How much do you know about the “Kingdom of Ice and Snow” in Northern Europe?
When searching for the word "Nordic" on a certain website, the most frequently appearing pictures are beautiful pictures of ice and snow and various minimalist decoration styles. Yes, whether it is regional landscape or product design, "simple beauty" is bound to be most people's first impression of this ice and snow kingdom. The concepts and humanity behind "beauty" have made many regions with the highest global happiness index, including Scandinavia.
The soil and water support the people. In the 21st century when "minimalism" has become synonymous with Northern Europe, three world-class brands have emerged: Nokian, IKEA, and Volvo. The former is from Finland. Nokia once dominated the world with its excellent design and innovative practicality. Its deeply rooted product experience has become the collective memory of mobile phones in the 70s, 80s, 90s and even some 00s.
Ikea and Volvo, both born in Sweden, have made a new effort at a time when "Nordic design" is gradually being accepted by the world, but what remains unchanged is still the Nokia concept. The same minimalism + practicality is the same as IKEA’s best-selling 41-year-old Billy bookshelf, as is Volvo’s newly launched S90?R-Design.
Whether it is IKEA or Volvo, their concepts originating from Northern Europe seem to give their products a soul that loves life, even though they have a group of fans who do not like convergence and are independent. They are willing to appreciate the story behind any value, and naturally love the momentary pleasure brought by speed. At the same time, they also shoulder the responsibility of loving family and loving life. Therefore, when it comes to choosing a car, Polestar? S60 or T6? V90CC is the best choice for them. choose.
But unfortunately, the "Nordic sports" interpreted by Polestar models cannot satisfy most Nordic fans who pay attention to life, and the standard version of Volvo models seems to have the meaning of being invisible to everyone, so The R-Design series is aimed at sports; it lacks the hard core of Polestar models, but has more calmness for daily driving. It loses its original dignity and calmness, but adds a sharp and handsome look. Good looks. The S90?R-Design I experienced this time is a representative player among them.
Everyone is familiar with the standard version of the long-wheelbase S90. The integration of Volvo’s SPA platform design language makes it look cold yet elegant as a business C-class car. At the same time, the minimalist Nordic design style also What makes it different from the bad BBA is that its temperament immediately separates it from the mainstream competing products.
So where is R-Design’s wishful thinking? That is the sports element integrated into the elegance of the S90; the lower surround of the "mustache" and the "Thor's Hammer" LED daytime running lights create a rather fierce ground-biting posture for the front face, instead of the straight waterfall style The grille's dot-matrix mesh and high-gloss chrome embellishments enhance the visual tension of the vehicle, just like a gentleman taking off his suit to reveal his powerful tendons. See you for the first time around the corner, handsome! blurted out.
The finishing touches are also in place in one step; details such as a set of 19-inch five-spoke wheels that match the sporty temperament, bright black independent rearview mirrors, and the R-Design nameplate logo on the rear all highlight the S90. ?The driving soul in R-Design’s bones, the concentrated display of personality and sportiness make it completely different from the standard S90.
When the pure black tone becomes the main theme of sports car interiors, S90? R-Design uses a "contrast" to differentiate it from conventional "sporty". 85% of the interior is covered with black soft materials + 10% Iron One brushed aluminum trim + 5% high-gloss chrome plating, which creates a layered visual effect for the interior, highlighting the sporty yet fashionable atmosphere. There will be no depressing feeling of "going dark to the end".
At the same time, a large number of elegant lines create a vivid Nordic style, and the warm and comfortable materials reflect warm humanistic care. Even the zigzag panel of the central control supports the all-encompassing atmosphere. The 9-inch large screen is simple and layered, practical and easy to use.
"It is said that Volvo is so safe that even wearing a seat belt is wearing the logo." Although this is a joke, Volvo's safety label that is deeply rooted in people's hearts is by no means a deserved reputation. Lighting up the 9-inch central control screen, there are as many as one page of active safety configurations that can be turned on/off. The city safety system is standard on all series, the complete semi-autonomous assisted driving and the top safety technology make it in In the highly homogeneous market, we have found a new way to form our own unique product strength and sincerity.
