Not really a Sunday trip. We took the trip on Saturday. The wife had expressed her wish that the next trip... We will take it to the Oslo Fashion Outlet in Vestby south of Oslo.
Great expectations
I know few people who are so critical of vehicles like her. Therefore, I was excited to see how she would react to a Volvo V90. Only the best is good enough.
For my own part, I can't hide that I like Volvo better than many other car brands. Hertz Bilpool has recently placed four Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine AWD in strategic locations in Oslo. It is a hybrid concept with two engines - a supercharged turbo petrol engine at the front and an electric motor at the rear. The petrol engine produces 320 HP and has a torque of 400 Nm approximately from idle. The electric motor produces 87 HP and has a torque of 240 Nm from standstill. All in all, we are talking about 407 HP and a torque of 640 Nm. Forces enough.
No racing car
The Volvo is not a racing car. Do not misunderstand. You can accelerate from 0-100 in 4,7 seconds and the stated top speed is 250 km/h. Enough to fuel most anything on the road, including sports cars. But behind the wheel I felt no need to test the limits. It holds up with the good torque. The car dove majestically away. One sits royally. The wide, slightly low windscreen reinforces the feeling of driving a car that towers slightly over the road. I like the big, aggressive front. The steering gave me associations with the BMW 5 series. Maybe not so strange. In quiet city driving, we actually drive with rear-wheel drive.
Familiarize yourself with the car
As a guest driver for one day, it is limited how much of the vehicle you have time to explore. Actually, I just wanted to get off at once, but needed a few minutes to study the most basic. The start and stop button, for example. It should be turned like a key. The gear lever must be pushed once for each desired step (RNDB). There will be two pushes forward from Drive to Reverse. Then two push backwards back to drive again. Park is on its own button. The handbrake is electromechanical.
You can also set the steering, throttle, braking and climate in the infotainment system. I realized I didn't have time to try all the settings. I didn't have time to charge, either. From just under a quarter-full of batteries, I could have fully charged in less than two hours in the garage (type 2 cable, 16A, 3,7 KW). Then I could get a theoretical range of 4,4 miles.
Run without charging
The crux of driving a hybrid is that you can drive on electricity on a daily basis as long as you have charging options at home and/or at work. Nevertheless, I know several people who never charge their plug-in hybrid cars. They just drive. It is then important that the car manages to recover electricity through normal driving, so that it can actually function as a hybrid car. I put the gear lever in "B" to recover energy from the artificial engine brake. It is not very powerful, but still gives a weak charge. I noticed that the car ran fine on electricity from start-ups and when the engine is idling. A fine balance between petrol and electricity.
Daytrippers
After being helped to adjust the passenger seat, my wife nodded in appreciation. Inside, the V90 was approved, although she didn't have much left over for the brown wood decor. "Old decor", she commented dryly - and looked at me with searching eyes: "You like it, don't you?" The last time we ordered a new car, I considered with interest wood insets in the interior. But my wife chose a different decor material. "Hi-tech metal sells better on the secondary market - not wood. Nevertheless, it seems more natural to surround yourself with forest materials in a Volvo than in an Audi. I in like the wood, but said nothing to my wife.
Oslo Fashion Outlet
Oslo Fashion Outlet is a shopping center for clothing brands. The shops here must be cheaper than other shops. I immediately found a couple of jackets at a reduced price at Gant. According to the current price and previous price, I saved a couple of thousand. I then relaxed on a sunny bench outside in the atrium while my wife searched through all the other shops. We then had a better lunch before moving on.
The road from Oslo Fashion Outlet to the center of Vestby is like a continuous shopping street with department stores that any American small town would love. We stopped by Vestby Storsenter before taking the long way home. Kroerveien towards Ås and Kongeveien further towards Ski.
Just before Nordby we stopped at Riis Gård. A great manor house where the barn has been converted into a clothing store for branded clothes. British, French and German quality clothes that you cannot find in the cheap chains, nor in Vestby. The yard in front of the store forms a nice frame for the style of clothing inside – and the Volvo outside. I note that the V90 is today's "mansion car". The designation that has been passed down ever since Volvo Amazon.
Feelgood
If I could convey just one word from the cockpit of the V90, it would have to be "well-being" - or feelgood as I call it. The world's most comfortable car seats for tall Norwegians, head-up display, digital instruments, muted sound level, premium sound system, the good talk and a great engine pull. That's how the miles disappear quickly.
A slight minus on the comfort side is that the 18-inch studless winter tires emit some noise, - not particularly loud, but in an annoying tone - at certain speeds. On 19-inch summer tires the sound will probably be stronger, but maybe in a different pitch? I also noted that under gentle braking the brakes would chop the last meter or two, as if the handbrake was automatically engaged while the wheels were still spinning. I should have studied the settings in the infotainment system. Unfortunately, there is a limit to how much you can do in one day and 15 miles on the road, when you are starstruck after your first encounter with the V90 - and at the same time have to fill the car with shopping bags.
Economy
I have the impression that large, traditional station wagons are gradually losing market share to SUVs. For the V90, there is the new XC60 and XC90. Due to the authorities' tax relief on plug-in hybrids, the T8 drive unit ends up at a more attractive price in this country than elsewhere in the world. I would still like to remind you that you get NOK 150 cheaper by choosing diesel. The 000 HP D3 will work great in the V150. A quick check on Finn.no shows that of the 90 V200 and Cross Country offered, more than 90/3 are diesel. From an economic perspective, hybrids will be safer with regard to used sales in the Oslo area. Hybrid is also advantageous if you have the opportunity to charge at home and/or at work. If your driving mainly falls outside the range of the batteries, you can achieve better fuel economy with diesel. Another factor that should be considered is that the T4 drivetrain consists of many components about which we still know little in terms of lifespan and maintenance costs.
Less risk when leasing
There is every reason to have a certain skepticism about new technology, especially if you put a lot of money into a car. This means that many people today choose leasing rather than buying. I would choose leasing for my T8, or - if you don't need a large car on a daily basis - book one on Hertz Bilpool when you need a manor car, or just want to drive a really nice car. If you are rather looking for a D3 or D4, you will find several good examples at Finn.no.
Search Finn.no for V90 D3 and D4
Read more about Hertz Car pool
Facts about the Volvo V90 T8
Drive:
Engine volume: 1969 ccm (petrol).
Power: 407 (320 petrol + 87 electric).
Torque: 640 (400 Nm petrol + 240 Nm electric).
Gearbox: 8-speed automatic.
Operation: 4-wheel drive via control-by-wire between petrol (front) and electricity (rear).
Weights and Measures:
Length: 493 cm
Width: 189 cm
Height: 147 cm
Wheelbase: 294 cm
Luggage compartment under the bonnet: 560 litres
Tank volume: 50 litres
Own weight: 1975 kg
Maximum permissible trailer weight with brakes: 2100 kg
Maximum permissible trailer weight without brakes: 750 kg
Prices:
Price: NOK 710
Technology package: NOK 16 or Technology PRO: NOK 900.
The technology package is a "must have" because it contains, among other things, LED and NAV. Teknikk PRO includes, among other things, a head-up display.
Metallic paint supplement: NOK 9
Tinted windows from B-windows upwards: NOK 4
Chrome end pipe and diffuser: NOK 7
Source: Volvocars.com
Such nice articles you write 😉
Thank you very much 🙂