The perfect travel car: the Volvo XC90

Anyone who travels a lot cannot ignore a few important factors: space, comfort, safety and perhaps some understatement. On our trip to southern France we found the perfect travel car: the Volvo XC90.

Picture & rights @ Sebastien Rohner – https://www.sebastienrohner.com

Our journey to southern France with the Volvo XC90

Our annual visit to Cannes was just around the corner and as always we had to transport a lot of equipment and luggage. Ready packed, we drove 05:30 in the morning via Gotthard, Milan and Genoa to the South of France. The trip to Cannes takes about 8 hours and believe us that we haven’t been driving as comfortable for a long time. The seats are super comfy, while numerous – fortunately not annoying – assistance systems make the trip a lot easier. For example, the Pilot Assist controls the distance to the next car, keeps the lane and adjusts absolutely everything by itself in a traffic jam. So you can lean back and watch. And it works.

Along the roads of Southern France

Once arrived, the Côte d’Azur showed its most beautiful side in late summer: sailing yachts, pretty cafés and tasty restaurants, into the sunset, along the red rocks of the coast – southern France is a dream.

Dawn was approaching and while the last people were looking for a swim in the sea and the waiters were preparing dinner, we set off – out of Cannes – along the coast of southern France past impressive rocks, forests, rushing sea and villas with spectacular views.

The driving experience

Too heavy to control? Far from it, the Volvo XC90 looks sporty, comes up with an impressive street presence and shows how well it copes with its dimensions when driving through the narrow curves up to the viewpoints. In peace and quiet, with plenty of safety and a comfortable air suspension, it’s just amazing to drive along the coast in such a wonderfully relaxed manner. The 2-litre diesel – with 235 hp and 430 Nm – offers enough power and torque for every challenge.

Living room on wheels – infinite space

The fact that the Volvo XC90 is the largest of the family is demonstrated not only by its 2.3 tonnes, 5 metres lenght and 2 metres width, but also by its massive boot capacity of up to 1868 litres. The rear legroom of almost one metre also leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. There are 2 additional seats hidden in the boot, whereby the Volvo XC90 can be converted into a 7-seater in no time at all. Thus the Swedish SUV offers enough space for every conceivable journey with 5 persons and loads of luggage.

Cleaned up, high-quality interior

The Swedes are very sophisticated when it comes to interior design and can easily keep up with the competitors: perforated nappa leather, ergonomically shaped seats, aluminium inlays, a tidy infotainment with a 9-inch touch screen and a panorama roof provide the ultimate feeling of well-being.

Safety and top-notch service

The fact that Volvo builds the safest cars is hardly surprising when you look at the various assistance and safety systems (emergency brake assistant, run-off road protection, intersection assistant, city safety, etc.) and the concentrated load of power and stability. How great the service at Volvo works, was evident on the way home: within seconds the friendly lady from the ‘Volvo On Call’ team – which is installed in the car by the way and can be called up at any time – explained to us that the warning light is merely the absence of AdBlue. Brilliant.

More information: https://www.volvocars.com/de-ch