2016 Volvo S90 India review, test drive
The S90 is Volvo's answer to the Mercedes E-Class, the Audi A6 and BMW 5-series; we take it for a spin.
Published on Oct 14, 2016 10:00:00 PM
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What’s it like to drive?
The S90 will be launched in India initially with just one engine option – a 2.0-litre diesel that puts out 190hp. Known as the D4, it is transversely located in the nose, drives the front wheels and comes mated to a eight-speed transmission. Rear suspension is by air springs.
Despite being a diesel, refinement levels are actually quite good. Idle is relatively silent and there isn't much clatter as the engine spools up either. In fact, once you have a few revs on board, the motor smoothens up beautifully. The pull from 1,800rpm to 4,000 is quite strong and the engine is so happy to rev in this band; it sometimes feels as smooth and as responsive as a petrol. Performance as a result quite strong and 100 comes up in a quick 8.58sec, and that's quicker than many competitors in this class. The engine does strain and get a bit loud in the last 500rpm of the powerband, so it's best to shift up early, but otherwise it does good job.
The S90 also rides beautifully, completely in line with its approach to luxury and comfort. Cabin insulation is pretty good, there's a suppleness to the suspension that allows it to float over most bad patches with ease, and though this car uses relatively large 18-inch wheels, there's no low-speed juddering either. There is a bit of mild pitching and bobbing in 'Comfort', particularly over really bad roads, but this is easily taken care of by selecting 'Dynamic' that stiffens things up mildly and keeps the ride flat. You do 'feel' the road more here, especially the bad patches, but the increase in stability offsets this.
What's also quite impressive is straight-line stability, especially at speed. There's no feeling of nervousness or looseness as the speedometer climbs the dial and the S90 takes high-speed corners with plenty of poise too; the air springs (rear only) help here. There is a bit of wind noise as you go quicker though, and as the corners get tighter the car needs more and more steering lock to turn in, but overall this sure does make for a very accomplished mile muncher.
What the Volvo isn't very good at is tighter corners. The steering is quite dead and devoid of feel. The S90 always seems to want to go straight, and try and drive it like BMW 5-series or even a Merc E-class and you'll be disappointed. That said, the S90 is nice and light to drive in city traffic and despite the length, it isn't too intimidating to weave through traffic in either.
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