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Another reason the XC90 has a great safety record is that it’s a 4500 pound car with a 4 cylinder engine. This isn’t safety enhancing in itself but does ensure

Another reason the XC90 has a great safety record is that it’s a 4500 pound car with a 4 cylinder engine. This isn’t safety enhancing in itself but does ensure that it is only bought by people with the most sedate driving habits.

lazyjones 9y ago
Those 4-cylinder engines deliver up to 303hp and the hybrids get another 87hp from the electric drive train. So they're not exactly weak cars...
- ggg9990 9y ago
  Drive one. The throttle is leaden.
  - alkonaut 9y ago
    That's programmed for fuel economy. It has to combine 3 impossible things: a pretty small engine, a heavy car, AND has to do X mpg in "normal" driving. The solution is to make the mapping from driver input to actual throttle/fuel be pretty lame. It's the same Usually there is at least a mode called e.g. "sport" or "power" that maps the pedal to the engine in a better way (except for economy). The XC90 T8 has a "power" mode where you get from 0-60 in 5s flat.
AmVess 9y ago
It's a 4400lb car that will do 0-60 in 6.4 seconds in top trim. It's 4 cylinder engine is both supercharged and turbocharged. The demographics determines the safety, not the number of cylinders it has.
- ggg9990 9y ago
  The Audi Q7 3.0T is $7k cheaper and does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. The XC90 is a completely drivable and enjoyable car, but people who care about performance are likelier to choose a different SUV and likelier to get into an accident in that SUV.
  - alkonaut 9y ago
    > The Audi Q7 3.0T is $7k cheaper and does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. The XC90 T8 was tested at 5.0s here, which is pretty good for being a review test and not a manufacturer figure http://www.motortrend.com/cars/volvo/xc90-plug-in/2017/2017-volvo-xc90-t8-plug-in-hybrid-first-test-review/ http://www.motortrend.com/cars/volvo/xc90-plug-in/2017/2017-... Now, the T8 is expensive as hell obviously (~$70k and up) and competes with other big hybrids, not the base spec Q7 3.0TFSI. Most of thesre aren't sold anywhere near msrp, at least around here they usually go for nearly $100k with extras. So the XC90 has a pretty reasonable 315hp T6 version that competes directly with the Q7 (But is around 1 sec slower 0-60) and one 400hp T8 version that is going to look pretty good next to any of the big X5/Q7 suvs in performance. I think it's a pretty reasonable set of trims.
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    If you consider 6.4s 0-60 slow, especially for an SUV, you really need to recalibrate your expectations.
virgilp 9y ago
Have you driven it? I didn't, but my current car is a similarly-sized Seat, also 4 cylinder. It's quite snappy for its size, snappier in fact than all US cars I personally drove (though, tbh, in the US I've never been in a hurry, and I tend to drive 100% legally because I'm not in the mood of familiarizing myself with foreign/US law)
- ggg9990 9y ago
  The SEAT Ateca is almost 1000 pounds lighter than the XC90.
  - virgilp 9y ago
    Alhambra, but you're right, XC90 seems to be about 700pounds heavier (because it actually weighs almost 5000 pounds, from what I read). It's also more powerful. I call that a tie :) - but, tbh, the gearbox & suspension probably matter a lot.
vincnetas 9y ago
And i think this is a good thing. Public streets are not a racing track.
kalleboo 9y ago
> it is only bought by people with the most sedate driving habits Aside from Jeremy Clarkson of course, who's bought like every generation of the thing
dingaling 9y ago
> does ensure that it is only bought by people with the most sedate driving habits. I would disagree with that statement! As an urban cyclist the two most terrifying vehicles on the road for me are the XC90 and the VAG PL71 ( Q7, Touareg, Cayenne ) not only because of their size but also because they are predominently driven by distracted parents on the school-run. Two tonnes of SUV, poor outward visibility, stressed driver looking for a parking spot on the kerb, kids bickering in the back == danger. I can understand parents buy them to keep their little darlings safe from the other nasty cars but I'd much rather jostle with twice as many normal-sized sedans.
- oldgradstudent 9y ago
  The articles says that > not a single person has been killed while driving it, or as a passenger. It doesn't say anything about no one killed by the XC90, which is quite, ahem, surprising for an article touting AEB.
alkonaut 9y ago
It's easier to build a safe car if it's big and heavy - but the number of cylinders isn't really a measure of safety (anymore). All manufacturers will go to smaller petrol engines and then to no petrol engines. The new hybrid is 400hp, which is as much as they used to take from the V8 version of the XC90. It might be that the XC90 is bought by safer drivers on average - but the performance probably isn't the difference. 3-400hp is plenty even for the biggest suv if you want to go fast. To me 0-60 in 10s is plenty quick, and these cars are 5000lbs and do 0-60 in 5 to 8s which is extreme (for everywhere but the US)
KozmoNau7 9y ago
More people should have "sedate driving habits". The road isn't your personal racetrack. Slow down, stop stressing, live longer.

