Volvo developed the V8 for the U.S. where 30 percent of all SUVs are sold with V8 engines. Because Volvo has no history with V8s, it turned to Yamaha, which has a good relationship with Volvo's parent company, Ford, to develop a new engine compact enough to fit in the XC90's engine bay. Volvo linked the V8 to a six-speed automatic to make the best use of the engine's torque curve, which reaches 271 pound-feet of pulling power at just 2000 rpm. Volvo also made some changes in its all-wheel-drive system to send more power to the rear wheels for better take off from a standing start. We spent several hours in the V8 and found it well suited to the sort of driving done by many American SUV owners. We stayed on pavement, enjoyed quick acceleration and sure-footed passing maneuvers.
Regardless of engine, we were impressed with how silky smooth the XC90 feels at 80 mph. Its chassis closely follows the design of the V70 wagon, but is wider and the components are beefier. It handles bumpy roads with dips and gullies well without bottoming when driven hard. The XC90 doesn't offer the sporty handling of a BMW X5 or Infiniti FX35. Its power rack-and-pinion steering is on the heavy side, and not as quick in the really tight stuff. But it feels reasonably tight in general, with decent feedback to let you know how the front tires are gripping. There's minimal body sway under hard cornering. The DSTC electronic stability control stepped in a few times when we were thrashing down a particularly ornery road, and the system applied the brakes at one wheel without cutting the throttle, although we aren't sure if it was the gyroscopic roll sensor or traction sensors that triggered its operation.
The ride quality in the XC90 is very good, stiff at the wheels, but not in the cabin. It didn't exactly absorb the ridges and bumps, because you could feel the suspension working over them; but it didn't transfer any harshness to the arms or seat of the pants at all. Speed bumps in particular were interesting; it was as if the suspension challenged them and hammered back, protecting us from jouncing even when we hit them at 15 mph.
The all-wheel-drive system is effective, too. It operates seamlessly, and the driver will almost never know when it's working. In normal, good-traction conditions, 95 percent of the engine's power goes to the front wheels. If the front wheels lose traction, a multi-plate clutch begins routing power to the rear, to a maximum split of 65 percent to the back tires. This frontward bias leaves the XC90 with a default understeer condition, or a sliding at the front tires near the limits of handling. This push is much easier to handle than a skittish rear end, because a driver's natural instinct is to slow down, and that basically solves the problem.
The six-cylinder T6 has stiffer front springs than does the five-cylinder XC90 (to handle the heavier engine), and speed-sensitive steering. These are supposed to give it more of a true high-performance feel. To some extent they do, but mostly they detract from the XC90's overall balance and introduce some mildly annoying handling characteristics. Unless you need the bragging rights of a six-cylinder engine, we highly recommend the XC90 with the standard five-cylinder engine. Next Page