Shortly after Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) opened the order books for the locally assembled S90 T8 plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the premium executive sedan from Sweden is now available for purchase. As reported earlier, the S90 T8 is decked out in the Inscription line – the highest specification available on a Volvo.
VCM has two variants of the S90 T8 on offer – Inscription and Inscription Plus, priced at RM368,888 and RM388,888, respectively. If you’re unimpressed by the pricing, remember that the entry level S90 T5 (CBU) goes for RM388,888 while its German equivalent, the Mercedes-Benz E 350 e AMG and BMW G30 530i M Sport does not pack 640 Nm of twisting force and Volvo’s impressive suite of driver assistance system.
QUICK FACTS
| Name | Volvo S90 T8 Inscription | Volvo S90 T8 Inscription Plus |
| Engine | 1,969cc; four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged | |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic | |
| Max Power | 320 hp @ 5,700 rpm | |
| Max Torque | 400 Nm @ 2,200 -5,400 rpm | |
| Electric Motor | 87 hp & 240 Nm | |
| Combine Output | 407 hp & 640 Nm | |
| 0 – 100 km/h; Top Speed | 4.8 seconds; 250 km/h | |
| Price (OTR without insurance) | RM368,888 | RM388,888 |
EXTERIOR
Decked out in the Inscription trim, the S90 T8 wears Inscription-specific grille, dual exhaust outlets, Inscription badges, additional chrome touches by the side sills, 19-inch ten-spoke diamond cut alloys wrapped in 255/40 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.
Other standard items include full LED adaptive headlamps with Thor’s Hammer LED daytime running lights and puddle lights. The other way to tell the T8 apart from the T5 & T6 variants is the extra charging outlet cut out on the passenger side front fenders.
INTERIOR
Inside, both the Inscription and Inscription Plus dittos the one on the XC90 T8 Inscription – Nappa leather upholstery, Orrefors Crystal Gearshift Knob, 9.0-inch Sensus touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 12.3-inch TFT Adaptive Display instrument cluster, 10-speakers High Performance Audio System, 360-degree surround view camera, powered tailgate, dual-zone CleanZone automatic climate control, Heads-Up Display and many more.
The Inscription Plus adds on a 19-speaker Bowers & Wilkins® Premium Sound Audio System. Curiously both the T8 variants does not come with a powered sunroof as per the fully imported T6 R-Design variant. Boot space is uncompromised at 500 litres.
PERFORMANCE
Like the XC90 T8, the S90 T8 is powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine paired to an electric motor to give 407 hp and 640 Nm of thrust, significantly more than the recently launched Mercedes-Benz E 350 e’s 286 hp/550 Nm output.
The PHEV drivetrain is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, with the petrol engine sending drive to the front axle while the electric motor drives the rear wheels, effectively making the S90 T8 an all-wheel drive model. In a century sprint, the Volvo will leave its German rivals to eat its dust taking only 4.8 seconds to get to the 100 km/h compared to their sluggish time of 6.2 seconds. On full whack the Volvo is electronically limited to 250 km/h.
Getting the battery to full charge from empty takes 3.5 hours from a domestic power socket and that is enough to give you a pure electric range of 50 km. Fuel consumption is rated at 2.0 L/100 km.
On the standard S90 T8 Inscription, it sits on a single-setup Dynamic Chassis while the Inscription Plus gets the more potent Active Chassis with Air suspension on the rear axle (just like the XC90) which automatically keeps the rear at the correct level for better comfort.
SAFETY
Safety is where the S90 T8 blows its rivals out of the water. As standard it gets the IntelliSafe which bundles Collision Avoidance with intersection support, Pedestrian, Cyclist &Large Animal Detection, Rear Collision Warning & Mitigations Support, Run-off Road Mitigation, Pilot Assist with steering assistance (up to 130 km/h), Driver Alert Control with Lane Keeping Aid (LKA), Blind Spot Information and Cross Traffic Alert.
WHAT ELSE?
The Volvo S90 T8 PHEV is assembled at VCM’s assembly plant in Shah Alam. Every purchase of the S90 T8 comes with a 5-Year or 120,000 km warranty package as well as five years Volvo on-call service. Early adopters will enjoy a special introductory price of RM348,888 and RM368,888 for the Inscription and Inscription Plus respectively.
IMAGE GALLERY
