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2003 Volvo XC90 Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle
…Continued
Brings comfortable quarters and safety gear
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Such a display of agility signifies that the XC90 driver can maintain keen control over the wagon, which becomes a key defense mechanism for driving safely.
Of course, vehicle safety has long been a hallmark of Volvo cars in a line marked with innovations in both active and passive safety systems.
Volvo's concept for a SUV is that the wagon must first provide as safe an environment for passengers as possible.
As a result, XC90 carries Volvo's entire repertory of safety gear, beginning with a stiff core superstructure of high-strength steel ringing the passenger compartment and crush zones front and rear to absorb impact forces of a collision and deflect them from the cabin.
Further, reinforced braces for the roof and side doors plus thick supportive side pillars lessen cabin intrusions.
Riders are protected by passive safety devices like frontal airbags and side-impact airbags in front seats plus Volvo's side curtain-style airbags reaching clear back to the third row. And to damp the whiplash effect during a rear impact, front seatbacks instantly move rearward to pare acceleration forces on the passenger's back and neck.
Volvo's new XC90 is svelte in package design and expansive in cabin size -- with optional third-row seats for a capacity of as many as seven passengers.
Built off the P2 platform that underpins Volvo's mid-size models (flagship S80 and S60 sedans plus V70 and XC70 wagons), XC90 rides and drives more like a car than a lumbering sport-ute, despite its hulking size.
It can be quick and enthusiastic too, particularly when equipped with a twin turbo in-line-six engine borrowed from the S80 T6.
This 2.9-liter plant achieves high torque at relatively low engine speed and without a typical turbo's acceleration lag. With dual cams on top and continuously variable valve timing, it produces 268-hp at 5,100 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque between 1,800 and 5,000 rpm.
Base powertrain is a light-pressure turbo 2.5-liter five-in-line from Volvo's V70 2.5T. It's rated at 208 hp at 5000 rpm with 236 lb-ft of torque for 1500-5000 rpm.
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