2017 Volvo V90 Station Wagon • Estate Car - FIRST DRIVE REVIEW

0:00

friends today let's play a game word association say for the sake of

0:04

discussion is for out Volvo and station
 

0:08

you would probably think this for definitely this but not this for you in

0:15

this

0:16

so judging by those last three it seems like doesn't Sheriff up in Sweden but

0:20

really how does that impact the most vocally

0:29

so in the tech review you and I spent a lot of time talking about three flavors

0:35

of volvo v90 here let's focus on what we are actually going to drive which is a
 

0:40

two liter direct-injected gasoline engine

0:43

actually if I'm honest they're all 2 liter direct-injected gasoline engines
 

0:47

but in this slaver it is a turbocharger and a supercharger and what they do is

0:52

they work in conjunction with each other
 

0:55

the supercharger works to about maybe 3500 RPM to provide some low-end boost

1:00

and that hands off to the turbocharger

1:03

the idea is to have a flat torque delivery

1:06

so what are the numbers 250 horsepower 95 remember but in this case is 360

1:14

horsepower and torque it goes from 258 @ t 5 and now goes up 295

1:21

but what's interesting about that it comes in at a relatively low engine

1:25

speed 22 hundred rpm stays flat all the way up to 5500 RPM

1:30

that's the reason for the supercharger and the turbocharger so that sounds

1:35

great and it sends power through an eight-speed automatic transmission

1:39

but how does it work on the roads al lado de la costa del sol

1:45

did I mention there is a notion behind me are really a sea

1:49

mediterraneo

1:51

welcome to the stunning it's somewhat curvy villages high above going is spun

1:57

so our job right now is to unpack pulling power we're going to do so on

2:02

some very challenging roads because this is a different package for us although

2:07

it's an engine we've driven before so this is an estate car which say it's

2:12

heavier than it's a Dan counterpart

2:14

so the s90 weighs about thirty eight hundred and sixty pounds

2:18

volvo engineers have not given me the exact weight of this vehicle but let's

2:23

just say before five hundred pounds more you got enough till we're equal mode

2:27

right now

2:28

put our foot into it and there is power actually there is more power in Eco mode

2:34

here that in the xc90 with the same engine

2:38

ok so let's put aside eco because that's not nearly as exciting as well

2:43

comfort is not that exciting but we still need to try it so let's put a foot

2:46

into it again up this hill

2:50

um not a huge difference but what I notice is the the transmission mapping

2:57

changes here holds the gear a bit longer

3:00

which means i actually get a goal faster well my thing is about the same

3:05

now let's spend some time going to be fun mode and let's go to dynamic and ok

3:11

all of a sudden notice the transmission and just dropped down a gear and was

3:15

right on the throttle off the throttle there's still plenty of pulling power

3:19

here

3:20

can I just say this is a stunning little village here

3:24

and what's interesting about this is this power is so usable on these types

3:28

of roads like I wouldn't expect this for a four-cylinder vehicle that weighs over

