NAIAS 2016: Volvo S90 is Your Deer-detecting Swedish Executive Saloon

by Chris Tonn

Published: January 11th, 2016

naias 2016 volvo s90 is your deer detecting swedish executive saloon

After winning the North American Truck of the Year award with the excellent XC90, Volvo is clearly on a roll. Get it? Volvo is Latin for “I roll.”

No? Never mind.

Following up the SUV is a new large luxury sedan, the S90, sharing much with the big truck.

(There once was a time when CUVs were developed from sedans. What a world we live in.)

The S90 comes standard with the T6 four-cylinder twincharged engine found in the XC90. A T8 plug-in hybrid version is optional, offering 410 horsepower.

A semi-autonomous “Pilot Assist” feature is standard, which provides steering input to maintain lane alignment on the highway, coupled with adaptive cruise control.

The styling looks quite low, wide, and sleek, though the rear is much less dramatic than the rest of the car.

Important for some parts of the country is “Large Animal Detection,” which, unsurprisingly, detects and warns of roadside deer, moose, and other large animals to minimize collisions.

#2016Naias #2016NorthAmericanInternationalAutoShow #2017VolvoS90 #DetroitAutoShow #Hybrid #Plug-inHybrid #S90 #T6 #T8 #VolvoS90 #XC90

Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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6 of 44 comments

Pdl2dmtl on Jan 11, 2016

I don't get this car. Whoever has the money to buy this car wouldn't be better off spending said money on a BMW or a Merc, if European luxury is a must? Second thing is: what's wrong with Volvo dropping a V8 400HP engine in this E-Klasse wanabe and bringing to N America a 2l 4 cylinder mastodont of an SUV? Did someone say these guys are on borrowed time? This reeks of desperation. Not to mention design wise this car is a trainwreck. The designers of the front end never met with the designers of the rear end. Here, I said it.

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- CJinSD on Jan 12, 2016
  
  I agree with you about the silliness of high power density in a small engine powering a two and half ton tank, but supposedly Volvo sold more cars in 2015 than at any time during their history. Have Chinese Volvos replaced Buicks as the cars of Chinese middle managers? Has the world's population exploded since Volvos were last relevant? Perhaps I have a different perspective than many because I grew up in a deranged college town with a new Volvo dealer and a national Volvo parts business that trades in used Volvos, but Volvo 240s were one of the four most visible cars in C'ville in the '80s. When the S60 came out, they were once again something you saw everywhere. I spent most of the past nine years in San Diego, and I've been back in wobbly VA for a couple weeks now. I've been seeing about one Volvo a week for the past several years, and nothing has changed. Whoever is buying them now, it doesn't seem to be the people around me that abandoned them for Subarus, Priuses, and Germans.
  
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- McDuck on Jan 12, 2016
  
  They are not dropping a V8 on this car. The engine line-up is the same one as with the XC90.
  
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- Stuki on Jan 13, 2016
  
  @CJinSD Pent up demand after several lean years. There are lots and lots of people who really, really, really! want Volvo to be great again. It is a bit of a cult brand in some circles. And now, since every darned new car on the road is within +- 10% of every other wrt objective "greatness" (at least for the first 50,000 miles), those guys now have a chance to feel smug about driving a "great" Volvo again.
  
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Kmars2009 on Jan 12, 2016

Because between now and 2020 the EPA Co2 and gas mileage requirements, are going to be tougher. I am sure there will be penalties for low CAFE mileage and high Co2. In addition, more cars will offer plug in hybrid as an option. If Volvo wants this to be it's big global seller, they must plan for the future, with turbos and superchargers...not resort to the OLD way of doing things. Don't get me wrong, I love a V8 too. My Mercedes S Class has one, but the future is all about clean, efficient, if not powerful from turbos...4 cyl, electric, hybrid tech. The V8 will still be around...just not in a companys main car. Even the new Camaro has a turbo 4 now...as well as the Mustang.

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- Heavy handle on Jan 12, 2016
  
  Almost nobody bought the previous V8 S80, so they decided to make cars for paying customers, not for for internet daydreamers. There are lots of V8 options in this price category. Hyundai-Kia have 'em, the three Germs have one each, Lexus still offers one (I think), Chrysler has some. It's a saturated market, and none of those options are all that popular.
  
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