2016 Volvo XC90 T6 AWD R-Design

Enter the 2016 Volvo XC90 T6 AWD R-Design swanky station wagon. For 2016, Volvo’s stately full-size SUV gets the brand’s sporty R-Design treatment, adding sportier bodywork and unique wheels, along with a sport suspension tune that helps the already agile 2016 XC90 corner with even more stability and poise. Of course, the XC90 R-Design retains the award-winning interior and exterior styling and outstanding safety features that have made it so popular.

The XC90 is a uniquely Swedish SUV, and its design eschews gimmicky complex curves, plastic add-ons and trendy, impractical swoops and sweeps. Instead, it presents a completely reasonable elegance with great sight lines and a commanding presence on the road.

The powertrain of the Volvo XC90 is about as complicated as its name. Despite the “T6” designation, which nominally stands for “Turbo 6-cylinder,” the XC90 T6 actually comes with a 4-cylinder -- but a 4-cylinder that has both a turbocharger and a supercharger. The belt-driven supercharger starts boosting the engine at low rpm, helping to give the illusion of a big engine with lots of torque. Then at higher revs an exhaust-driven turbocharger takes over, boosting the little 2.0-liter mill all the way to the 300 horsepower mark. The result is an EPA-rated 22 mpg overall, somewhat impressive considering the XC90 is a 2+ -ton SUV that can accelerate through the quarter mile in 15-seconds flat. It also earns a ULEV-II rating for air pollution and smog.