3:34

4,000 pounds again we don't know the exact weight but four cylinders people

3:39

over 4,000 pounds and look at this from my foot into it

3:43

plenty of power actually i would say quick

3:47

so a state that's quick not something I would have expected from vocal

3:54

so let's talk theory here when you have a front wheel drive base platform

3:59

what you effectively have to do if you are an engineer

4:02

you need to move the wheels here because you have to package the engine here and

4:07

the transaxle here

4:09

well if you are a Volvo engineer in a Volvo designer you generally don't get

4:14

along because the designer wants to put the wheels out here

4:18

the engineer wants to put the wheels here but here's a case where they wanted

4:22

to come up with a completely different proportion to get a different presence

4:27

here now you know I'm a design freak so I go over this stuff and you're probably

4:30

wondering why the hell are we talking about design we're supposed to be

4:32

talking about driving an addict

4:34

well there really is a point here and the point is both the engineers and the

4:39

designers agreed we want to put the wheels here not here so effectively is

4:43

an extra three inches that's here now

4:46

that doesn't sound like a big deal does it just to move this stuff here and put

4:49

more metal like between this and this that's called - the axle ratio we have

4:53

discussed that a lot in previous episodes but let's just say that cost an

4:58

incredible amount of money and you don't you lose a lot of sleep if you're an

5:02

engineer to make that happen the designers they got the easy part here

5:05

but really by moving the wheels forward combined with all the stuff we talked

5:10

about the tech with you like double wishbones and this car being slammed on

5:14

bags

5:14

how does it all translate to driving dynamics on the roads on top of estepona

5:22

near mediterraneo

5:26

oh my god

5:27

oh my god

5:28

I don't know if you guys can see this but that is not a beta down there in the

5:31

Mediterranean

5:32

so what we're doing is we're making our way from going to meet us and the logic

5:37

is we need to unpack driving dynamics in a place where you would probably not

5:42

take Oh horses

5:44

yeah so there you go with the Mediterranean and horses

5:47

so it's kind of hard to focus on driving dynamics we have this kind of stunning

5:51

beauty here so let's go up on this road here this is a wonderful place to unpack

5:56

driving dynamics

5:57

so once again we're about what 4040 300 pounds you're getting interesting to

6:04

tell us so let's try driving dynamics once again we're in Eco mode school

6:09

others turn here please don't try this at home

6:11

and yeah we're definitely got some lean over there there's lean to the side and

6:17

yeah just lean to the side so let's just get the hell out of eco mode because

6:21

it's really not meant for this road really the car is meant for this road

6:25

but still we need to do our job

6:27

so now comfort everyday use and I guess this would be it

6:30

we take on the situation here in southern Spain

6:33

push around this turn a bit and there's a little bit Leslie not a hell of a lot

6:39

i would say this is composed mode but notice you don't get a significant

6:45

amount of lean as you push harder into the turns

6:49

but then as we get out of this little village road bends around what's going

6:54

to dynamic mode

6:55

push it a little harder again please don't try this at home we're trying to

6:58

do it everyday use kind of situation and definitely more composure

7:04

like if you remember the xc90 this was a mode we actually like to the point where

7:08

it's better than the q7 currently but now is the road starts to get more

7:13

challenging a nasty scenery just gets even more stunning down there plz notice

7:18

Marta you notice the lean it kind of goes away it's there but it's mitigated

7:24

that extra weight is mitigated with dynamic air ride control which really

7:29

that is the thing that changed the xc90 and I don't want to say dynamic mode

7:34

changes everything completely here it doesn't is really what's happened is

7:38

this package is actually later than the xc90 so the dynamic completely changed

7:43

everything in the xc90 because that's what almost 5,000 pounds here even at 43

7:48

4,400 pounds and still don't know what it is

7:50

this dynamic even in comfort mode is still somewhat composed on roads like

7:55

this which Spaniard do

7:58

every day but people like me in California would be driving a car like

8:02

this on roads that are as challenging if not more and really is this car designed

8:08

for this

8:08

no but the fact that it has that dual personality

8:12

that's what's so different about what vulval is doing today at least in

8:18

driving dynamics

8:20

now this is something you and I normally don't discuss here on the old show and

8:24

that is storage capacities rather than go over bullets and numbers it's far

8:29

more interesting to go over some of the details here

8:32

one of them is this wonderful under storage thing here

8:36

you know you know i'm a freak for details so it's got its damping back

8:39

here and then there's this little thing here that you can put up to put like

8:43

bottles that you get from the old grocery or whatever you do

8:47

so things don't like move around like a flea market

8:50

but more importantly how much can you put back here

8:54

well I'm six foot tall

9:01

let's see if this actually works and the things I do for you guys too much

9:11

ok we sort of seem to be getting back into somewhat civilization here

9:18

civilization is a castle but let's talk interior furnishings Shelly I so the

9:24

design of this interior

9:26

let's just say i was studying in the xc90 here it's kind of a step up and you

9:30

know what

9:30

while we talk about this let's let the car drive itself

9:34

some of the switch on the pilot assist so now it is set up and the car is

9:39

literally notice i am going to trust the car

9:43

this is a little nerve-racking so it increases speed a little bit up to 90

9:47

k's and let's see if it goes around the bend

9:51

this is very nerve-racking oh my god it's actually going around the bend

9:55

that's the Mediterranean actually that is the noise telling me to apply the

9:58

steering because you can only do it up to 15 seconds

10:03

so let's say that we take your hands off the wheel again and look the lovely see

10:08

the Mediterranean Sea

10:10

I love coming to Spain so yeah the interior the design

10:15

absolutely stunning and you know we love tissue on the show and what what she did

