RNM GS3

Great stuff from Volvo - this should do well.
New XC90 has great prescence in person - see a bunch around NYC already.

Personally I would not consider it bec of the 4cyl turbo and supercharged engine. Smoothness, power, and reliability are all compromised.
It needs a 6cyl and v8 option.

mmarshall

CAFE laws, though, are doing a number on larger powerplants. I won't say they will all disappear, but the in-line turbo-4 (especially in the 2.0L size) is going to become, more and more, the mainstream engine of the future.

LexBob2

I wonder if Volvo will eventually offer a larger 6 cylinder engine in the XC90. It really needs one to compete with the other luxury SUV's.

SW17LS

I too really like the look of the XC90 in person.

I wouldn't be a buyer too because of the power plant and the transverse layout. They should have an option for a better engine even if that's the base engine.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Looking good! Simple and elegant

coolsaber

S90 great looks in the front. Azz is just ugly. Designer said the focus groups loved it, hence the reason to keep in final spec but those groups must like ugly then.

Interior looks nice, and material quality is better then anything on the market. The s90 would have been better if they tried harder to keep the interior of the coupe concept look. The vents are awesome, but would prefer less chunky slabs of wood on the dash.

Seat comfort, driving tech etc will be bar none. Its quite a vehicle. Hopefully its tuned differently then the xc90 performance wise.

The Volvo brand is going, places. The xc90 targets have been broken already, 5-6K price hikes on msrp are coming as well, so the martkets love the new volvo.

Hopefully the S90 can replicate (i have my doubts on this as look at it cadillac, Lexus, acura, lincoln) all have tried to beat the germans, none have succeeded. The brand rep and driving performance are hard to beat

Also volvo sensus, although revolutionary isnt living upto its tesla-like upgrades. Bad updates, janky sw bugs, etc. Also lot of weird issues like sunroof seals.

If you need reliability stick with the Lexus brand. Although ancient in tech, its reliable right

Best bet: Lease maybe buy.

TangoRed

No, they absolutely won't. The platform isn't even engineered to accept a larger engine. Additional power will be provided via hybrid models.

Meh if they do a better job on NVH in the future I'll be sold on it. I really couldn't stand the sound of that motor.

chromedome

Volvo are really betting everything on small turbo engines and hybrid drivetrains. I think that's smart because most Asian and European markets want smaller, more efficient engines; it's the American market that's a bit of an outlier. Diesel engines are on the way out because of more stringent emissions regulations and that sneaky thing that VW Group did I'd say petrol-electric hybrids will be the mainstream choice in the next few years.

doge

Anecdotes don't add to the conversation, and its silly to base an opinion off of them.

coolsaber

Compared to almost all the other options out there Lexus Remote Touch just is basically an attempt to be BMW, but fail hard.

On top of that, no carplay or android auto due to Lexus's independent ways hurts them. (They are planning some sort of mirrolink but who knows when and even if.

That said, the sensus interface is amazing. Works with gloves, has the guts to back it up. Very elegant high quality interface and maps. However as with this system, if you read up on the XC90 forums:

1) Some important features advertised were left out at launch
2) Huge Novemeber Update was to fix these issues, actually made the system more janky
3) Carplay is not that amazing, and is a $300 option on the XC (unless u bought a FE).

I think the best system still is IDrive. The worst is Infiniti/Acura/Lexus for a 3 way tie

SW17LS

The RTC isn't a system like iDrive. It's just a mouse. The interface on my 2015 Lexus is the same as it was on my 2003 Lexus and all of them in between. All that's different is you use a mouse instead of a touchscreen. iDrive is a whole system designed around he interface, MMI at Audi and Comand at MB are the same.

coolsaber

T

True, however driver interface is what im referring to. The driver interfaces with the software (outdated and janky) through a mouse, either touchpad or actually ****. Why?

It seems as though Lexus went to copy the germans but didnt realized their UI is also optimized for their controller.

Toys4RJill

The remote touch on Lexus is not very good, I have had it in my CT and my parents have it in their ES. It is such a stupid way to do things, a combo touch screen and remote touch would of been the perfect solution.

My parents have a 15 ES and a 15 4Runner, when they get into the 4Runner, it simply reinforces their notion that the remote touch was a bad idea.

As for Carplay and Android Auto, they need to at least offer these two options.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Lexus chose to use Telenav's Scout rather than Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to protect guests information. Both demanded too much data be sent.

Info about Scout
Telenav Press Release

SW17LS

Again...your opinion. I also have currently and have had vehicles with touchscreen that I switch back and forth with, and I actually prefer the RTC. So, I guess from my perspective its actually pretty good, and not such a stupid way to do things.

I don't think Lexus went to copy the germans at all. I think they wanted from a design perspective to move the screens up and away from the driver, and they wanted bigger, horizontal screens and that necessitated using some sort of controller. I think seeing what has happened with other carmakers when they came out with a radical new UI for infotainment (i.e. BMW with iDrive at first, Sync, CUE) and being conscious about their position in initial quality, etc they did not want to change the UI very much. If you've used the new 2016 version of the system, its much smoother and better looking.

To their credit, RTC requires no learning curve, its just point and click. iDrive and MMI require a considerable learning curve, in the end they are better I agree but anybody can just sit down and make the Lexus system work.

Volvo's system is a different approach, its a vertical screen, closer to the driver, its an entirely different interior design scheme.

This is why there are options...instead of complaining that Lexus' interface isn't what BMW's is, or Volvos is, or whatever...if those systems are superior enough to you then simply go buy that vehicle. Lexus' system works fine for plenty of people. I wouldn't mind something with more functionality, but it doesn't bother me. Ask Jill's folks to make a BMW with iDrive work lol.

Lexus is done with touchscreens. Time to get over it and buy something else if thats a deal breaker.