Volvo S90 arriving October

VOLVO will re-enter the competitive luxury large sedan segment with guns blazing and an aggressive sub-$80,000 starting price for its new S90 range, which either undercuts or equals its European rivals.

From October, the Swedish car-maker will offer two variants, kicking off with the better equipped and more powerful Inscription versions from $96,900 before on-road costs, but the pair will be joined the following month by a brace of more affordable Momentum S90s.

With an entry-level price of $79,900 before on-road costs for the S90 T5 Momentum, Volvo's new flagship sedan will be more affordable than the equivalent models in the BMW 5 Series ($82,300), Mercedes' imminent E-Class ($89,990) and Jaguar XF ($89,800) ranges, and priced identically to Audi's base A6 1.8 TFSI.

Alongside the T5, Volvo will offer an identically equipped Momentum D4 diesel equivalent from $82,400 with the pair positioned below the D5 and T6 Inscription variants, which are priced $96,900 and $98,900 respectively.

While Australians will be offered a range of performance and fuel-efficiency options with the two diesel and two petrol range, the halo T8 plug-in hybrid variant has not yet been confirmed for the local market.

The beefy 300kW/640Nm powertrain is already available here, powering the new XC90 T8 R-Design SUV, which is based on the same SPA platform, but it is not known if Volvo intends to introduce the S90 equivalent at a later date.

Volvo is spruiking its trademark safety standards as a major selling point for its new S90 with a generous selection of passive and active safety technology included as standard across the four-car range.

IntelliSafe Pilot Assist headlines the list of safety tech, offering the closest thing to self-driving cars currently available. At speeds of up to 130km/h the system combines Lane Keep Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control to maintain a set distance from a car ahead and a constant lane position. At speeds above 50km/h the system does not need a leading vehicle to function.

City Safe, which can detect and avoid pedestrians and cyclists has been developed to now recognise large animals and will scrub 15km/h from the vehicle's speed if a collision is imminent and the driver does not react. Volvo has conducted testing in Australia allowing the system to identify kangaroos.

Run-Off Road Mitigation can determine if the car is on a course to leave the road by monitoring road edges and markings day or night, and can steer the vehicle back on course at speeds between 65km/h and 140km/h.

Blind-spot monitoring, Park Assist Pilot and Volvo's customary plethora of airbags are also included.

In addition to the standard safety equipment, entry-level Momentum specification consists of LED adaptive headlights, electric adjustable leather upholstered seats, 'iron ore' interior inlays, a 12.3-inch driver display and 18-inch wheels.

Like the Momentum, both T6 and D5 Inscription S90s share standard equipment specification which adds to the more affordable version's kit with a four-wheel-drive transmission, keyless entry, walnut interior veneer, larger 19-inch wheels and higher quality leather upholstery.

A Technology Pack can be added for an extra $3000, which brings digital radio, 360-degree cameras, head-up display Apple CarPlay and an an extra USB port.

Volvo Car Australia managing director Kevin McCann said the new addition to the local line-up was the company's finest work in the sedan market and would be a worthy adversary to the established German and British players.

“The all-new S90 combines outstanding driving performance, industry-leading safety features and a high quality, luxurious interior that epitomises pure Swedish style,” he said.

“The S90 is without doubt the best luxury sedan Volvo has ever produced. It sets a new standard that will strengthen Volvo’s position in the prestige sedan segment in Australia.”

As per Volvo's pledge to use four-cylinder power across its entire range of passenger cars and SUVs, the S90 engines are 2.0-litres and four cylinders in all four variants.

The T5 engine uses a combination of single turbocharger and direct injection to produce 187kW and 350Nm from 1500rpm – enough to accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 7.0 seconds.

In the case of the T6, an additional supercharger boosts output to 235kW/400Nm with a corresponding reduction in acceleration time to 6.1 seconds and a top speed of 250km/h.

In the compression ignition stakes, two turbochargers are applied to both D4 and D5 engines for an output of 140kW and 400Nm for the D4, while a variable geometry turbo and higher boost pressure takes the D5 figures to 173kW/480Nm.

Fuel consumption is rated at 4.5 litres per 100km for the D4 or 4.9L/100km for the D5, while the benchmark 0-100km/h dash is dispensed with in 8.5s and 7.2s respectively.

2016 Volvo S90 pricing*

T5 Momentum (a)	$79,900
D4 Momentum (a)	$82,400
D5 Inscription AWD (a)	$96,900
T6 Inscription AWD (a)	$98,900

*Excludes on-road costs