2011 2011 Volvo Xc90 I6 Awd Suv 3rd Row Seating Entertainment Climate Package Cd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2021 Volvo V90 T6 Road Test | The best-kept secret

Against all odds and sales sense, the 2021 Volvo V90 is still kicking and available to order in the United States. Not only that, but Volvo gave it a mini mid-cycle update this year, altering the styling and adding more tech. It’s still disappointing that Volvo doesnÂ’t keep any V90s in stock at dealers, but it looks like the best way to sell a wagon in this country is to make it order-only like the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S or Audi RS6 Avant. Well, that, or lift it and apply body cladding as in the case of the V90's Cross Country sibling. Dealers do carry those. However, youÂ’ll be glad that you took the time to special order the non-lifted, uncladded V90. It's a design masterpiece; a full-size family vehicle that forces you to look back at it every time you walk away. Volvo hasnÂ’t struck out with a single design over the past few years, and this V90 is surely the brandÂ’s crowning achievement. Proportions, stance, lighting and wheels; all of it is pleasing to the eye. The hugely useful cargo area and big back seat just raise the bar even higher. That a vehicle can be as practical as this one is, handle like a car and still look this good just makes it even more appealing. This Volvo goes from point A to point B like a member of the Swedish royal family sweeping across a crowded ballroom centuries ago. Poised and elegant, the V90 silently wafts down the road riding on a pillowy air suspension. ThereÂ’s no rush. Curious eyes turn to catch a glimpse of something they rarely see. Yet the V90 never demands anybody take notice with extravagant creases or a gaudy grille. It just exists in this glamorous state of purist wagon nirvana. Simplicity tends to breed the most appealing car designs, but labeling the V90 as simplistic would be a misnomer. This Inscription trim V90 is adorned with just the right amount of shiny chrome, highlighting the sharp styling and drawing the eye downward. VolvoÂ’s updates serve to smooth out the front and rear fascias even further, going so far as to delete the rear exhaust outlet in the bumper in favor of an invisible under-car exit. It suits the wagonÂ’s attitude and also serves to prepare our eyes for an electric future. A new and much more intricate rear LED taillight design animates a friendly “hello” from bottom-to-top at the press of the unlock button, or top-to-bottom for “goodbye.” The new 20-inch wheel design completes the picture with a striking bright and dark two-tone finish.

Top torque-to-weight ratios under $100k, $50k and $25k

Horsepower may steal a lot of headlines, but the always-more-complex torque figure is often a critical one for both the workingman and the motoring playboy. The measure of rotational force represents the twist that can liquefy one's tires or haul one's horse trailer. Good stuff.
It follows then, that as with the horsepower-to-weight list that we assembled for you a few months ago, a list of cars that offer the most pound-feet with the fewest pounds to carry, is an interesting one to break down. Sure, there's a big difference in how the torque is applied from a turbocharged six-cylinder in a Swedish luxury sedan and a massive heavy-duty truck's turbo-diesel. But being the car/stat geeks that we are, we think it's kinda neat that those two vehicles rank near each other where torque and weight intersect.
As with the horsepower list, we've given you figures as pounds per every one pound-foot. Again broken down into broad price categories, we've got a mixed bag of 2014 and 2015 models here, too. Every effort has been made to select the most up-to-date prices and specs, and we've also to omitted some '14 cars that won't be re-upped after the ongoing yearly changeover.

Volvo Concept Recharge full of sustainable materials

In June, Volvo showed us the conceptual exterior of its future vision in a swoopy wagon-like package called the Concept Recharge. The Swedes are now ready to show us the vision's interior and tell us what it's made of, calling it "a manifesto for Volvo Cars' future." With the context being Volvo's aim of selling only EVs by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2040, the battery-electric Concept Recharge is a way for the automaker to get there and look stylish while doing it. It starts and nearly ends with employing sustainable, recyclable materials everywhere. Outside, the front and rear bumpers and the rocker panels are fashioned from flax composite. Only six percent of the materials in the specially developed Pirelli tires come from fossil resources, the rest from recycled and renewable materials like natural rubber, bio-silica, rayon and bio-resin. Every aspect of the bodywork has been shaped to increase aerodynamic efficiency, from the wheel design to the compact, upright rear end. Efficiency will also be a key development for the batteries. Volvo hasn't mentioned those yet in regard to the concept, but we know the company doesn't simply want to add more cells to increase range, since that adds weight and increases a vehicle's carbon footprint. Volvo is working with Swedish firm Northvolt on more energy-dense battery packs with shorter charging times. Inside, the Concept Recharge takes an evolutionary leap from the sustainable cabin now available in the C40 Recharge. The seat backrest and top of the instrument panel are dressed in "responsibly sourced Swedish wool" woven into a breathable, additive-free cloth. The seat bolsters and door panels areas that will see a lot of contact are covered in Tencel, a soft-touch yet durable cellulose fiber product. The floor and lower doors are wrapped in 100% wool. The seatbacks, the fronts of the headrests, and part of the steering wheel are covered in a material Volvo developed called Nordico. The company's being secretive about the composition, only telling us that Nordico's been created out of recyclable ingredients found in sustainable forests. And flax composite shows up again inside in the storage pockets, the back of the headrest, and the footrests. The automaker says that if the Concept Recharge's battery is charged using renewable energy, it would contribute less than 10 metric tons of CO2 over the wagon's lifespan. The U.S.