Volvo Canada will finally put the much-hyped 4.4-litre V-8 version of its XC90 station wagon on sale in July, with the 2006 five-seat model retailing for $64,995 and the seven-seater for $67,295.For comparison's sake in the XC90 range, the base model (the 2.5T) with five seats carries an MSRP of $49,995, the 2.5T seven-seater is $55,620, and the soon-to-disappear T6 $62,620.
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| 2006 Volvo XC90 V-8 (photo: Volvo Cars) |
Volvo Canada says the XC90 V8 is aimed "at the heart of the market,'' which would include the Acura MDX, BMW 5-Series, Cadillac SRX, and Lexus RX330, though not all of them are available with V-8s.Along with the two additional seats in the back, the seven-seat model also gets an integrated child booster seat in the second row.The Luxury Package, which costs an additional $2,000 for the five-seater and $1,800 for the seven-seater, includes rear parking assistance, mass movement sensor, level sensor, cargo cover, retractable side-view mirrors, wood steering wheel, integrated booster seat (for the five-seat version) and a Dolby Pro Logic II premium audio system. XC90 V8 customers can further customize the vehicle with a DVD-based Navigation System ($2,500) and a new dual-screen rear entertainment system ($2,500).''With this pricing strategy,'' says Larry Futers, the newly-named vice-president of sales for Volvo Cars of Canada, "we feel the 2006 XC90 V8 is ideally positioned to be a strong competitor in the high-end of the luxury SUV market.''
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| 2006 Volvo XC90 V-8 (photo: Volvo Cars) |
More importantly, says Futers, "this is a V8-powered luxury SUV that doesn't compromise our core values of safety, quality and environmental responsibility."The V-8 will of course use more fuel and therefore create more pollution than any of the other versions of the XC90, but apparently that's a fair trade for the extra performance. Futers says the V8 "offers the grunt without the guilt."The only fuel economy figure supplied by Volvo is 13 L/100km, which is not on the low side.While the amount of guilt is open to question, the amount of grunt isn't, and that's the key selling point of this new model. The 4.4-litre engine produces 315 hp and its max torque is 320 lb-ft at 3,900 rpm, though from approximately 2,000 rpm and up no less than 273 lb-ft of torque is at the driver's disposal.It's said to be quick enough to move from 0 to 100 kmh in seven seconds.Like all the other engines in the Volvo brand, the V-8 had to be fit transversely in the engine compartment, which means it sits sideways under the hood. This is important, says Hans Wikman, Volvo Cars vice-president of large cars, because a transverse engine is helpful in "maintaining the frontal crumple zones in the XC90 and thus not compromise on protective safety."