2015 Volvo XC90 : first look at next-gen luxury SUV

CarAdvice's spy photographers snapped the all-new XC90 undergoing winter testing on a frozen lake in northern Sweden earlier this morning, and though heavily camouflaged, the car’s basic shape and major styling details are obvious in the prototype.

The second-generation Volvo XC90 will debut the brand’s new design language, previewed last year and again last month by the Concept Coupe and Concept XC Coupe design studies.

Shared with that duo is the new XC90’s long, low bonnet and raked windscreen, both of which position the driver well back in the car.

The new seven-seat SUV looks longer, lower and wider than its predecessor, possessing a more car-like stance than the high-riding first-gen model, and one somewhat reminiscent of future rival, the BMW X5.

While difficult to see in these images, the second-generation Volvo XC90 will feature T-shaped LED daytime running lights in its headlight clusters and a prominent radiator grille with angular bumper lines. Partially visible are the new car’s LED tail-lights, which like the outgoing model will extend up the D-pillars.

Launching 12 years after the original, the Swedish brand’s large luxury SUV will debut at September’s Paris motor show before reaching Australian showrooms in early 2015.

The XC90 will become the first model built on the car maker’s versatile Scalable Product Architecture, which features a high percentage of aluminium and promises reduced vehicle weight, increased fuel economy and enhanced performance characteristics.

It will also embrace the company’s new Drive-E family of turbocharged four-cylinder engines.

A host of advanced safety technologies will also debut in the new SUV, including two claimed world firsts: a pedestrian detection and avoidance system that operates effectively at night, and a road edge and barrier detection and avoidance system. Combining adaptive cruise control with steer assist, the XC90 also promises to be able to drive autonomously at speeds up to around 50km/h.

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