Volvo S90: What to expect for India

Volvo recently took the wraps off its latest sedan the S90 at a function in Sweden. It replaces the S80 in the automaker’s line up and will be their competitor for vehicles like the Audi A6, Jaguar XF, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series.

It is based on the same platform SPA as the XC90 and will spawn an estate version (V90) and at least one coupe model. It is important car for Volvo as it gives them a new chance to fight in a segment with relatively decent volumes.

The car, when unveiled in Detroit next month will be offered with three petrol engines in the T5, T6 and T8 plugin hybrid which is Volvo’s most powerful engine on sales. However, in the Indian context the S90 will also be offered with a diesel engine which in this case will be the 2.0-litre unit currently powering the XC90. It produces 225bhp and 470Nm of torque with power going to the front wheels via an eight-speed AT.

Volvo S90

The XF and the E-Class get 2.2-litre units producing 187bhp/450Nm and 204bhp/500Nm while the India spec A6, 5 Series and both have 2.0-litre units producing 190bhp/400Nm and 184/380Nm. This makes the Volvo’s diesel engine quite a bit more powerful than the competition. However, it must be noted that the E-Class will be an all-new car next year while the 5 Series will get a facelift next year.

The S90 is also longer than the all the vehicles in the lineup when it comes to full length but slots in to second place in terms of wheelbase as it is beaten by the BMW 5 Series which beats it by a full 20mm. But this is unlikely to be a hindrance of any kind as the S90s roof is far more conventional than the 5 Series making for more headroom in the former.

Now coming to the most important part which is price! The India spec S90 like its SUV sibling is likely to be offered in two top-spec variants; Momentum and Inscription. This means all the bells and whistles. However, with all Volvo’s being CBUs this is likely to push the price of the car a tad bit above its rivals which means that it will have a price range of around Rs 50 lakh to Rs 65 lakh.

We believe that the Volvo S90 will be launched by the middle of next year for the Indian market.