Which Volvo S90 is better: petrol or diesel?
Choosing between the various Volvo S90 models can be quite challenging, with each presenting its advantages. We make the choice a bit easier by determining which one of the petrol or diesel offerings are the best for you.
Volvo has surprised us with their latest vehicles, offering executive and luxury vehicles finally giving the German contenders a run for their money in price, reliability and comprehensive packaging. The S90 is no exception.
Offering consumers the S90 in the form of the Momentum, Inscription and R-Design with two petrol and diesel drivetrain options available, we investigate which offering is best: petrol or diesel?
Related : Top 4 Volvo S90 features that stand out from the competition
The petrol versions
With a starting price of R757 852, the T5 offers 187 kW and 350 Nm from its all-wheel drive 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged, Eight-speed Geartronic™ automatic transmission. It has a claimed average fuel consumption of 6.5 L/100km, with a top speed of 230 km/h, and can sprint from 0 – 100km/h in 6.8 seconds.
The T6, being a more performance orientated package, starts at R966 560. Its all-wheel drive, 2.0-litre four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged engine produces 235 kW and 400 Nm, with a top speed of 250 km/h and acceleration from 0 – 100 km/h of 5.9 seconds. This performance comes with a less frugal average fuel consumption of 7.2 L/100km.
The T5 and T6 blend luxury, economy and reasonable to substantial performance at its price point, with nearly R210 000 separating these two models. Given the hefty price difference between the two, the T5 seems like a more alluring offering as it still offers good performance paired with better frugality.
The diesel variants
The Volvo S90 D4 is equipped with a front-wheel drive, 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin turbo-charged diesel engine paired with the standard Eight-speed Geartronic™ automatic transmission. It produces 140 kW and 400 Nm, accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 8.2 seconds and topping off at 230 km/h. Average fuel consumption is a claimed frugal 4.4 L/100km. Starting at R779 098, the D4 offers consumers all the luxury of an executive vehicle, with frugality to suit anyone’s wallet.
Coming in from R 905 416, the D5’s drivetrain consists of an all-wheel drive 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin turbo-charged diesel engine paired with the standard Eight-speed Geartronic™ automatic transmission. Still very frugal with an average consumption of 4.8 L/100km, it has a top speed of 240 km/h and acceleration of 7 seconds.
With FWD and AWD separating the two diesel offerings, consumers have a tough choice to make with the more affordable D4 only being available in FWD – which is not usually the preferred drive choice when it comes to more performance orientated luxury cars.
Which is better?
With greatly varying prices and advantages, choosing between the diesel and petrol options on offer in the S90 is not an easy choice. The price and frugality of the D4 comes with the sacrifice, some might think, of living with FWD. With marginal gains for a substantial price increase between the T6 and D5, it is tough to argue for the preference of these two higher-end models.
With Volvo being one of the front-runner in ridding the world of diesel drivetrains, and by 2025, of internal combustion engines as a whole, we are quite sceptical of buying any diesel powered Volvos now – unless you don’t plan on owning it for very long.
We therefore take our hats off to the Volvo T5 as our pick of the bunch. Being the most affordable to purchase and providing the driver with all the luxury, comfort, frugality and performance one could ask for at its price point, we are happy to announce the T5 as our petrol-powered winner.
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