Volvo S90 joins the premium saloon club

WORLD premium saloon car manufacturers especially the big hitters from Germany such as Audi BMW and Mercedes have been warned that Volvo has got them in their sights after announcing that they are poised to seriously enter the exclusive premium saloon car club.
Volvo S90Volvo S90
Volvo S90

The German manufacturers in particular have had a virtual monopoly on this lucrative market sector but the Chinese owned Swedish car producer has now stated that they intend to secure a slice of this segment with the launch this year of their all new Volvo S90 saloon and the V90 estate.

The S90 marks a giant step forward for Volvo Cars because they are better known for producing SUVs and estates but with the S90 Volvo is clearly intent on shaking up the premium saloon segment with its distinctive executive class saloon. Equipped with a host of new technologies ranging from cutting-edge safety to cloud based apps and services the S90 is further proof of the Swedish brand's continuing transformation.

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Hakan Samuelsson, president and chief executive officer of Volvo said: "With the launch of the XC90 we made a clear statement of intent and we are now clearly and firmly in the game." The new S90 which shares a platform with the XC90 comes equipped with an advanced semi-autonomous drive feature Pilot Assist that gives gently steering inputs to keep the car properly aligned within lane markings up to motorway speeds of around 70mph and no longer needs to follow another car.

It will come with a clean and powerful T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid powertrain and one of the most luxuriously appointed interiors and connected infotainment systems in the large saloon segment and other engines are expected to be some of those available for the XC90 Volvo say their idea was to bring something different to this rather conservative segment and deliver a visual expression exuding leadership and confidence on the exterior taking S90 to the next level with a high end luxury experience.

The company has always been world leaders on car safety having introduced airbags and seatbelts to the industry and the S90 will have another safety first with City Safety a device that detects large animals such as horses that operates both night and day.

Horses and other large animals such as deer can cause very serious accidents and City Safety offers technology that automatically offers a warning and brake support to help avoid a collision. It is now quite clear that Volvo who have had large cars in the past intend to make a very serious attempt to extend their business into this prestigeous market segment which of course includes marques such as Jaguar and the S90 appears to be a very serious contender. Volvo used the S90 tag for a model that first appeared 20 years ago and the latest S90 which made its debut at the North American Motor Show in Detroit will be in dealer showrooms this September from £32,555 on the road with the V90 appearing the following month from £34,555.

Fact File

Model:

Volvo S90.

Engines: Hybrid, petrol and diesel.

Technology: Large animal detection device.

In dealer showrooms: September.

Prices: From £32,555.