Volvo India launched the XC90 early last year with a diesel motor. The flagship SUV from Sweden got a very strong response with customers wanting to wait for their vehicle for months. The company has hence launched an all new petrol variant for the XC90 but this one is a bit special. Volvo has gone all out and introduced the T8 plug-in hybrid in the Excellence trim which is the most luxurious car Volvo has ever manufactured in its 89 year old history.
Volvo XC90 Excellence T8 Plug-in Hybrid brings in quite a few firsts for cars in India. This is the first plug-in hybrid SUV ever to be launched in India. It is also the first car ever to come with radar-based safety systems that were earlier banned by the Indian government. Also being launched in the Excellence trim, this car gets luxury features usually found on cars in a much higher price bracket.
To begin with, it comes only as a 4-seater instead of the 7 seats available on the standard XC90. But those three seats have been compensated with a whole load of luxury features. Each of the 4 Nappa leather seats features a massage function, ventilation and heating. The front centre console has been extended to the rear and is called the Excellence console. This console houses a 4.3-inch touchscreen which controls each and every function on the rear seats including the angle.
It can also control the rear cooling compartment that can accommodate two 750ml bottles of your favourite beverage along with two handcrafted Swedish Orrefors crystal glasses. The cabin area is separated from the boot area by a glass partition to give that ultra luxury feel but also does the job of the making the cabin a quieter place. The car comes with a 1,400-Watt 20-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system with a 12-channel amplifier which transforms the cabin into an opera hall.
Now that we know that the Volvo XC90 Excellence is all about pure luxury, lets come to the real deal of this new car, the engine and drivetrain. It is powered by a 2.0-litre Drive-E petrol engine that is supercharged and turbocharged to develop 320 HP of max power. But this being a hybrid also has a Lithium-ion battery pack and electric motors that run the rear wheels. The electric motors make an additional 87 HP taking the total power output to 407 HP and the total torque figure to 640 Nm. To put that into perspective, it is even more powerful than the recently launch Ford Mustang V8.
Apart from making those insane power figures, the XC90 T8 Plug-in Hybrid also emits just 49 g/km of CO2. The SUV being a plug-in hybrid can be also driven on fully electric mode; all you have to do is plug in to an 110V power socket for 2.5 hours. It will provide an all-electric range of 40 kms after which it act as a normal hybrid vehicle. The company has also announced that it will install two charging stations at the customer’s preferred location, free of cost.
Coming back to the radar based safety systems; the government recently lifted the bans on these systems which were previously reserved and regulated by the Department of Telecommunications. This means that the Volvo XC90 is equipped with many safety features that were unheard of in India. To begin with the radar system helps in a feature called autonomous braking. This system automatically brakes the car in case it identifies an object in its path, like pedestrians, animals or even cyclists.
Adaptive cruise control is another benefit of this system, which automatically controls the car’s speed depending upon the speed of the car ahead of it. Some of the other features taking advantage of the radar systems are Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection with Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Collision Warning and Park Pilot Assist.
Some of the other features on the Volvo XC90 Excellence T8 Plug-in Hybrid include 275-section 21-inch alloy wheels, Panoramic Sunroof, Air Suspension, a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, 9-inch central touchscreen infotainment system, Orrefors crystal gear knob and tyres with noise cancellation technology. The Volvo XC90 T8 Excellence is priced at Rs. 1.25 crore ex-showroom, Delhi and will be sold as a direct import.
Volvo XC90 Excellence T8 Plug-in Hybrids Specifications
Engine 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder
Power 320 HP + 87 HP
Torque 640 Nm
0-100 kmph 5.6 seconds
Fuel Efficiency 57 kmpl