But the achievements of this group of Nordic engineers go far beyond driving safety. Today, when air quality is becoming more and more important, Li Shufu said that when you open the car door, you will be Beijing, and when you close the car door, you will be Northern Europe. Let Volvo CLEANZONE clean the cockpit. It has become a hot topic in public opinion. The use of a large number of environmentally friendly materials and the AAC dual-effect enhanced air purification air conditioning system jointly developed by Blueair make the S90? R-Design interior of this nearly new car almost odor-free, and even the cabin air is displayed in real time on the central control screen. Quality is also breaking the psychological barrier of worrying about Virgos like me. When you drive the S90 on the noisy streets and take a breath, you will understand the essence of the slogan "Pure air is like coming to Northern Europe".
With the sporty Design, can the performance of R be reflected in Polestar’s way? After a test drive, that’s not the case.
Simplifying the complex seems to be the innate talent of the Nordic people, so on the S90? R-Design single model, the 2.0T high power of T5 is your only choice, with a maximum power of 254Ps and a peak value of 254Ps. The torque is 350N·m, and the transmission is matched with an 8-speed automatic manual gearbox.
From the book data, the S90 R-Design is exactly the same as the T5 version of the S90. From a one-sided perspective, the R-Design is the sports vest of the S90, and it is basically still the mid-to-large sedan we are familiar with. But after in-depth experience, we were pleasantly surprised to discover its unique charm from the outside to the inside.
After turning "ENGINE? START", this 2.0T engine will provide you with a silky smooth acceleration feeling and lightness through unhurried power output and sensitive throttle response. It will accompany you until you reach the edge of speeding, and the overall power adjustment is still the same stable style as the S90.
The steering feel and chassis suspension are still familiar to us; the steering wheel feels light, has small empty space, and the flexible front response is easy for daily driving, without any sense of the baggage of driving a medium to large luxury car. The front double-wishbone and rear multi-link suspension are full of toughness, and combined with the tight chassis tuning, create a rather heavy chassis texture for the cabin. This kind of dynamic feedback that walks the line between comfort and texture is Volvo's consistent tuning technique, and it is also the key to the good reviews of all Volvo models.
If you use Polestar's method to drive this R-Design at this time, sorry, this 8-speed automatic manual gearbox will interrupt your acceleration rhythm with indirect drag. , especially when facing continuous downshifts, it is easy to catch the existence of frustration, which affects the coherence of power to a certain extent, resulting in a certain contrast between the pleasure of power and the appearance of movement.
R-Design literally translates to sports design. The significance of its existence on the S90 is to use a more dynamic package to dilute the composure and inaccessibility of the standard S90's luxury car. The black-based interior will match the good driving style and give you more driving confidence without sacrificing large space and comfort. The R-Design sports steering wheel in front of you and the tightly wrapped sports seats under the buttocks will stimulate you to keep the edge of the speed limit to challenge the high-speed corners on the ring. Even the sports surrounds will make the car originally positioned as a "boss car" S90 has been promoted as an all-round car for young people, and doesn’t this coincide with the needs of the group of maverick users mentioned at the beginning who don’t like convergence?
Subtle, yet retaining the original intention, is what I think is the charm of S90?R-Design!
Written at the end
Perhaps many people were complaining about the S90 like me at the beginning? The R-Design is not equipped with a T6 twin-turbocharged powertrain, but after experiencing it personally After the experience, I actually think that the only choice of T5 power is more suitable for S90? R-Design. Its handsome appearance masks the majestic temperament of the standard S90 and makes it approachable. The T5 power supply is to stimulate the potential driving pleasure of the driver's license through a sporty interior while ensuring comfort, making the originally boring urban commuting more enjoyable.
So far, the performance of S90?R-Design in the past week of experience has satisfied several of us experiencers. Its product strength is no less than that of the big brother's 56E (5 Series, A6, E-Class), and its intuitive cost-effectiveness is even better than its direct competitor, the Cadillac CT6. The excellence in all aspects makes it a good car that can score high scores, and even a car that can be recognized by the public and the market. Perhaps the reason why S90 R-Design was left out is just that the R-Design logo made everyone mistakenly think that S90 R-Design should be as good as M5 and E63 S. What do you think?
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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.