The Volvo XC100 could be a BMW and Mercedes threatening flagship SUV

Reports have emerged suggesting that Volvo could be working on building a new flagship SUV, and it would be known as the XC100. Until now, the flagship suv offered by the Swedish automaker was the XC90 and it was quite a palatial luxobarge. The way the XC90 has been built and designed, inside and out, sets it apart from its rivals and in a way, makes it special.

We could expect the XC100 to be take inspiration from the XC90 with respect to looks, but expect a few unexpected changes on the inside and the power train. The surprise is that according to Motor Trend, the XC100 might miss out on combustion powered engines, but it would also not sport a third row because,it will be an SUV Coupe. Initially, the car will have the same plug-in hybrid power trains currently in the XC90 but expect a fully electric model by 2024.

Considering the form over function approach of an SUV coupe, it is not shocking. It does seem odd to have an SUV priced above the XC90 which does not sport 3 rows of seats as the BMW X7 and the Mercedes GLS both have 3 rows of seats. I am not really sure about what Volvo is trying to do here. To add more to it, earlier reports were suggesting that the XC100 was indeed going to be a flagship 3-row SUV and it made more sense too.

Any which way, some reports also suggest that it could be be pit against the BMW X6 and Mercedes Benz GLE coupe and in that case, the 2 rows of seats would make sense. But, the pricing for that has to be in between the XC60 and the XC90. But, in case it does end up sporting the 2 rows of seats in the future and continues to be the flagship model, expect the cabin space and seats to be opulent and filled to the brim with all kinds of creature comforts and advanced technology features.

Basically, think of the XC90 excellence lounge, only better and with 4 seats, and you would have the XC100. Could Volvo be prepping up a Bentayga/Stelvio/DBX/Cayenne competitor at a much lower price than these? Would you buy a Volvo if it offered everything apart from the brand value of a Bentley or a Porsche? I certainly would because that saves me a lot of the money AND it’s gonna be a SAFE investment. Pun intended.

You’re wondering that the XC90 is too old so a flagship SUV based on this dated model seems stupid, right? Well, we could expect the facelifted XC90 to be released soon as well, and once that happens, we would have a broad of the design language that Volvo will be applying to their cars.

The flagship Volvo XC100 and 2021 based XC90 will be built on the SPA II (Scalable Product Architecture). The current gen XC90 runs on the SPA architecture, which was used for gasoline powered vehicles, the SPA II platform on the other hand accommodates those vehicles, which are a hybrid and unlike the SPA platform, it can support fully electric vehicles as well. Tittle tattle has led to us believe that the XC90 will be offered as a hybrid and an electric variant. The XC100 is believed to positioned only as an EV, and it will also sport the Recharge moniker. The Recharge tag has only been worn by the XC40, but now it seems that the XC100 will be the second Volvo vehicle to join the all electric Recharge path.

The XC100 could make landfall by 2023, and when it does, expect a price tag, north of $85,000. Will it compete against the X6 and GLE coupe, will it battle the X7 and GLS or would it offer an option to enjoy the luxuries of a Bentayga at half the price? That is a mystery for now. Probably in the coming months we will get more information on the XC100, which would make things clearer for us.