With a starting price of $104,900, the Volvo XC90 T8 Excellence is the most expensive car the company has put into production. It's also the first time Volvo has crossed to the $100,000 mark on any of its production cars. Most significant, the XC90 Excellence is Volvo's clearest signal that it sees itself as a full-fledged luxury brand.
Volvo's new-found luxury tilt veers from the brand's traditional image as an inconspicuous, safe, and reliable option for the everyday commute. In recent years, Volvo has steadily moved from the near-luxury space into full-on luxury. As a result, the Swedish brand will how have to contend against stalwarts from Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Jaguar, and Land Rover. Instead of more pragmatic buyers, Volvo's stylish-minded offerings gives the brand access to a whole new group of customers.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in."The Volvo XC90 Excellence is a fantastic expanded version of Volvo's idea of luxury. It brings together fantastic materials, uncompromising safety and performance into an amazing package," Volvo's Lex Kerssemakers said in a statement. "This car exposes Volvo to a new type of buyer." Last year, at the Shanghai auto show, Volvo introduced the concept version of the Excellence Interior and made the brand one of the hot topics of discussion.
Now, Volvo has turned the concept into a production car.
The Volvo XC90 T8 Excellence is a four-seat ultra luxury version of the company's award-winning XC90 SUV.
The XC90 won a number of awards last year — including Business Insider's Car of the Year.
In Excellence guise, the seven-seat XC90 is now reconfigured with room for just four to create a luxury limo SUV.
The Excellence is an obvious rival for Range Rover's ultra plush Autobiography edition.
Although the Range Rover Autobiography starts at a much more expensive $140,000.
In the XC90 Excellence, all four occupants get Volvo's La-Z-Boy-comfortable captain's chairs and folding tables.
The seats as well as the rest of the interiors get fine, perforated Nappa leather.
In addition, the seats in the Excellence are heated, cooled, and reclining. The seats also feature a massage function.
Rear-seat occupants get extra legroom, which allows them to stretch out in their reclining chairs.
Passengers can operate the rear-seat functions by using a retractable control console.
A retractable partition separates the passengers cabin from the cargo area.
The Excellence also features heated and chilled cup holders.
The XC90 Excellence even comes with custom Orrefors crystal champagne glasses
Orrefors is also supplying the XC90 with its crystal gear shifter.
Right below one of the 20 speakers in the SUV's 1,400-watt Bowers & Wilkins sound system ...
... lives a refrigerator with bottle and glass holders.
At the top of the cabin is a massive panoramic sunroof.
Volvo may not be done with its luxury cabin appointments. The company is working on its Lounge Concept, complete with foot rest and massive LCD screen.
The Excellence interior is available only with Volvo's top-of-the-line T8 Twin Motor powertrain.
It's a 400-horsepower hybrid electric-drive unit featuring Volvo's 2.0-liter, supercharged and turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine.
The Volvo XC90 Excellence arrives in US showrooms this summer.
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