Volvo XC90

YOU CAN ORDER  a new Volvo XC90 now, but first deliveries aren't scheduled until August 2015. So what makes the second gen worth the wait?

Volvo has retained the family-friendly seven seater layout that helped make the long-lived original so popular, but the 2015 XC90 is all new, and the first Volvo to use the firm’s brand spanking Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). Not to mention a whole new range of engines and as much safety tech as the Chinese-backed Scandinavians’ £6. 8bn (R120bn) SPA development budget could stretch to. Which is plenty.

It’s four cylinder engines only which sounds brave, but what it lacks in cylinder count it makes up with forced induction. In fact, the top dog XC90 ‘ T8 Twin Engine’ uses a 2.0-litre petrol with a turbocharger and a supercharger in combination with an electric motor to produce 295 kW. While emitting just 60 g/km CO2. Eat that, BMW X5.

On the inside the new XC90 features a giant touchscreen in place of the confused mess of buttons most current Volvo owners will be familiar with, while an extra 143mm in overall length promises improved boot space, and added comfort for passengers up to 170 cm tall in the final seating row. Looks wise there are 22-inch wheels and daytime running lights modelled after Thor’s hammer.