The Hindu Business Line : Volvo S80 and XC 90 — Svelte cars from the great Swede

A brand synonymous with safety, reliability and build quality, Volvo marks its formal entry into the Indian market with the new, second generation S80, the carmaker’s flagship sedan and the XC 90, its full-size, purpose-built, luxury sports utility.

Volwow!…XC90 and S80 — charismatic design and ultra-high focus on safety.

When Swedish automobile company Volvo first came into India, it must have discovered that the globally renowned brand was already popular, albeit, in many cases for products that weren’t even manufactured by the company.

Volvo Steel, Volvo brand bottled water etc., were some of the trademark violations that the Swedish corporation had to fight out. At that time, Volvo Trucks had entered India and marked its foray into the heavy commercial vehicles segment with its FH Series of trucks. Thanks to Volvo’s entry then, and its brand building that happened later, the name now has a much higher recall nationally.

The Swedish parent of Volvo spun off its cars business into a separate company, which was acquired by Ford Motor Company in 1999. Volvo Car Corporation, along with Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, was part of the Premier Automotive Group (PAG) of Ford Motor Company.

Faced with the need to make a few tough decisions to hold on to its current standing in the global automotive industry and to improve its focus, Ford sold Aston Martin to a consortium of investors in March this year. Recently, Ford also put Jaguar and Land Rover on the block and is looking for prospective buyers.

Now, even as rumours are floating about the possibility of Ford considering a similar fate for Volvo, the well-known Swedish carmaker has taken its first steps at exploring the Indian market. Volvo has chosen two of its best, flagship models in the saloon and sports utility segments to the buyers here.

For many years, the Volvo brand has held its sway over discerning, luxury car importers.

The brand is synonymous with safety, reliability and build quality. Volvo was one of the first companies to either invent or adopt some of the most path-breaking safety features in a passenger car, including the three-point seatbelt, anti-lock brakes, airbags and a whiplash protection system. The company’s focus on passenger safety is legendary.

After years of selling its cars here through authorised importers, recently the Swedish company is setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary — Volvo Car India — to deal in its vehicles. The choice of cars it has now made to mark its formal entry into the Indian market is clearly based on market preferences here.

The new, second generation S80, the flagship sedan of Volvo and the XC 90, the carmaker’s full-size, purpose-built, luxury sports utility vehicle have been launched and will be available initially through three of the company’s dealerships in Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. The cars will be imported from the company’s plant in Sweden.

Volvo S80

The first generation of the Volvo S80 was already a very popular car here. Some potential buyers may have thought that the car’s design was unexciting not youthful, but for the majority of buyers in this segment, the S80 was popular for its understated elegance and stately design.

The new, second generation Volvo S80 was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2006.

The S80 is instantly recognisable both from the front and the rear, especially with its uniquely designed tail lamps. This is a large, prestige sedan, whose elegant and dynamic profile is clearly influenced by modern Scandinavian design.

Priced in the Rs 38-44 lakh range (ex-showroom, Delhi), the new S80 brings with it the right combination of comfort, performance and elegance. As Volvo says, the design of the S80 creates an image of being in constant motion.

The car has more sweeping lines than before and one of the highlights is the almost imperceptible transition between the rear window and the boot.

Volwow!…XC90 and S80 — charismatic design and ultra-high focus on safety.

For the interiors, Volvo has focused on creating clean surfaces with harmonious lines and clear functionality, lending the sedan’s user a very classy and practical cabin. Both the S80 and the XC90 are being offered with either a 24-valve, 3.2-litre petrol or a 2.4-litre diesel D5 base engines.

In addition to these two options, both the vehicles are also offered with a high performance 4.4-litre, 32-valve, V8 petrol engine that puts out a massive 315 bhp of peak power at 5,950 rpm and the rated top speed is a cool 250 km per hour in the S80 (electronically governed top speed of 210 kmph in the XC90).

The V8 engine versions of both the sedan and the SUV are also offered with all-wheel drive. All the vehicles come only with automatic transmission gearbox.

Volvo XC90

Volvo was a relative late-entrant into the sports utility vehicles segment. But after debuting the XC90 globally in early 2002, the company has lost no time in expanding its portfolio of SUVs and crossovers.

The XC90 is the Volvo’s showcase, flagship SUV. Purpose built to tackle very poor roads, but also be capable of behaving like a spacious, luxurious passenger car with excellent driving manners. The XC90 is built like a tank, loaded with safety features and endowed with intelligent versatility.

This five-door Volvo SUV features electronically controlled all-wheel drive (AWD) and comes with the same three- engine options that the S80 is also offered with. The XC90’s is a classic European SUV design theme that gives it the look of a crossover than a boxy SUV. It is meant to combine the flexibility of a SUV with the comforts of a passenger car.

The cabin in the XC90 is luxurious and airy with a lot of glass area. The seats are placed high and passenger space and comfort has been maximised. An innovative feature of the XC90 is that all the passenger seats can be folded and the tailgate can be divided into an upper and lower section, making it a very flexible and versatile SUV. The cabins of both the vehicles also come fitted with the Volvo IAQS (Interior Air Quality System) that effectively reduces the amount of dust particles, pollen, gases and unpleasant odours in the passenger compartment.

In addition to the Four-C active chassis that provides these Volvo cars great handling and stability, the safety features that the two vehicles are offered with include eight airbags, traction control, anti-lock brakes with EBD and BAS, crumple zones and Volvo’s unique whiplash protection system. Further, all the cars in the Volvo range feature a transversely mounted engine. This type of installation provides more deformation space in the engine compartment and helps reduce the risk of engine intrusion into the passenger cabin during a frontal collision.

The variants of the XC90 are priced in the Rs 45-52-lakh range, ex-showroom, Delhi. With the right pricing, great brand value and an appetising combination of performance and luxury both the Volvos are set to wow the Indian luxury car buyer.

More Stories on : Cars | Strategy | Auto Focus

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page