Announced back in May as one of three model launches planned for 2025, Volvo Car South Africa has officially confirmed the price and specification of the facelifted XC90.

The Citizen reports that debuting just over a month after the all-electric EX30 Cross Country, and soon to be followed by the refreshed XC60 with the all-electric ES90 arriving next year, the first major update in the XC90’s 11-year production run sees it remaining alongside the all-electric EX90 that had been expected to replace it.

New outside

Revealed globally last year, the easy-to-spot exterior changes comprise a new grille with diagonal slats, a redesigned bumper with vertical side air inlets, new Thor’s Hammer LED headlights, and a redesigned lower air intake.

At the rear, the graphics for the LED light clusters have been changed and the bumper renewed. Newly designed 21-inch alloy wheels round off the exterior, with 22-inch versions available as an option.

Major changes inside

Taking prominence inside, the nine-inch infotainment display bows out in favour of a new 11.2-inch screen incorporating not only wireless Apple CarPlay, but also Google’s latest operating system, over-the-air updates, and integrated satellite navigation.

The addition has seen the air vents restyled, while a new textured finish made from recycled materials has been added to the dashboard.

Down the centre, the console has been made slimmer by virtue of now being a single-piece unit, with the lidded storage area replaced by a wireless smartphone charger.

As an option, the gear lever can be topped by a crystal glass knob made by renowned Swedish glassmaker Orrefors.

Nappa leather upholstery or recycled fibres called Nordico complete the interior, along with five decorative veneer options: Checkered aluminium, light beige wood, brown ash, grey ash and backlit light ash.

New spec

On the specification front, the XC90 range spans four models and two trim levels, Plus and Ultra, with standard items on all including Matrix LED headlights, ambient lighting, a heated steering wheel and quad-zone climate control.

Also included without resorting to the options list are a panoramic sunroof, heated and electrically adjustable front seats, an electric tailgate and heated second-row seating.

A Harman Kardon sound system is standard on the Plus, while the uprated Bowers & Wilkins system is fitted to the Ultra.

As before, the XC90 seats seven and comes equipped with a suite of safety and driver-assistance systems, including a surround-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Keep Assist, Collision Mitigation Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and the semi-autonomous Pilot Assist system.

Underneath and up front

Mechanically, no changes have been made, meaning the retention of adaptive dampers and air suspension, both standard, with the latter able to lower the body by 20 mm or raise it by 40 mm on the move.

Volvo has also kept the same power units as before: the 48-volt mild-hybrid B5 and the plug-in hybrid T8.

Based on the 2.0-litre Drive-E turbocharged petrol engine, the B5 develops 183kW/350Nm, while the T8 adds a supercharger and an 18.8kWh battery pack for a combined output of 340kW/709Nm.

As before, an eight-speed Geartronic transmission is standard. For the T8, the claimed all-electric range is 70km, and fuel consumption for the B5 is a reported 8.1L/100km.

Price

Now available, the XC90 range is covered by a five-year/100 000km warranty and a five-year/100 000 km service plan.

• XC90 B5 Plus – R1 555 500
• XC90 B5 Ultra – R1 657 500
• XC90 T8 Plus – R1 834 500
• XC90 T8 Ultra – R1 936 500

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