KUALA LUMPUR: Volvo Car Malaysia, while celebrating its 50th anniversary, launched its locally-assembled XC90 T8 Twin Engine sports utility vehicle (SUV) and became the pioneer car company to roll out the first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) to be assembled on Malaysian soil.

The SUV rolls out of the Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia plant in Shah Alam, which was once known as Swedish Motor Assemblies that produced the 144S five decades ago and comes priced at RM404,888 on-the-road with GST without insurance and comes along with a five-year warranty and five exterior colours of Ice White, Onyx Black, Saville Grey, Twilight Bronze and Bright Silver.

There are no omissions from the fully-imported XC90 in terms of trim, finish, equipment and size which means it still has a wheelbase of 2,984mm, measures 4,950mm-long, 2,140mm-wide and 1,776mm-tall, while rolling on 20-inch wheels with 275/45 series tyres.

Under the hood, there’s still 2.0-litre (1,969cc) turbocharged and supercharged aluminium engine producing 320hp at 5,700rpm and 400Nm of torque from 2,200 to 5,400rpm that’s managed by an eight-speed automatic transmission before reaching the front wheels.

An electric motor with a 9.2kWh lithium-ion battery (fully charged in 3.5 hours via a 240 Volt supply with a 10 ampere fuse.

The motor produces 87hp at 7,000rpm and 240Nm of torque from 0 to 3,000rpm supplements the petrol engine, which brings the XC90’s combined output to 407hp and 640Nm of torque and can be operated on pure electric mode at the push of a button for up to 43km without taking a sip from its 50-litre fuel tank.

In terms of performance, it’ll get up to 100kph from standstill in 5.6 seconds and onwards to a limited top speed of 230kph, while fuel efficiency has been rated at 2.1 litres per 100km on the combined cycle and emits just 49g of CO2 per kilometre.

The 2,343kg (kerb) SUV has a drag coefficient of 0.33 to cut through the wind, while the electroically controlled five-mode air-suspension for its front double wishbone and rear integral axle takes care of pitch, roll, bumps and undulations from the road.

It also gets equipped with a distinctive T-shaped “Thor’s Hammer” for its daytime running lights, a tablet-like touch screen control console, voice control, digital instrument cluster, heads-up display and access to cloud-based applications via an all-new in-car button-free control system.

The interior gets four-zone climate controls, CleanZone air purification system, Nappa leather seats, powered front seats with memory, panoramic roof, hand-crafted wood accents, crystal glass gear lever from Swedish glassmaker Orrefors as well as diamond-cut controls for the start/stop button and volume control.

Other than the usual safety equipment such as seven airbags, antilock braking system, electronic brake distribution and electronic brake assistance, the XC90 gets fitted with ‘run-off road protection package’ that tightens the safety belts to hold passengers in place should the vehicle find itself airborne after veering off the road.

Also, an ‘auto brake at intersection’ capability has been added, which automatically applies the brakes if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car and is similar to the City Safety system which also engages the auto brake function if it detects that the SUV (during day or night time) will collide with a vehicle, cyclist or pedestrian at the front of the car.

Last but not least, it the XC90 comes with adaptive cruise control with pilot assist, 360-degree surround view and park assist pilot. blind spot information, rear collision warning, distance alert, lane keeping aid, driver alert control, and road sign information.

“To date, the XC90 T8 Twin Engine is the most technologically-advanced model ever developed by Volvo Cars. It features a class-leading plug-in hybrid electric powertrain, several world-first safety innovations, and intelligent driver-assist technologies,” said Volvo Car Malaysia managing director Lennart Stegland.

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