All will be revealed about its new XC90 car – but starting from the inside and working outwards: it will first ‘disclose’ the car’s new interior features, heading towards a ‘grand finale’ – a full external reveal – in August.
The XC90 first appeared in 2002, and “revolutionised” the SUV segment with its space, versatility and safety, the distributor says. The car was a “global sales phenomenon”.
The new interior is the most luxurious in a Volvo, inspired by Sweden – clean, beautiful and crafted from the finest materials.
“The most striking feature is a tablet-like touch screen control console,” says Thomas Ingenlath, senior vice president design, Volvo Cars. Virtually button free, it offers a new way to control a car and access internet-based products and services.
Inside, the car has soft leather, wood, handcrafted details like a gear lever made of crystal glass from Orrefors, the famous Swedish glass maker, and a diamond-cut start/stop button and volume control.
“These details are the jewels of the interior,” says Robin Page, Volvo Cars’ interior design director. “They add a bit of exclusive playfulness rather than pure functionality,”
Use of the company’s ‘scalable product architecture’ is said to have created “a far wider range of design possibilities, improve driveability and permit the inclusion of the latest safety features and connected in-car technologies, while increasing interior space”.
“Volvo Cars doesn’t do technology for technology’s sake – everything in a Volvo is there to make our cars safer and more pleasurable to drive,” says Alain Visser, senior vice president, Volvo Cars.
Novel seats in the new car free up interior space for passengers in the second and third rows, helping make it a genuine seven-seater.
“Seats don’t need a lot of thick padding to be comfortable. The full seat core has an ergonomic shape that resembles the human spine. [Adjustments] allow the individual user to create an ideal seating position,” says Page.
The company’s standard Comfort seats are available with intuitive, smooth power operation, including adjustable side bolsters, seat cushion extension, multi-directional lumbar support and vertical adjustment of the headrests. Three settings can be stored in the memory. Ventilation and massage functions are optional.
The all-new, optional Contour seat has been designed to offer excellent side support all the way from the shoulders to the thighs.