10:20

here is this trick of having these horizontal lines instead of a lot of

10:24

vertical lines and once again yelling at us

10:26

so let's put our hands on the wheel the only vertical lines you notice here

10:30

look this just events and these blades that she uses for the vents here

10:37

I'm glad she's not just one person as a whole team that did this

10:40

but there's a couple of things I want to point out here number one

10:45

some of the details yet you got the blades but notice it's not a start

10:48

button it's a start knob you actually twist it to start the car number to some

10:54

of the finer details like the knurling here and the wood on a - so just as an

10:58

aside in this episode we've been standing in front of like a grayish

11:03

silverish diesel

11:05

sadly not

11:06

calling to the States this one is this stunning brown which in . Brown you

11:11

would say I would never on a brown station wagon but oh my god it looks

11:15

beautiful in the silent special down here

11:18

although the black interior too much bad kind like no contrast at all

11:22

I would want more like up like a like a page that would that would be a contrast

11:27

to the brown but also pick up the brown and then probably change this to that

11:31

open for wood

11:33

now there's another detail here and it's not readily apparent yeah i geeked out

11:38

about the speaker grills which are fantastic but this is not quite as high

11:43

tech is that a refrigerated at least sort of refrigerated glove box

11:50

so I've had water in here the whole time you probably heard this like moving

11:54

around during the driving dynamics pits and basically what this is is chill

11:59

I'm gonna I don't know if you can stand it from there but it's it's chill

12:04

because what happened is I've got the air conditioning switched on and the air

12:08

conditioning goes into the glove box to keep this chilled not like flat out cold

12:14

get it nice little touch and then there's one more trick here i would say

12:18

this is more a gift from the tisch here because she knows i got OCD so let's say

12:23

for the sake of discussion just happen to be barreling down the motorway right

12:28

on the Mediterranean Sea here and you were having your car drive itself but

12:33

you had a problem with some smudges on your iPad type - here you can clean it

12:38

while the car was driving

12:42

so in summary what we got

12:46

well dynamically a better choice and what we need to discuss here is more

12:50

theory than just this vehicle

12:53

so most Americans if I'm honest we'll go for suvs or CUV the matter what the hell

12:58

i say here and that's because we are starved for choices but really what has

13:04

been done here is a combination of design tricks as well as some major

13:09

engineering overhaul where the dimensions

13:12

you don't see them but you understand them when you drive this

13:17

think about it it's slightly shorter than an s 90 little bit more narrow in

13:23

the utility part of it but really that's a trick in order to make a somewhat

13:28

heavier vehicle that has more utility actually work dynamically effectively

13:34

more than the sum of its parts

13:37

so instead of going for the usual well we should arrest you we now there is a

13:42

choice that frankly ain't like 70 80 90 thousand dollars but at the end of the

13:47

day also looks pretty damn cool

13:51

so with that let's put this aside and talk now

13:55

theory so it's very clear that i am somewhat biased to an estate and take

14:00

their car or a station wagon but I in turn the question around to you guys and

14:05

the question really is very simple

14:07

would you choose this or an SUV and i will open this question to anywhere

14:12

around the world and the question isn't i would choose this or the SUV and end

14:17

it there it is

14:18

why would you choose this or an SUV and which one would it be

14:23

would be this station wagon an eClass or would it be an SUV like a Mercedes or

14:29

like

14:30

kia sportage I don't make anything up but give me the why and what region of

14:36

the world you hail from

14:37

let me know in the comments below or via our social media

14:40

motoman TV own word modem and evil word facebook twitter and instagram and with

14:45

that I want to leave you with two things number one make sure you download our

14:48

fancy new mobile application which you can download for free at apple itunes or

14:52

google play and number two a fun fact and actually this is not a fun fact this

14:57

is a business fact so I had a discussion with some of the business people at

15:01

Volvo about how things are going with the xc90 and there is a very very very

15:06

important number when it comes to auto sales and it's more ratio meaning how

15:12

many people actually buy your car as opposed to how many people actually

15:16

lease your car

15:18

now the more leasing lowers your resale

15:22

because more people are actually not writing our own check to buy their own

15:26

car

15:27

so what was the answer in terms of the first volvo in their reimagined vulval

15:32

meet in the xc90

15:34

I was expecting something like fifty sixty percent which is a little bit

15:39

below industry average like Audis and jaguars horribly

15:43

they have very high least percentages like almost eighty percent ninety

15:47

percent in the Jag world and BMWs somewhere close to that

15:51

well the answer here at least in the xc90 thirty percent of the people that

15:55

actually have said i am going to buy one at least which means seventy percent

16:00

have written a check to actually buy the next 90 which means your resale will go

16:07

up

16:07

so further proof you should get a station wagon until I see you next time

16:12

sadly not from the Costa del Sol fish betta