Test drive Volvo S90

How the Swedes managed to almost catch up with the segment leaders, what an ergonomic miscalculation in Volvo is difficult to put up with and why the S90 can be a very profitable purchase

Surprisingly, in our stagnant car market, the Volvo brand manages to demonstrate sales growth of as much as 25%. In the first six months of this year, the Swedes sold almost four thousand cars in Russia, breaking into the top 5 of the premium segment. Moreover, they are already breathing into the back of Audi, which has been replaced by the Japanese from Lexus from third to fourth in the rating.

This fact is even more surprising because Volvo dealers are not as generous with discounts as other premium brands. Then a completely reasonable question arises: what is the secret of success? It's simple: in cars. Almost five years ago, Volvo took an incredible leap forward. Then the Swedes showed the second generation XC90 and almost killed demanding customers on the spot. The car surprised me with both very fresh design ideas and technological stuffing. A modular platform, modern turbo engines and, of course, a scattering of driver's assistants.

Today, almost the entire model line of the company has tried on both a new corporate style and modular architecture, but it is the flagship S90 that is the quintessence of Volvo. The car is more than three years old, and it still catches the eye in the stream. Especially in this bright sky blue.

Yes, maybe the interior design no longer seems as stylish and in step with the times as in the year of the premiere. But every detail of the S90's interior still leaves the feeling of an expensive and high-quality thing. Isn't that what people who are ready to spend money appreciate?

Of course, you can try to find flaws in the S90. For example, a two-liter engine with an output of over 300 forces, although it drives the car cheerfully, does not sound very noble. Especially when working under load. But what does it matter to the passengers sitting inside if you can hardly hear it?

Or, say, a car with the R-design package on these huge wheels is still stiff, especially on sharp bumps. But is this package given to the load to the car?

All in all, the S90 is perfectly balanced. It is fast, but comfortable and not harsh. In a word, intelligent - as any Volvo should be. So any attempt to find serious flaws in it will be like nitpicking.

Now imagine that almost all these qualities are in one form or another incorporated into the new Swedish crossovers, and in three different classes and sizes. After all, besides the XC90, Volvo also has the XC60 and the compact XC40. After that you still have questions, what is the secret of the Swedes' success? I do not have.

Unlike most, it's obvious to me that Volvo's designers missed the mark a bit with this car. I know, quite a strange statement considering the fact that the car looks very cool in the stream. Moreover, in this blue color.

But let's be clear. Any of us spends more time inside the car than outside, looking at cool shapes. Especially in Moscow, where six months of the year there is an incomprehensible mess of snow, mud and reagents on the roads.

Therefore, for me it is much more important how the car's interior is executed than its exterior. Moreover, both from the point of view of design and ease of use, and with regard to materials for finishing and assembly. It is for this reason that the interior of the Volvo gives me a slight dissonance.

I am sure that three years ago, when the current generation of the S90 just appeared, the interior of this sedan surprised and seemed unrealistically stylish. But today, after such a short time, against the background of space interiors of Audi or even Lexus, the front panel of Volvo with a vertically oriented multimedia touchscreen looks somehow quite ordinary. Especially in this boring black color. Perhaps his perception would have changed if there was a salon in branded Scandinavian tones and with a light veneer instead of this ugly carbon-look insert, but alas.

However, I also have a couple of complaints about the ergonomics of the S90. For example, after a week of using the car, I could not get used to the washer for starting the motor on the central tunnel. Again, the media menu seems overloaded with information and icons to me. Well, it is not very clear why a separate block of physical buttons on the center console is allocated for the audio system, and the climate control is carried out by the same sensor.

The rest of the Volvo is certainly good. The car is dynamic, but not gluttonous. The Volvo is also quite soft on the move, but at the same time understandable and easy to drive. Unsurprisingly, the Swedes have grown their market share so dramatically. Although I am sure that the main cash register of the Russian office of Volvo is still made by new compact crossovers. I myself would prefer them instead of sedans.

You can endlessly talk about the design, the special Scandinavian style or the nuances of the interior trim, but as soon as it comes to buying a car, especially one as expensive as this Volvo, emotions tend to fade into the background. And sober and pragmatic calculation comes out on top. At least for me. After all, a large business-class sedan is not a red Fiat 500. And the choice in favor of this car can hardly be attributed to the category of emotional actions.

So, if you look at the S90 from the most pragmatic side, it turns out that this is a profitable offer. The car is sold with us only with two-liter gasoline and diesel engines, which only plays into the hands of the model - the price list with a combination of consumer qualities turns out to be humane.

The price of a car with a base 190 hp engine starts at $ 39. A similar BMW 000-Series will cost over $ 5, while the Audi A40 and Mercedes E-Class will be even more expensive.

And if you pick up the most balanced S90 with a 249-horsepower gasoline turbo engine and four-wheel drive, then the price will be in the region of 41 - 600 dollars. And even if you buy a fashionable R-design styling package for it, the final bill will still not exceed 42 000. At the same time, the cost of a similar BMW “five” will probably exceed 44 350 dollars. And she is now among the German troika - the most accessible.

You can, of course, still remember about the Jaguar XF and Lexus ES, but the pricing of the British defies logic at all due to the unstable exchange rate of the pound. And the Japanese, although they will be somewhere near in cost, will not have either a powerful turbo engine or all-wheel drive.