Price tag put on thoroughly refreshed Volvo XC90

Announced back in May as one of three model launches planned for 2025, Volvo Car South Africa has officially confirmed price and specification of the facelift XC90.

Debuting just over a month after the all-electric EX30 Cross Country, and soon to be followed by the refreshed XC60 with the all-electric ES90 arriving next year, the first major update in the XC90’s 11-year production year sees it remaining alongside the all-electric EX90 that had been expected to replace it.

New outside

Revealed globally last year, the easy-to-spot exterior changes comprises a new grille with diagonal slats, a redesigned bumper with vertical side air inlets, new Thor’s Hammer LED headlights and a redesigned lower air intake.

ALSO READ: Volvo approves three new models for 2025 and a surprise 2026 arrival

At the rear, the graphics for the LED light clusters have been changed and the bumper renewed. Finally, newly designed 21-inch alloy wheels round the exterior off, though 22-inches can be had as an option.

Major changes inside

Taking prominence inside, the nine-inch infotainment display bows out in favour of a new 11.2-inch incorporating not only wireless Apple CarPlay, but also Google’s latest operating system, over-the-air updates and integrated satellite navigation.

An addition that has seen the air vents being restyled, a new textured finish, made from recycled materials, has also been added to the dashboard itself.

Facelift Volvo XC90 South Africa price — *_{Taking pride of place inside is the new 11.2-inch infotainment system. Image: Volvo}*

Down the centre, the console has been made slimmer by virtue of now being a single-piece unit whereby the lidded storage area falls away in favour of the wireless smartphone charger.

As an option, the gear lever can be topped by a crystal glass knob made by renowned Swedish glassmaker, Orrefors.

Nappa leather upholstery or recycled fibres called Nordico round the interior off, along with five decorative veneer options: checkered aluminium, light beige wood, brown ash, grey ash and backlit light ash.

New spec

On the specification front, the XC90 range spans four models and two trim levels, Plus and Ultra, with standard items on all comprising Matrix LED headlights, ambient lighting, a heated steering wheel and quad-zone climate control.

Also included without resorting to the options list is a panoramic sunroof, heated and front electric seats, an electric tailgate and heated second row seating.

A Harman Kardon sound system is standard on the Plus and the uprated Bowers & Wilkins on the Ultra.

As before, the XC90 seats seven and comes equipped with a series of safety and driver assistance systems consisting of a surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Keep Assist, Collision Mitigation Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and the semi-autonomous Pilot Assist system.

Underneath and up front

Mechanically, no changes have taken place, meaning the retention of the adaptive dampers and air suspension, both standard and in the case of the latter, able to lower the body by 20 mm and then raise it by 40 mm on the move.

Similarly, Volvo has kept the same powerunits as before, the 48-volt mild-hybrid B5 and the plug-in hybrid T8.

Again modelled around the 2.0-litre Drive-E turbocharged petrol engine, the B5 develops 183kW/350Nm, whereas the T8 adds a supercharger and a 18.8-kWh battery pack for a combined output of 340kW/709Nm.

As before, an eight-speed Geartronic is the sole transmission. For the T8, the claimed all-electric range is 70 km and fuel consumption for the B5 a supposed 8.1 L/100 km.