S90/V90 [Official] Volvo S90 Official first pics

[Rolf]

Good review by Autogefuhl.

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[Mick Briesgau]

Has any of you guys driven the S90 yet? One of our Swedish friends perhaps? @Mr Robert @LaArtist @Zafiro?

 

[Zafiro]

Has any of you guys driven the S90 yet? One of our Swedish friends perhaps? @Mr Robert @LaArtist @Zafiro?

Nope. As far as I know they haven't reached the dealers yet.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Nope. As far as I know they haven't reached the dealers yet.

Thanks for your response, Zafiro. In Germany it's already at the dealers for almost 2 weeks now. And it can be driven already. They offered me a testdrive last week, but I couldn't. Officialy however the showroom premiere is from next saturday July 29th on.

 

[Zafiro]

Thanks for your response, Zafiro. In Germany it's already at the dealers for almost 2 weeks now. And it can be driven already. They offered me a testdrive last week, but I couldn't. Officialy however the showroom premiere is from next saturday July 29th on.

OK I see. It might be here as well then but I've been so busy driving my motorcycle these days while the weather is still good. Cars comes second place for the moment
Well, then all hope goes to Artist, he seems to be close with Volvo.

 

[Mr Robert]

Nope. As far as I know they haven't reached the dealers yet.

No driving as of yet, but they are on the streets so it will not be long.

 

[Zafiro]

No driving as of yet, but they are on the streets so it will not be long.

Really? damn I need to go outside a lot more

 

[Mr Robert]

Really? damn I need to go outside a lot more

The weather is nice enough! Seen a few around, but that could be down to executives being on vacation and my parentes live where a few of them spend their time off.

 

[slicknick]

Starting to hit the dealerships over here (Belgium) for the past few days...And damn it looks even better in person

 

[LaArtist]

haven't driven it, my contacts at volvo went to CEvT..

 

[KiwiRob]

I saw my first one yesterday. They look really good from the front, but side on and from the rear they don't look as good in the metal as they do in photos. To my eyes it looks very American, which I guess is the idea since the majority of them will be sold there. Can't wait to see a V90, I think that will be the muts nuts, it fixes all that's odd about the S90.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

I managed to get a testdrive this weekend. If there's something particular you want to know, just say so and I 'll see what I can do. S90 D5 AWD Inscription

 

[Monster]

I managed to get a testdrive this weekend. If there's something particular you want to know, just say so and I 'll see what I can do. S90 D5 AWD Inscription

Engine and gearbox response, steering feel and ratio.

 

[Rolf]

I managed to get a testdrive this weekend. If there's something particular you want to know, just say so and I 'll see what I can do. S90 D5 AWD Inscription

How it compares to the E-class for interior build quality, space and ride comfort and 5 series for steering response.

 

[Giannis]

I managed to get a testdrive this weekend. If there's something particular you want to know, just say so and I 'll see what I can do. S90 D5 AWD Inscription

How nose heavy it is, how does it turn in while trail braking, how does it behave with a scandinavian flick and whether taking a high speed corner at the limit results in a balanced 4 wheel drift or mild understeer.

Also, how effective is the rear suspension against bump steering and mid corner anomalies, and finally, how noticeable is the weight transfer in a rapid lane change manoeuvre.

 

[Giannis]

@Mick Briesgau

I don't understand why you find my post funny, maybe you are looking for different things in a car, or you don't care about pushing it above 7/10 of its capabilities.

For the record, I do own a Volvo S60, possibly the most comfortable car in its segment at the time of my purchase, which I mainly use to cover long distances comfortably, but it has seen its fair share of driving at the limit.

From the factory my car had a heavy tendency to understeer, which I managed to alter with the help of a professional engineer who specializes in rally car suspensions. All we did was play with the factory settings and change some angles (within the factory limits) and make it as neutral as possible. Now, at high speed cornering, it drifts with all four wheels and a flick results in nice oversteer most of the times. Sadly, it is nose heavy enough, so under certain conditions I can't avoid understeer. It's much less nose heavy than an A4, though.

Over the years, I've perfected my trail braking as well, which is a very effective way to drive this thing fast.

As for the suspension, it handles bumps surprisingly well, but it's soft, which means weight transfer in rapid lane changes can go south easily (ESP works miracles here). I've contemplated hardening the suspension many times, but that would defeat the purpose of driving a Volvo, so I've compromised with this one.

I believe what I ask in the above post is not funny or extreme if you are a conscious driver, conscious as far as knowing your limits and willing to play within their extent.

 

[Mick Briesgau]

@ Giannis
If a dealer trusts me to drive a brand new car worth € 75.000 with less than 100 km on the clock, for a distance of circa 400 km, I'm not going to take the car to the limit, let alone push it in a high speed corner to see if it results in a balanced 4 wheel drift or mild understeer.

Something as 'trail braking' I do not see in combination with driving a normal sedan on normal crowded dutch streets. If I want to do this I take a much sportier car than a S90 or take the S90 to a testtrack to try out these kind of things with a car I've never driven before and most certainly isn't made for sporty driving. And on top a car I probably will not buy myself.

Talking about Scandivian Flick...serious Giannis? If I wanted to do these kind of manoeuvres I'd take a suiting car, like a BMW 3er or something like that. Or I'd do what I did with my own car a few months ago (like I've done many times before by the way) and take it on a drivers' orientation and safety training. Than you can do all that kind of stuff on a restricted track and see how it reacts.

Overall I read you post as if you asked me to drive a 5 metres car as if I it was a nimble rallyecar. Could very well be I misinterpreted your post...