lazyjones 9y ago

Those 4-cylinder engines deliver up to 303hp and the hybrids get another 87hp from the electric drive train. So they're not exactly weak cars...

ggg9990 9y ago
Drive one. The throttle is leaden.
- alkonaut 9y ago
  That's programmed for fuel economy. It has to combine 3 impossible things: a pretty small engine, a heavy car, AND has to do X mpg in "normal" driving. The solution is to make the mapping from driver input to actual throttle/fuel be pretty lame. It's the same Usually there is at least a mode called e.g. "sport" or "power" that maps the pedal to the engine in a better way (except for economy). The XC90 T8 has a "power" mode where you get from 0-60 in 5s flat.

AmVess 9y ago

It's a 4400lb car that will do 0-60 in 6.4 seconds in top trim. It's 4 cylinder engine is both supercharged and turbocharged. The demographics determines the safety, not the number of cylinders it has.

ggg9990 9y ago
The Audi Q7 3.0T is $7k cheaper and does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. The XC90 is a completely drivable and enjoyable car, but people who care about performance are likelier to choose a different SUV and likelier to get into an accident in that SUV.
- alkonaut 9y ago
  > The Audi Q7 3.0T is $7k cheaper and does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. The XC90 T8 was tested at 5.0s here, which is pretty good for being a review test and not a manufacturer figure http://www.motortrend.com/cars/volvo/xc90-plug-in/2017/2017-volvo-xc90-t8-plug-in-hybrid-first-test-review/ http://www.motortrend.com/cars/volvo/xc90-plug-in/2017/2017-... Now, the T8 is expensive as hell obviously (~$70k and up) and competes with other big hybrids, not the base spec Q7 3.0TFSI. Most of thesre aren't sold anywhere near msrp, at least around here they usually go for nearly $100k with extras. So the XC90 has a pretty reasonable 315hp T6 version that competes directly with the Q7 (But is around 1 sec slower 0-60) and one 400hp T8 version that is going to look pretty good next to any of the big X5/Q7 suvs in performance. I think it's a pretty reasonable set of trims.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  If you consider 6.4s 0-60 slow, especially for an SUV, you really need to recalibrate your expectations.

virgilp 9y ago

Have you driven it? I didn't, but my current car is a similarly-sized Seat, also 4 cylinder. It's quite snappy for its size, snappier in fact than all US cars I personally drove (though, tbh, in the US I've never been in a hurry, and I tend to drive 100% legally because I'm not in the mood of familiarizing myself with foreign/US law)

ggg9990 9y ago
The SEAT Ateca is almost 1000 pounds lighter than the XC90.
- virgilp 9y ago
  Alhambra, but you're right, XC90 seems to be about 700pounds heavier (because it actually weighs almost 5000 pounds, from what I read). It's also more powerful. I call that a tie :) - but, tbh, the gearbox & suspension probably matter a lot.

vincnetas 9y ago

And i think this is a good thing. Public streets are not a racing track.

kalleboo 9y ago

> it is only bought by people with the most sedate driving habits Aside from Jeremy Clarkson of course, who's bought like every generation of the thing

dingaling 9y ago

> does ensure that it is only bought by people with the most sedate driving habits. I would disagree with that statement! As an urban cyclist the two most terrifying vehicles on the road for me are the XC90 and the VAG PL71 ( Q7, Touareg, Cayenne ) not only because of their size but also because they are predominently driven by distracted parents on the school-run. Two tonnes of SUV, poor outward visibility, stressed driver looking for a parking spot on the kerb, kids bickering in the back == danger. I can understand parents buy them to keep their little darlings safe from the other nasty cars but I'd much rather jostle with twice as many normal-sized sedans.

oldgradstudent 9y ago
The articles says that > not a single person has been killed while driving it, or as a passenger. It doesn't say anything about no one killed by the XC90, which is quite, ahem, surprising for an article touting AEB.

alkonaut 9y ago

It's easier to build a safe car if it's big and heavy - but the number of cylinders isn't really a measure of safety (anymore). All manufacturers will go to smaller petrol engines and then to no petrol engines. The new hybrid is 400hp, which is as much as they used to take from the V8 version of the XC90. It might be that the XC90 is bought by safer drivers on average - but the performance probably isn't the difference. 3-400hp is plenty even for the biggest suv if you want to go fast. To me 0-60 in 10s is plenty quick, and these cars are 5000lbs and do 0-60 in 5 to 8s which is extreme (for everywhere but the US)

KozmoNau7 9y ago

More people should have "sedate driving habits". The road isn't your personal racetrack. Slow down, stop stressing, live longer.