Volvo reveals all-new XC90 SUV, and a plan for its future — finally

It's been four years since anyone could write a sentence that began "This is the new Volvo...," but: This is the new Volvo XC90 — a luxury SUV that launches an $11 billion reinvention plan for the Swedish automaker. And after seeing it from all angles at the launch in Stockholm, it looks like Volvo may have a chance to become relevant again.

The XC90 was last updated 12 years ago, or two lifetimes in the world of contemporary automobiles. But Volvo is somewhat deserving of a reprieve—the Swedish manufacturer was orphaned by Ford during the carpocalypse of 2008 and then picked up by the China's Geely in 2010, causing a lag in product development. It’s not that shocking that the marque’s flagship XC90 crossover has been on the market for just about the entirety of the 21^st century. Also, long life cycles could realistically be invoked as part of the brand’s heritage; the 240 was sold in the United States for nearly 20 years.

The exterior design of Volvo’s new seven-passenger luxury crossover doesn't break much new territory. It is round of nose and slab of side, and predictably longer, lower, and wider than its predecessor. Through the use of high-strength steel, aluminum, and composites, it weighs nearly 300 lbs less than the archaic outgoing model. Yet it looks—particularly in dark colors, which shadow some of its surface detail—like a distended Subaru Forester. What became of the gorgeous, radical, sculpted concepts Volvo has been trailing to auto shows for the past year or two? They’re paid homage to vestigially in some jeweled bits on the bow and stern.

Up front, these introduce the brand’s new face. We see a revamped version of the familiar ring-and-arrow “iron mark”—now with a more dilated hole and a pointer that aligns invisibly with the grille’s downward slash—and our first production look at the latest LED headlamp signature: a sideways T that resembles Thor’s mighty hammer. Out back we have a new LED version of their iconic full-length tail lamp treatment, now looking even more like a bloody scythe.

It is in the interior that the crossover really separates itself from the past—and from the pack. With the clean, uncluttered use of materials like nappa leathers, unvarnished walnut, aluminum, and Orrefors crystal (!), and an excellent 19-speaker Bowers & Wilkins stereo, the cabin surpasses the digi-technicality of Acuras and Lexuses, tromps all over austere rivals from BMW and Mercedes, and ends up feeling like a Scandinavian Range Rover.

Volvo has some of the best seats in the industry, and here every one of them oscillates on its own. Additionally, the first row can be had heated and cooled and massaging, the second can be had with heat, this middle row can be advanced or retreated to give more room for cargo or legs, the back two rows can fold flat, and event the third row can accommodate an actual adult; we tested it by making a stovepipe-shaped 6-foot-7 colleague clamber back there and fold his knees up behind his molars.

Adding to this interior differentiation is Volvo’s new tablet-like infotainment interface, which sits—as in a Tesla Model S or McLaren 650—in a vertical position in the center of the dash. The design is handsome, and the layout seems rational, with five stacked tiles (navigation, media, phone, option, and climate) that can be swapped, swiped, expanded, or minimized with simple finger gestures. Though we didn’t have a chance to use it while driving (we didn’t drive the vehicle at all, yet) we came away very impressed. Imagine if Cadillac's CUE was bigger, faster, better looking, non-haptically crippled—and actually worked. Or if you had an iPad that connected to and with everything in your car.

Volvo’s other revolution is under the hood, where it has demarcated its plan to give up on its somewhat guzzly five- and six-cylinder engines, and move to a four-cylinder “DriveE” lineup. In the XC90, two variants will initially be available: a twin-charged (super and turbo) 2-liter four cylinder that puts out an impressive 320 hp, and that same engine mated to an 80 hp plug-in electric motor for 400 hp. Front and all-wheel drive options will be available. All will be paired with an eight-speed automatic.

Because Volvo is Volvo, they’ve also invented two new areas in which to tout safety. The first is an anti-Darwinian system that automatically brakes if you drive into the path of an oncoming car. The second is one that preps the vehicle for impact in the off chance that you happen to drive off an overpass, trestle, ramp, or cliff. Volvo has set a goal of eliminating deaths and serious injuries in its vehicles by 2020, but this system begs the question: is Volvo running out of types of accidents to protect us from, or are they simply inventing more obscure ones to which they can then offer simple salvation, like some pyromaniacal firefighter.

XC90s will begin rolling onto our shores this April. The most basic version of the vehicle will run you $48,900, the ultimate tricked out hybrid layout — available initially as a limited launch-year First Edition — will cost more than $66,000. Dare we say, when pricing out Q7s and GLs, that it seems like it might be worth it.

If this bigwig is too stately for you and your budget, wait a bit. Volvo plans to spin eight more vehicles off of this new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) in the next four years, replacing every new wagon, sedan, and crossover in their portfolio with a number above 40 in its name. These vehicles will apparently adhere more righteously to the handsome exterior design language forecast by the aforementioned recent coupe, wagon, and crossover concepts.

Like a well-marked box of chocolates, we no longer have to worry about what’s inside, and we already know the outside is going to be delicious. If this if Volvo’s plan, consider us ready for the Swedish invasion.