 

[Giannis]

Interesting. But I think you got me wrong.

I am not a hooligan, nor do I drive Peter Solberg style on public roads all the time. (If I did, I would do it in something different than a beige Volvo).

I need to know, though, how my car, a test drive car, or whatever I am driving, behaves at most possible scenarios. This means that I need to know how much will it take it to stop from let's say 50 km/h, how will it behave in a sudden lane change, because some idiot decided to overtake in a one lane per direction back road, or how does the steering respond and rear suspension filter out bump and roll steering, because most roads here are terrible.

I think that these fairly logical things to check in a car that you seriously (or mildly) consider. It's your money you'll be spending and you don't want to regret it.

If a dealer trusts me to drive a brand new car worth € 75.000 with less than 100 km on the clock, for a distance of circa 400 km, I'm not going to take the car to the limit, let alone push it in a high speed corner to see if it results in a balanced 4 wheel drift or mild understeer.

I don't often test drive cars, but when I do, I prefer to do it my way. Of course, I explain to the sales person exactly what I want to find out and ask for permission. The last time I test drove a car from a dealership, last year the latest S60 D4, I asked the salesperson to let me pick the roads and if he is comfortable with me doing what I mentioned in post #235. He asked his boss and he said ok, so I did do all those things. Interestingly enough, the salesperson had absolutely no idea how the S60 behaved in such conditions, to such extent that I took him to the same route with my personal car, so that he would understand the differences. It was an interesting experience.

Bottom line, I ask for what I want, politely and thoroughly. Most times I get what I want. Some times I don't.

Something as 'trail braking' I do not see in combination with driving a normal sedan on normal crowded dutch streets. If I want to do this I take a much sportier car than a S90 or take the S90 to a testtrack to try out these kind of things with a car I've never driven before and most certainly isn't made for sporty driving. And on top a car I probably will not buy myself.

Understood and, for the record, I have absolutely no idea about how it is to drive in the Netherlands. But I cover considerable distances in empty back roads and occasionally I enjoy a more spirited drive. The other solution is the only proper track in the country, which is at the other end of the country.

Talking about Scandivian Flick...serious Giannis? If I wanted to do these kind of manoeuvres I'd take a suiting car, like a BMW 3er or something like that. Or I'd do what I did with my own car a few months ago (like I've done many times before by the way) and take it on a drivers' orientation and safety training. Than you can do all that kind of stuff on a restricted track and see how it reacts.

Actually I am serious. I don't go around sideways every morning, but a rapid lane change or change of direction is a manoeuvre than can be useful in an emergency situation in public roads. Like an animal jumping in front of you, or God forbid, a pedestrian.

If I am buying a car, I need to know that it won't roll over in such a situation, or that it can handle such a scenario without spinning.

Overall I read you post as if you asked me to drive a 5 metres car as if I it was a nimble rallyecar. Could very well be I misinterpreted your post...

95% of my time I drive like a 80 year old, but for the other 5% I want to be prepared.

If the percentages were the other way around, I'd be driving something else.

 

[Giannis]

Then again, if I didn't really care about what I drive, and just cared about going from point A to point B, outside my office you'd find something different than this:

 

[Mick Briesgau]

Interesting. But I think you got me wrong.

Apparently I did.

I need to know, though, how my car, a test drive car, or whatever I am driving, behaves at most possible scenarios. This means that I need to know how much will it take it to stop from let's say 50 km/h, how will it behave in a sudden lane change, because some idiot decided to overtake in a one lane per direction back road, or how does the steering respond and rear suspension filter out bump and roll steering, because most roads here are terrible.

I think that these fairly logical things to check in a car that you seriously (or mildly) consider. It's your money you'll be spending and you don't want to regret it.

I couldn't agree more. The thing is, I buy every 2-3 years a new car. Mostly in the same segment and those cars all drive very well and controled. The last four were two W221, a CLS and the W222. All those cars I've driven also on drivers' safety trainings. Therefore I've got much less need to check the aspects you mentioned.

I don't often test drive cars, but when I do, I prefer to do it my way. Of course, I explain to the sales person exactly what I want to find out and ask for permission. The last time I test drove a car from a dealership, last year the latest S60 D4, I asked the salesperson to let me pick the roads and if he is comfortable with me doing what I mentioned in post #235. He asked his boss and he said ok, so I did do all those things. Interestingly enough, the salesperson had absolutely no idea how the S60 behaved in such conditions, to such extent that I took him to the same route with my personal car, so that he would understand the differences. It was an interesting experience.

Bottom line, I ask for what I want, politely and thoroughly. Most times I get what I want. Some times I don't.

Understood. The fact the salesperson didn't have an idea about how the S60 would react is quite interesting indeed.

Understood and, for the record, I have absolutely no idea about how it is to drive in the Netherlands. But I cover considerable distances in empty back roads and occasionally I enjoy a more spirited drive. The other solution is the only proper track in the country, which is at the other end of the country.

Netherlands: 41.543 km², lots of water and circa 18,000,000 residents. Says almost all

Actually I am serious. I don't go around sideways every morning, but a rapid lane change or change of direction is a manoeuvre than can be useful in an emergency situation in public roads. Like an animal jumping in front of you, or God forbid, a pedestrian.

If I am buying a car, I need to know that it won't roll over in such a situation, or that it can handle such a scenario without spinning.

Well, I think I'll find a spot to do that.

95% of my time I drive like a 80 year old, but for the other 5% I want to be prepared.

So do I, Giannis, want to be prepared I mean (and same goes for the 95-5% part by the way ). That's why I'm taking those driver's training courses every once and a while.