Further Refinement for a Thoroughly Refined Luxury SUVIn 2003, the Volvo XC90 took the premium SUV market by storm. Prior
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| This is the new XC90. No, really, it is. (Photo: Volvo Cars of Canada) |
to its launch, few thought that such an unconventional SUV from a brand that had never built an SUV before would cut the mustard, especially against the stiff competition of BMW's X5 and Merc's ML. But to the surprise of many, it sold like hotcakes, quickly becoming and holding the title of North America's most popular European SUV. To date, Canadians have gobbled up in excess of 8,000 XC90s, and to ensure that they continue to do so, Volvo will be unveiling its first major update.
In
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| New lights feature bi-xenon beams that swivel to light up around corners. (Photo: Volvo Cars of Canada) |
much the same way that Volvo modernized the S60, V70 and XC70 in 2005, Sweden's biggest carmaker has done the same to its seven-seater XC90 SUV.This 2007 model-year XC90 features one of the mildest facelifts ever attempted on any vehicle getting a mid-cycle upgrade. While there are new bi-xenon headlamps that swivel up to 15 degrees to illuminate around corners, the changes are near-impossible to spot. Much the same goes for the tail lights, which have a slightly different illumination pattern, and the bumpers which feature slightly different intakes and vents. Oh, and, of course, we can't forget the 'chromier' grille, body-coloured exterior trim and door handles, the mirror-mounted turn signal indicators, or the two new body colours and new alloy wheel designs. In fact, out of all the new changes made, the new will most likely be differentiated from the old by the BLIS (Blind spot Information System) cameras, which are those teardrop-like shapes at the bottom of the side mirrors. This optional system uses a digital still camera to monitor the car's blindspots, and illuminates a warning light when an object or automobile enters the blind spot field.
It's hard to think of a more ergonomically sound cabin than the
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| Adding more luxury never hurt a premium-designed car... so, the XC90 gets better equipment and higher quality materials. (Photo: Volvo Cars of Canada) |
XC90's, so, unsurprisingly, Volvo left well enough alone. Instead, what they've done is made it more luxurious in order to pose a greater threat to its immediate competition, the Land Rover LR3, Audi Q7 and Mercedes-Benz ML-Class. Now features such as new richer leather upholstery, aluminum accents and wood trim of improved quality can be found, plus tasteful side sills, and new gauges that are metal-faced, inspired by the faces of watches (and the S60/V70R). But it's not all better materials that make the new XC90 a more pleasant place to be, but rather it's also the way that Volvo paid attention to such details as the door-pulls which feature a combination of aluminum and soft-touch plastics.
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| Turn signals are now integrated onto the side-view mirrors. Note the dimple near the mirror's base; that's BLIS. (Photo: Volvo Cars of Canada) |
big part of the interior upgrades also include display and software updates on cars equipped with the multi-function LCD display system, and as with other Volvos, the XC90 uses a thin-format LCD display, which slides vertically out of the dashboard. On the 2007 XC90, new more attractive graphics have been used on the interface menus, and the DVD navigation system has been improved for quicker searches when planning routes.
While Premium sound systems of the XC90's past were digitally processed by Dolby's Pro-Logic II system, the new model's sound system is accompanied by a powerful Alpine amplifier, high-quality Dynaudio loudspeakers and an auxiliary plug for MP3 players. If specified, the XC90 can also be had with headrest-mounted LCD screens to display movies, or for playing video games. The finishing touch on the new XC90 is an optional wide-angle rear-view camera which works hand-in-hand with the car's rear parking sensors.
