New Volvo XC90 specs, price and release date

The Paris Motor Show was our first chance to see Volvo’s replacement for its flagship SUV, the Volvo XC90. The new XC90 promises increased levels of luxury that will take the fight to upmarket German rivals such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes ML. The car will also be offered as a hybrid to give an alternative to the Lexus RX450h.

Volvo has been fuelling our interest in the new XC90 for months now – revealing various concepts before pulling the covers off the production car in August last year. Order books for the limited-edition Volvo XC90 First Edition were full just 47 hours after opening.

Those after a sportier look for their XC90 can choose the R-Design model which the company tells us has been designed for someone "looking for a head-turner [SUV] that radiates a truly sporty and dynamic look". For true performance, the Porsche Cayenne will remain the go-to SUV, however.

New Volvo XC90 engines

The new Volvo XC90 will come with a range of Drive-E four-cylinder engines, promising excellent fuel economy and low emissions.

The most powerful will be the T8 Twin Engine hybrid, which makes an impressive 394bhp. But running costs will be low thanks to fuel consumption of 134.5mpg and CO2 emissions of under 50g/km, making it free to tax and exempt from the London Congestion Charge.

With this engine fitted, the front wheels are powered by a high-tech petrol engine, while the rears are driven by an electric motor to give four-wheel drive. The XC90 Twin Engine can travel up to 26 miles under battery power alone. The 0-62mph time stands at 5.6 seconds - pretty sprightly for a seven-seat SUV.

If you can’t rise to the top-of-the-range T8, Volvo will also offer the XC90 with a pair of turbodiesels. The D5 has 225bhp and can return around 49mpg. All XC90s will come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox to aid fuel economy.

New Volvo XC90 interior & specs

As with the old XC90, which quickly established itself as a family favourite, the 2015 Volvo XC90 will be a seven-seater, but comfort has been improved upon and all seats offer more adjustment than before. The second and third-row seats also fold individually for a flexible load bay.

Volvo has laden the XC90 with plenty of high-tech features including headlights that can be left on full beam without dazzling other drivers. Four-zone climate control means all four corners of the car gets their own heating and air-conditioning controls, and the system runs through Volvo’s CleanZone which filters pollution out of the air before it gets to the passengers inside.

The new Volvo XC90 will be available with technology will make it easier to live with every day. This includes the Park Assist Pilot, which can park the car both on-street and by reversing into a parking bay automatically.

The infotainment system, which is used to control much of the in-car tech, impressed us when we saw it in action at the Paris Motor Show; it's clear, logical and easy to use, and the overall quality of the interior on the show car was excellent.

New Volvo XC90 R-Design

The Volvo XC90 R-Design will be the sporty model in the new SUV range. It gets a unique grille and metal window surrounds, as well as twin exhausts, silver roof rails and 20-inch R-Design alloy wheels.

Inside, the R-Design adds special sports seats, a leather steering wheel and gearlever, as well as numerous R-Design badges on the seats, pedals, floor mats and door sills.

New Volvo XC90 First Edition

To celebrate the year of Volvo's founding, 1,927 ‘First Edition’ models were made available to order online from 3 September. Costing £68,000, they were all finished in Onyx Black paint with 21-inch alloy wheels, while the interiors featured orange and black with walnut trim to set the cars apart from the rest of the range. However, on 5 September, Volvo UK confirmed that all 1,927 models sold out in just 47 hours – with 55 going to UK-based customers.

New Volvo XC90 safety features

The new Volvo XC90 features two never-seen-before safety features – part of Volvo's pledge that no-one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car from 2020.

One of the latest new technologies is Safe Positioning, which is supposed to prevent passenger injury if the car veers off the road due to driver distraction, fatigue or poor weather conditions. If the car detects it has left the road, Safe Positioning tightens the Volvo's seatbelts to prevent vertical movement of the passengers and reduce spinal injuries by up to a third, according to the company.

The second new system is a development of Volvo's City Safe emergency braking. It prevents collisions with oncoming traffic when turning right across opposing traffic. It means the City Braking system can now detect a car coming the other way and apply the brakes to prevent (or reduce the impact of) an accident.

The latest features join a list of existing equipment such as pre-crash protection for rear impacts. Another development of City Safe, this can detect an imminent rear impact and flash the brake lights to warn the oncoming car. If it doesn’t react, the XC90 can tighten its seatbelts and apply its brakes to lessen the chance of the car being involved in a secondary collision.

Buyers of the new XC90 will also get Roll Stability Control. Developed specifically for SUVs, this can apply individual brakes and reduce engine power to stop the XC90 rolling over. If the roll cannot be prevented, the car will deploy its curtain airbags and tighten the seatbelts to further protect the passengers.

This new technology joins an already extensive list of features, including a blind-spot warning system that now detects approaching cars when reversing, an extended road-sign recognition system that can recognise more signs than before and Queue Assist. This can follow the car in front when the Volvo is stuck in a slow-moving traffic.

It works in tandem with the XC90's 360-degree Surround View function, which gives the driver a bird's-eye view thanks to four cameras positioned around the car.

New Volvo XC90 price and release date

The new XC90 will be released in May 2015. The car is priced from £45,785, putting it head-to-head with models such as the BMW X5 and Lexus RX 450h.

For more information on the current Volvo range, including our review of the new XC90, take a look at the Carbuyer Volvo reviews page.