Volvo V90 Cross Country launched in India at a price of Rs 60 lakh

Volvo Cars has introduced the V90 Cross Country, a station wagon based on the S90 sedan in India at a price of Rs 60 lakh, ex-showroom. Like the S90 and the XC90, the V90 Cross Country will also be underpinned by the company's SPA (Scalable Platform Architecture) platform. The station wagon would carry forward the Thor's Hammer LED headlamp setup with DRLs (Daytime Running Lamps) from the S90 and is also offered with vertically positioned LED tail lamps, 20-inch alloy wheels, skid plates at both ends, redesigned bumpers as well as Aluminium brushed roof rails. Inside the Volvo V90 Cross Country, the most prominent change when compared to the S90 sedan is the replacement of faux wood inserts with silver. That said, the 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment unit which also supports control for air conditioning, as well as entertainment options, has been carried forward from the S90. Steering mounted audio and phone controls are also offered as standard and the Volvo V90 Cross Country is offered only in one variant, D5 Inscription.

Powering the Volvo V90 Cross Country is the existing 2.0-litre D5 turbocharged diesel engine. However, for the station wagon, the engine has been retuned which now produces 235 hp of power and 480 Nm of torque. That is 45 hp of power and 80 Nm of torque more than the S90. This retuned engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. This engine and gearbox combination is also offered with an all-wheel-drive system with different driving modes, Eco, Comfort, Dynamic and Rough Road. In terms of practicality compared to the S90 sedan, the V90 Cross Country has a larger boot volume of 590 litres which can be expanded further to 1,526 litres by folding down the second row of seats. These seats can be folded down using switches in the boot for added convenience. For added convenience, the V90 Cross Country also has electrically adjustable front seats as well as an electrically adjustable lumbar support.

Safety features on the Volvo V90 Cross Country include multiple airbags for the occupants, Emergency Brake Assist (EBS), Intelligent Driver Information System (IDIS), Hill Start Assist, Park Pilot Assist and City Safety. Currently, there is no competition for the Volvo V90 Cross Country in India with this body style, however, the Swedish carmaker expects to attract buyers from the sedan as well as the SUV segments. For cars like the Volvo V90 Cross Country, GST or Goods and Services Tax has worked in favour as they have to pay considerably lesser tax. The tax structure before the implementation of GST included Excise Duty, NCCD (National Calamity Contingency Duty), Infra Cess, CST (Central Sales Tax) and VAT (Value Added Tax) wherein VAT varied from one state to the other. This attracted close to 55 percent tax which is now 43 percent hence aiding in the price cuts for cars like the V90 Cross Country. Under GST, the tax on cars is now 28 percent with additional cess of 15 percent for the cars categorised in SUVs.