SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

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Review: 2017 Volvo S90 T6 Inscription awd

Almost indecent

Posted: 31 March 2017

The numbers

Base price: R880 700 including CO2 tax

Engine: 1969 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder turbopetrol

Power: 235 kW at 5700 rpm

Torque: 400 Nm between 2200 and 5400 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 5.9 seconds

Top speed: 250 km/h

Real life fuel consumption: About 11.1 l/100 km

Tank: 60 litres (fwd = 55 litres)

Luggage: 500 litres

Maximum towing mass (braked): 2200 kg

Warranty and full maintenance plan: 5 years / 100 000 km

It’s still the automobile safety benchmark: Volvo says its new S90 sedan and V90 wagon were the first to win perfect, six-point, scores in EuroNCAP’s Autonomous Emergency Braking for Pedestrians tests, while earning five-star overall ratings. Their results apparently surpassed those of all other models evaluated in 2016, placing Volvos as the testing authority’s top-three best performing cars of all time. 

It’s magnificent: Its SUV sister, XC90, was voted SA Car of the Year for 2016. The reasons were easy to find. It’s strong, powerful, spacious, connected (a technophile’s dream) and, for a family bus, almost indecently quick. The S90 is more of the same, but in a sedan. 

There are choices: Twelve models spread over three trim levels; Momentum, Inscription and R-Design, are powered by four engines; D4 and D5 diesels with T5 and T6 turbopetrol alternatives. T8s (T6 plus electric motor) are expected later. If you have kept up, all engines are the same size, 1969 cc, with differences coming from various levels of boosting. Higher numbers indicate higher power. 

The T6 engine in our test car is “twin-charged.” That means it’s fitted with a supercharger, to keep low revs clean and lag-free, and a turbocharger for deep-breathing top end power. The combination produces 235 kilowatts and 400 Newton-metres, enabling zero to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds and a governed top speed of 250 – quick for a family car.

All automatic: The TG81-SC gearbox from Aisin is claimed to be the first eight-ratio automatic built for transverse application and is no larger than a previous-generation six-speed. Top-level D5 and T6 models add BorgWarner Gen5 all-wheel drive; not for climbing over rocks but for improved handling in all weathers and better grip in slippery conditions.

Technophiles will love: A bare minimum of buttons and the nine-inch, high definition, Sensus Connect interface that controls almost everything from entertainment and telephony to settings, climate control and navigation. Designed like a smart device, it’s responsive (even when wearing gloves) and intuitive. Use tap, pinch and swipe gestures, with customisable shortcuts, to quickly and easily access vehicle functions. Preset themes for interfaces and instruments allow drivers to choose from classic, minimalistic, metallic or sporty overtones. 

The Home screen houses four main tiles. The upper three are dedicated to navigation, entertainment and telephony. Fourth is for other functions that one can access as needed. Sensus Connect differs from other touch-based interfaces in that its expandable tiles supposedly remain visible and accessible, collapsing around functions the driver wants to focus on. That means no need to navigate back and forth between screens while driving.

Supplementary views offer shortcuts to apps, information systems and other vehicle functions. These include parking sensors, traction control, camera activation and supplementary systems like Lane Keeping Aid. These shortcuts can apparently be rearranged so drivers have immediate access to preferred functions without needing to find a specific shortcut while on the move. But for me it was a case of too many pages, too much information and  certainly unsafe to tackle whie driving. But that’s progress. And car manufacturers insist it’s what we want. 

The rest of us long for strong, fast and simple, Amazon 122s because they had “interfaces” everybody knew and understood. On the other hand, there were no airbags back then; no ABS, ESP, EBD, traction control, City Safety, satnav, hill hold, kiddie-chair anchors, adaptive cruise control, BLIS or Bluetooth. There was no semi-autonomous driving either.

Almost independent: It’s standard on S90s and works up to 130 km/h. Adaptive cruise control and pilot assist, a lane keeping assistant on vitamins, work together to keep the car between the painted lines and a safe distance behind vehicles in front. Volvo painstakingly reminds you that it’s only an Assistance Feature and requires at least one hand on the steering wheel at all times (Don’t you go suin’ our asses just because you’re a candidate for a Darwin Award).

Purely in the interest of Science: Although I hate relinquishing control to some man-made gadget that can’t judge what’s happening, I tried it out along a quiet stretch of freeway. It works well at maintaining distance behind slower traffic and could become addictive because it makes the process look so easy. You can almost feel the car sighing with relief when you move out to overtake and resume your preset speed. 

The self-steering, staying between the lines, part is less happy. Possibly, if all roads were straight, the car could trundle along; happily centred between the road markings. True Life decrees curves and bends, however, and that’s when the system gets ragged. Leaving the vehicle to drift gently towards the centre line, it will swing back into its lane but then oozes toward the edge marking. Lane keeping assist moves it back again, but I prefer to drive smoothly and keep myself neatly in the middle, all by myself, thank you.

Moving away from the techno-babble: Let’s have a quick look at practicalities. The engine provides all the power any sane person needs while the gearbox is as close to perfect as one can get. There is plenty of head- leg- and foot room for a pair of executives in the back seat, with chairs sculpted for two, although a third, small person, might be accommodated at a push. 

There are three full belts and head restraints but the central tunnel is too high for comfort. An armrest folds down to provide storage trays for office stuff or phones, and two cup holders pop out of its front edge if needed. Assuming you had the foresight to specify four-zone climate control (R7 775) and smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (R4 000), the execs should be able to get on with planning hostile take-overs in peace. 

 It also assumes you ticked the box for Air Suspension with Active Chassis, at R17 500. That replaces the back end’s steel suspension with smart airbags and the standard front shocks with self-regulating items. It makes everything acceptably firm yet almost eerily comfortable. You’ll like it.

Moving rearward the boot opens, automatically if you so wish as part of a R65 000 Premium Pack, to 65 centimetres above ground level with a sill about 13 cm deep. It’s long, wide and fairly deep with a light, four rings, two bag hooks, a 12-volt socket and a ski slot. This can only be unlocked from within the boot while an internal flap behind the armrest opens the aperture. The spare is a spacesaver.

Our test car was fitted with various other options but the basic car quite successfully avoids the (alleged) German model of, “May I supersize that with wipers and horn, Madame?” Bear that in mind when comparing prices and, despite what Bertus-by-the-barbeque might tell you, you may rest assured that Volvos retain their trade-in values rather well.

If you can master its endless apps and menus, the S90 is big, quiet, safe, connected and luxurious; almost indecently so.

Test unit from Volvo Car SA press fleet

Our review of the diesel version is here

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What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left. 

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There is no "editorial policy" and no advertising, so there are no masters to please. What you see is what I experienced on the days I drove the vehicles. 

I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships providing the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? If you have a genuine concern, I will get back to you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.