Top of the Charts

What is better than an XC90? a Twin-Engined XC90 in Excellence trim!

- Anubhav Sharma

Status quo is a double-edged sword and no, I don’t mean the British band. It lulls leaders into complacency and spreads a defeatist attitude amongst the challengers. The luxury car market, in India at least, had been status quo with the three German brands taking turns being the leader and the lone Brit trying to break through. But what better to break through anything than Thor’s hammer, eh? And boy, the hammer broke through and how. Volvo’s renaissance in India, which started with the XC90, has been nothing short of a masterpiece. The new design language, the luxury inside, and the new engines have all improved the brand’s perception and sales in India. Like a true challenger, Volvo isn’t resting on its laurels after making a good comeback.

I have always wondered how car manufacturers decide on the nomenclature for variants in a model family. Mass manufacturers stick to ZXi/VXi types and luxury manufacturers have now starting using Prestige, Luxury, Technology. While they may convey the most basic meaning of what a particular variant will have, the names seem more like getting another thing out of the way for the marketing guys. The XC90 T8 Excellence is probably one of the few which has been aptly named and lives up to its name completely.