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2016 Volvo XC90: Up Close

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The 2016 Volvo XC90 is one of Volvo’s first steps in reviving the Swedish brand in the U.S., which has seen declining sales during the past 10 years. Volvo’s new XC90 — debuting at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show — could very well change how the general public views Volvo vehicles given the luxurious experience inside the all-new seven-passenger SUV.

Related: More 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show Coverage 

The seven-passenger XC90 is littered with high-quality materials that would look right at home inside a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, combined with technology including a massive touch-screen that wouldn’t look out of place in a concept car — think Tesla-Model-S-touch-screen big.

The interior is simply jaw-dropping when compared to the current XC90, but that’s not necessarily a tough accomplishment. It’s been well more than a decade since the XC90 was last redesigned, yet even considering Volvo’s current cars — which are quite good — the XC90 crosses the line from sort-of premium to legit luxury.

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Once inside, the massive touch-screen steals all attention from anything else at first. It’s a risky undertaking replacing nearly all the buttons with a touch-screen. I’ll reserve final judgment until we have one on the road, but at first use the system works well. The screen is large enough to make the buttons big and visible; it’s laid out intuitively and is extremely responsive.

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Cars.com photos by Evan Sears

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Managing Editor

I manage Cars.com’s daily news publishing and execution of Editorial strategy. As a lifelong enthusiast, I’ve worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years, attending Universal Technical Institute for my Automotive Technology Certificate before continuing education for technical writing and journalism, where I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Technical and Professional Communication with emphasis in Journalism and Automotive Technology. Since starting at Cars.com in 2006, I’ve reviewed hundreds of cars and tested new cars in almost every setting, from standardized fuel economy and cargo to dynamic testing such as drag-strip acceleration, towing, off-road and rock-crawling. I’m a juror on the World Car Awards panel of journalists from around the world that vote on their favorite car of the year, as well as a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association.

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