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Volvo's XC90 is good on ride and handling, bad on towing

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BY STEVEN COLE SMITH
ORLANDO SENTINEL (KRT)
December 18, 2002

That Volvo's first sport-utility vehicle won the 2003 Motor Trend magazine SUV of the Year award before it even went on sale speaks to the job the company did with the XC90.

And the fact that many dealers have a waiting list for the XC90 speaks to how many people have been waiting for a Volvo sport ute.

When Ford acquired the Swedish automaker, it was announced that Volvo would soon have an SUV. Immediately, Volvo aficionados were worried: would a Volvo SUV be a rebadged Ford Explorer or Escape?

While the chance remains that a Ford product will eventually be used as the basis for a Volvo model, the XC90 is pure Scandinavian. It's based on Volvo's P2 "large-car" platform, also the basis for the S80 sedan. The wheelbase, the distance from the center of the front wheels, to the center of the rear wheels, is 112.6 inches, 2.7 inches longer than the S80. As you would expect, then, the XC90 is far more car than truck. That's a good thing for ride and handling, a bad thing if you need a truck's capability in towing or serious off-road driving.

Two engines are available: a 2.5-liter, 208-horsepower five-cylinder or a 2.9-liter, 268-horsepower six-cylinder. Both engines are turbocharged. The five-cylinder has a five-speed automatic transmission, while the six-cylinder has a four-speed automatic. The XC90 is available in front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. The all-wheel-drive model has no low-range gearing, a tip-off that it's designed more to help on slick pavement than crawling along cow trails.

That said, we took the test XC90, a top-of-the-line six-cylinder T6 with all-wheel-drive, over some pretty inhospitable terrain, and it performed far above expectations.

But that isn't the XC90's long suit. An unconventional interior allows the XC90's seats to be reconfigured in more than 60 variations. With all seats in place, you can carry seven, though the two rearmost passengers had best be small children, or at least jockeys. That optional third row of seats folds flat when not in use. In fact, fold down the rear and middle seats, and the front passenger seat, and the interior of the XC90 will swallow a cavernous 93.2 cubic feet of cargo.

The leather upholstery in the test vehicle was nicely done, and the power-operated front seats were excellent. Perhaps the neatest interior feature is a center sliding child booster seat that allows you to place a small child safely in the rear seat, but slide that seat forward to just behind the center console when the child needs attention.

This being a Volvo, the XC90 has more than its share of safety features, ranging from an inflatable side curtain for all three rows of passengers, to "Roll Stability Control," which activates the anti-skid system if excessive body lean is detected--the system is designed to anticipate a rollover, and prevent it. Of course, antilock brakes, traction control and conventional front and side airbags are part of the safety package.

The best way to avoid an accident, though, is to avoid an accident, and that's where the XC90's remarkable handling characteristics come to the front. Though the XC90 is tall (70.2 inches), wide (74.7 inches) and fairly heavy (4,450 pounds), it feels much smaller. Braking is excellent, and even during sharp turns, there's little body lean, yet the ride remains smooth. The XC90 is about the same as the Acura MDX.

The powertrain of the XC90, though, is its weakest point. Many of its competitors offer V8 engines, and here, the Volvo is outclassed.

The six-cylinder engine is reasonably willing, but the four-speed automatic transmission is balky and unsure when to shift. At times, from a standing stop, it would pause annoyingly between first and second gears. Maybe they can beef up the five-cylinder's five-speed automatic transmission to handle the greater power the six-cylinder produces.

And even with 268 horsepower, the all-wheel-drive T6 was no drag racer, even with no passengers. Add passengers and a trailer -- Volvo claims the XC90 will tow 5,000 pounds, presumably downhill -- and either engine would be taxed. As mentioned, if you need a truck, buy a truck, because this is no truck.

What it is, though, is a very viable competitor for the Acura MDX, Lexus RX300, BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz M-Class. Prices for the front-wheel-drive, five-cylinder XC90 start at about $34,000 (though don't expect to find many of these for a while), and climb to more than $45,000 for a loaded all-wheel-drive T6 with the sunroof and navigation system.

Volvo says the XC90 target buyer is 45, married, with a median income of $145,000. Forty percent will already own three of more cars. Fifty-five percent will be male.

The company has set some modest, and very achievable, sales goals for the XC90 at first, legitimately wondering if it is too late to the sport ute party. They aren't. The product is good enough, and Volvo owners are loyal enough, to make the XC90 a major success for a company that needs some good news.
 

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