Much has been made of the brand spanking new Volvo XC90. The entire first production was sold almost immediately through online sales and the car hasn’t even made it to dealerships yet. During the Volvo Ocean Race’s stopover in Cape Town, we got a chance to inspect the new XC90 close up.

XC90 Styling and Thor’s Hammer

This is a big SUV to say the least, there are seven really comfortable seats and still room for a large boot on the back of that. It actually looks big too, flaunting its size with a rectangular front grille that is flanked by the new Thor’s Hammer styled lights. I’m assured that this styling feature will make it onto Volvo’s of the future. Interesting fact about this XC90 is that it is wholly developed, designed and built by Volvo and features a pure Volvo engine.

2-Litre Power

Speaking of engines, Volvo has gone the four-cylinder route for the entire range using 2-litres of capacity throughout. Don’t despair though as these can get pretty powerful, especially when combined with a supercharger, turbocharger and an electric motor. Volvo claims this particular petrol engine can produce 295 kW and 630 Nm of torque whilst on exhausting 60g/km of CO2.

Interior Luxury

Whilst the exterior is beautiful to take in and the proportions extremely strong, the inside is where the magic lies. The centre dash for instance has been cleaned up of all clutter and excess buttons, in fact there’s just one row of buttons, I counted seven buttons, that’s all. Everything is now controlled by a central touchscreen that works like a Smartphone. You swipe the screen to slide pages and tap to select things, there’s a home button underneath that returns you to the main menu from anywhere within the submenus.

The seats are a really plush leather and the finishing’s all look high quality and well assembled. I was most impressed by the size of the rear boot once the third row of seats were in use. These rear seats are actually quite comfy but are meant for slightly smaller folk of 1m70 or less.

New safety Systems

Volvo is also showcasing two brand new safety features on the new XC90, run-off road protection and an auto brake at intersections. In the run-off road scenario (if driver is distracted the vehicle gradually veers off the road), the XC90 detects what is happening and the front safety belts are tightened to keep the occupants in position. To help prevent spine injuries, energy-absorbing functionality between the seat and seat frame cushions the vertical forces that can arise when the car encounters a hard landing in the terrain.

Automatic braking happens if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on highways, where the speed limits are higher. The car will detect what is coming from the side and stop you before you move into the intersection.

The Volvo XC90 really does look the part and by the sounds of it has a lot to offer, the international launch is set for March 2015 with the XC90 hopefully making it to SA by August 2015.

Interesting Facts About the Volvo Ocean Race