Do you know the story of Cinderella? Who am I kidding, of course you know the story. Well, every now and then a girl gets the chance to play Cinderella in her very own story. So this is where my story begins, with the Volvo XC 90.
When I was asked to review the Volvo XC 90, I was extremely enthusiastic to do so. As you know Swedish cars are known for their safety and luxury features. Luxury being the centre of my lifestyle, I jumped at the opportunity to test their claims.
My life as a business woman can be demanding but I have an equally intense social life. The task I laid out for the Volvo XC 90 was that it had to be functional to suit both my work and social life.
Before I get into that, lets just talk about the aesthetics of the cars. I had the privilege of using two models, the Volvo XC 90 as well as the XC 90 Excellence.
Whats the difference you may ask? Well let me run you through it.
Volvo XC 90 Inscription
- Comes with heated and ventilated front seats
- Hill start assist and descent control
- Leather wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob
- Linear walnut wood inlays
- Nappa leather upholstery
- oncoming lane mitigation
- Volvo on call with smart phone integration
- Whiplash protection system.
- Pilot assist driving
- 360 surround view
Volvo XC 90 Excellence
- 360 surround view camera
- Active bending lights
- Bouwers and Wilkins premium sound
- Crystal gear shift knob
- Four corner air suspension
- Front and rear seats with high spec ventilation and massage function
- Graphical head up display
- Heated steering wheel
- Two Crystal champagne flutes
- And a champagne cooler, I mean seriously, where has this car been all my life.
- Pilot assist driving
REVIEW
As you can see, the difference is substantial in terms of aesthetic features, with the XC 90 Excellence surpassing exceptions when it comes to a luxury SUV.
Lets talk practicality now. The Volvo XC 90 Inscription is a rather big car, seating seven people with the XC 90 Excellence only seating four. Why four? simply put, its a premium luxury SUV, therefore space is everything. Although saying that, I found the Inscription spacious enough, so even though you may seat seven people you still have the leg room needed.
Back to my Cinderella story, it all began as a normal day with the exception of having the XC 90 Inscription at my disposal, at this point I would like to add that the car came with my very own driver, Mr Walter.
I checked into the Hilton hotel Durban for the day where I managed to get most of my work done in the business lounge, but everyone knows that there is never enough hours in the day to complete the “to do” list. Well on this particular day I did not have that problem. With the assistance of Walter driving me to and from appointments, I had enough time sorting out emails and phone calls in the car. The car itself was spacious, the drive was faultlessly smooth as the terrain over Durban’s roads were tested.
As mentioned, the car came with a driver so I did not have the opportunity to drive the XC 90, however from the features listed, you can see that the car is kitted with everything you can expect from a luxury SUV.
The Volvo XC 90 is aimed at maintaining a position as a luxury family SUV. I noticed that the car did not have screens at the rear. I know that entertaining the kids whilst driving can be an arduous task. The XC 90 does not come standard with rear screens, however those can be ordered as an optional extra.
Safety is centre to the Volvo brand, the features to ensure that family safety is key is without a doubt, noticeable.
CONCLUSION
The entry level Momentum price begins at R1.1 million, it is an expensive car. The Volvo XC 90 competeS with the likes of the Audi Q7 or even BMW X5, so if you are already looking into these cars then I believe that the XC 90 should be on your shortlist.