LA SHOW - Volvo launches the new V90 Cross Country and the Polestar S60 and V60 gets a huge boost too.

The 2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country wagon made its first auto show appearance today, alongside the 2017 V60 Polestar wagon, at the Los Angeles Auto Show’s Automobility LA.

The eagerly awaited V90 Cross Country completes Volvo’s 90 Series line-up, while significant improvements have been made to both the S60 and V60 Polestars over the 2016 model, most notably a 362 horsepower version of Volvo’s Drive-E powertrain.

California is the world’s top market for Polestar vehicle sales, with Los Angeles alone accounting for 64 percent of sales in the state so far this year. California also ranks number two in U.S. Cross Country vehicle sales.

“The Americas markets, particularly the U.S. and especially the Western region, are very strong for both Cross Country and Polestar,” said Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President, Americas, and President and CEO, Volvo Cars USA. 

“The V90 Cross Country is the perfect luxury get-away car, as capable and comfortable on the daily commute as it is taking the family hiking or skiing. Polestars are driver’s cars for the educated enthusiast seeking something unique.” 

V90 CROSS COUNTRY

Since the introduction of the first Cross Country almost 20 years ago, Volvo Cars has become synonymous with the rugged all-road, all-weather product category, with a growing stable of Cross Country models.

Volvo Cars’ Cross Country models fulfil an increasingly important part of the Swedish automaker’s product portfolio as luxury car buyers seek out a more experienced-based lifestyle that occasionally takes them off the beaten track.

With some of the harshest winters on the planet and over 77 percent of the country covered in forest and lakes, Sweden is the natural place to develop and test extreme durability and all-weather capable cars. This hard-won expertise represents a large part of Volvo Cars’ heritage, reflected in the company’s Cross Country model line-up. 

“Our cars are well known for their safety, strength and durability. With All-Wheel Drive, increased ride height, and a chassis optimized for comfort and control in all weather and road conditions, the new V90 Cross Country takes our versatile V90 estate and adds the heart of an explorer,” said Dr. Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research & Development at Volvo Cars.

With Volvo Cars’ Scalable Product Architecture providing the underpinnings, the V90 Cross Country has undergone rigorous testing to ensure that it can survive the extremes in which it will ultimately find itself.

From secret testing facilities in the frozen north of Sweden, where temperatures regularly hit -40 degrees to the searing desert heat of Arizona, where Volvo Cars performs its high temperature testing program, the V90 Cross Country has been built to last.

With a design that clearly stands out from the crowd, the V90 Cross Country’s rugged character belies a sumptuous interior that delivers a level of luxury uncommon in the segment, combining all the benefits of the connectivity and entertainment features that were launched with the new S90 and V90, including a high-end sound system by Bowers & Wilkins.

 The V90 Cross Country’s exterior design cues communicate the powerful and dynamic capability that the car exemplifies, while offering the flexibility to choose from both rugged and elegant expressions.

“Designing a Volvo Cross Country is not a styling exercise, a plastic job. It is based on honest capability. The Volvo V90 Cross Country brings a surprising and intriguing combination of a strong, powerful exterior and a luxurious, Scandinavian interior. It will continue the genuine tradition of the Volvo Cross Country with a new recipe: The blend of powerful off-road capability in a most elegant, sophisticated, tailored wagon suit,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Cars.

The new V90 Cross Country takes this well-established segment to a new level of comfort-inspired capability. Production of the car is set to start this autumn at Volvo Cars Torslanda Plant in Sweden.

S60 AND V60 POLESTAR  

Polestar uses proven motorsport technology and experience to build road cars that deliver a confident, precise and exhilarating driving experience.

Polestars are vehicles with real world drivability – a Volvo performance car for all roads, all seasons, on any day.

The 2017 Polestars are the quickest cars Volvo has ever made – the new 362hp Polestar S60 sedan and V60 wagon.

Both cars make the zero-to-60 mph sprint in as little as 4.4 seconds with a (limited) top speed of 155 mph, powered by a specially-enhanced version of Volvo’s award-winning four cylinder Drive-E powertrain.

Polestar has taken an original two-liter Drive-E engine from standard V60 and S60 models and added a bigger turbo, a supercharger, new conrods, new camshafts, a larger air intake and a higher capacity fuel pump to augment the engine, and matched it with a BorgWarner four-wheel drive system and the new Polestar-optimized eight-speed Geartronic automatic gearbox.

On top of this new performance-optimized equipment, Polestar has reduced the car’s weight. The Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar are 53 pounds lighter over the front axle and 44 pounds lighter in total compared to the previous model years.

These two new models also mark the globalization of the Polestar brand.

The first road legal Polestar cars were launched in 2014 to limited markets. Today, Polestar is expanding the number of markets where Polestar cars will be sold, from 13 to 47 and doubling production volume from 750 cars a year up to 1500.

About 200 units have been allocated for the Americas markets.

Both cars trace their heritage to the new Volvo S60 Polestar TC1, the all-new FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race car from Polestar Cyan Racing. The new road cars use the same base chassis, engine and philosophy of the team behind the development.

The race and road car feature a further developed four-cylinder Drive-E engine, with the two-liter, twin charged engine of the Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar producing 362 horsepower (SAE) and 347 foot pounds in U.S. spec.

Despite the increased performance, fuel consumption and emissions are at an EPA-rated 20 mpg city and 27 mpg highway (23 combined), further proving the efficiency of Volvo’s Drive-E powertrain.

Part of the improved performance and especially handling compared to the previous model years is an optimized weight distribution.

Other new features on the cars include a new 20” lightweight rim, Polestar calibrated electro-assisted power steering and a new slotted brake disc of 371 millimeters.