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The 2016 Motor Trend SUV of the Year: Volvo XC90


zipnzap

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"We’re accustomed to hearing about the prohibitive expense of developing new platforms, even from the biggest and richest car companies. Indeed, the last platform that Volvo developed independently entered production almost 20 years ago. It’s still perfectly good—it underpins a number of brand-new Ford models that we like just fine—so you’d think a small company like Volvo would just make small, incremental improvements to it."

 

Interesting quote. That said, the P2 looks like it has run it's course and perhaps it's time to let go. I can only presume the D3 is on borrowed time.

 

I forgot to mention, I think the XC90 is just plain gorgeous.

 

The engine, is that a Volvo design or shared from EcoBoost?

Edited by Hugh
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"We’re accustomed to hearing about the prohibitive expense of developing new platforms, even from the biggest and richest car companies. Indeed, the last platform that Volvo developed independently entered production almost 20 years ago. It’s still perfectly good—it underpins a number of brand-new Ford models that we like just fine—so you’d think a small company like Volvo would just make small, incremental improvements to it."

 

Interesting quote. That said, the P2 looks like it has run it's course and perhaps it's time to let go. I can only presume the D3 is on borrowed time.

 

I forgot to mention, I think the XC90 is just plain gorgeous.

 

The engine, is that a Volvo design or shared from EcoBoost?

 

All-new. The engine (either gas or diesel versions) uses both a supercharger and a turbo-charger. A battery pack is added on top of that for hybrid versions.

 

Not digging the front end - for some reason it screams Durango to me. But the interior is gorgeous.

 

The grill screams Buick to me

 

The grille and headlights are basically a production version of these:
It seems like it will be their new design language going forward.
I'd kill for both the Concept Coupe and Concept Estate to be put into production as-is as revivals of the P1800 and 1800ES.

Will this make C&D's 10 Best?

 

It's definitely a front-runner.

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Only the petrol engines get the SC. That's a neat concept having the SC provide boost at low rpm but I wonder just how much more effective that is compared to Ford's ecoboost - my 2.0L EB Fusion has tons of torque right off idle already. It could allow the turbo to provide better boost at higher RPM which is where the ecoboost engines fall off a little.

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The engine, is that a Volvo design or shared from EcoBoost?

 

The VEA engine family was developed entirely in-house by Volvo. There's an interesting story on how this project came into being. Here's an excerpt from Autoblog:

 

 

According to Derek Crabb, Volvo's former powertrain engineering vice president (now a senior advisor), a team of engineers began working on an all-new engine family in 2007 when the company was still owned by Ford, and using derivations of Ford engines. "We suddenly realized we're spending a fortune adapting Ford engines to our vehicles – unique fuel tanks, unique software," Crabb told Wards Auto in a recent interview.

"We turned that business case around and said, 'What if we did our own engines?' The business case was so obvious," he said. Because Volvo needed specific features for its versions of the engines, he added, "We also were disturbing Ford's manufacturing processes." So Volvo's powertrain executives built a solid case explaining how Volvo's designing, developing and building its own engines would benefit both companies. They didn't know at the time that Ford was negotiating with China's Geely Automobile to sell it the Swedish brand.
"We actually went to [Ford CEO] Alan Mulally eventually and said the business case shows Volvo should develop its own engines," Crabb relates. "At that point, he said 'I agree, but by the way there is a sale process going on. Can you go talk to Geely?' That was, as you can imagine, quite an adventure going to Mulally and then the next day going to Geely."
The VEA program then became a key element of the sale and evolved into a serious, fully-funded R&D project following Volvo's 2010 sale to Geely."

 

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So, it's not just Motor Trend.

 

The XC90 is winning "Vehicle of the Year" awards left and right.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/2016-yahoo-autos-ride-of-the-year-volvo-xc90-104629512.html

 

Speaking of the new Drive-E, I'm really hoping Volvo puts this version of the engine into production:
Edited by zipnzap
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So wait - you want them to have SUV of the Year, Truck of the Year, AND CUV of the Year? Should they break COTY into Wagons, Sedans, Coupes, and Convertibles? You might care what type of platform something like a Ford Explorer rides on, but you're part of a small minority. These guys include every vehicle that's new in a given year, so if there are no truck-based SUVs to your liking in the list, I think it's time to adapt to change. But you don't have to - my dad still drives a crown vic, after all!

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