them are brand new models and others are new variants and performance versions of the current cars. Here are the details of the upcoming cars
Volvo S90
Based on the same modular platform – Scalable Product Architecture – as the XC90 SUV, the S90 is Volvo’s answer to the premium executive segment comprised of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 series and the Audi A6. All Volvo engines, hereon, will be capped to a 2-litre capacity and for the S90 it’s the same. Depending on whether it is only turbocharged, or if it is turbocharged and supercharged, or if there is an electric motor plus the two types of forced induction, the 2.0-litre inline-4 makes anywhere between 250 bhp to 400 bhp. Power aside, the S90 gets all what we have come to love about these new age Volvo’s – smooth, distinctive lines, the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ headlights and high quality, tech laden and minimalist interiors.
Updated Volvo V40 and V40 Cross Country
The V40 was the last model Volvo had launched before the debut of it’s new styling design with the XC90. Hence V40 gets some updates to bring it inline with the rest of the range. The exterior changes include a mini ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED strip for the headlamps, the new Volvo corporate look with the concave grille and updated logo, while the interior gets new trim levels and materials for the seats.
XC90 R Design
The R-Design is basically an XC90 with a sports kit. The kit comes with 20 inch alloys, blacked out grille, a different air-dam design (blacked out too) with side skirts and cladding. The R-Design also gets some exclusive bits in the interior like black perforated leather and alcantara. The R-Design kit is available for both the petrol and diesel engines since the kit does not add any mechanical modification under the skin.
XC90 T8 Twin-Engine Plug-In Hybrid
Take one 2.0-litre petrol engine. Add turbocharging, supercharging and an electric motor to it. And you get the XC90 T8 Twin Engine Plug-In Hybrid. All those various types of forced induction plus the electric motor together produce a total of 400 bhp. Expected to take on the slew of performance SUVs in India, the XC90 Twin Engine can not only do a zero to 100 kph in less than six seconds, but can also be driven in full electric mode for a while. It’s not going to be cheap though, when it comes here, and be assured it will be available with every option ticked in the brochure.
S60 Polestar
Ah the legendary Polestars. Ludicrious power. Blue. Snow. No, the 508 C30 is not coming here, but the Polestar optimization package for the S60, is. Key additions include a sportier body kit, exclusive spider-shaped alloys, a stiffer suspension set-up (80 percent stiffer than R-Design) done by Polestar, a carbon fibre strut brace, stiffer suspension top mounts and bushings, bigger brakes and a re-calibrated gearbox for faster shifts. The 2.0-litre T6 engine gets a new twin-scroll turbocharger, a new intercooler and free-flow exhaust pushing the power to 350 bhp. And yes, you can buy one in ‘Rebel Blue’.
