Welcome to Silverstone, the home of British Motorsports and the venue for the Auto Car Awards 2016. We're here to honor the very best cars we've tested in the past year and the inspirational people who make them. I'm standing here with the Volvo XC90 for very good reason because we're giving it one of our Autocar Game Changer Awards.

This prestigious award is for cars that have redefined their class, benchmarked by autocars testers who believe that the Volvo XC90 sets a new standard in many areas and it's also the first car to sit on an all-new multi-million pound platform. The XC90 sits on an architecture that will underpin a range of new models in the coming years, it's called Spa scalable product architecture and it allows the XC90 to be larger, lighter and safer than before.

The new model isn't a dramatic visual departure from its predecessor but utilitarian good looks and neat touches like the standard Thor hammer LED headlights help it stand out from the crowd. The XC90's cabin is also notable for its striking central touchscreen and the space available in all seven seats. The touchscreen controls all of the XC90's major functions, meaning that the rest of the dash is left looking uncluttered and pleasing to the eye.

But it's not just about style because the XC90's cabin is both comfortable and practical as evidenced by the second row seats that can be fully adjusted and a large flat load space in the boot. There are also some nice touches too, such as a powered tailgate that can be operated with just a wiggle of your foot.

Volvo's approach to engines is different to that of many of its rivals, all Volvo engines are now four-cylinder units but they cope well with powering even the big XC90s. They all deliver a decent blend of power, performance, fuel economy and emissions claims which enable the XC90 to compete with The Very Best in Class.

There's also a Twist in the form of the T8 hybrid which combines engine power with an electric motor to deliver more performance than is available from the old V8 but at a fraction of the fuel economy. There's an option of an all-electric driving mode over short distances, and those engines are light too, which goes some way to explaining why the XC90 feels perky and alert to drive in everyday traffic.

Complementing this performance are steering, grip, corners and braking that don't fuss or disappoint, it also rides pretty well especially on the optional air suspension. The XC90's body control is good too so much so that it feels like a large passenger car rather than an out-and-out 4x4.

There's a lot to love about the Volvo XC90 but another pleasant surprise is the fact that it's well priced and well equipped against its rivals, when you consider it has seven seats four-wheel drive LED headlights and Volvo's excellent nine-inch touchscreen multimedia system as standard. And the fact that residual values are also standing up well makes good rational sense too.

Today, we're proud to announce that the Volvo XC90 is a 2016 Autocar Game Changer Award winner, and it's a testament to the innovative spirit of the Swedish car manufacturer.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to Silverstone the home of British Motorsports and the venue for the auto car Awards 2016 we're here to honor the very best cars we've tested in the past year and the inspirational people who make them I'm standing here with the Volvo XC90 for very good reason because we're giving it one of our autocar game changer Awards this prestigious award is for cars that have redefined their class Benchmark autocars testers believe that the Volvo XC90 sets a new standard in many areas and it's also the first car to sit on an all new multi-million pound platform the XC90 sits on an architecture that will underpin a rough of new models in the coming years it's called Spa scalable product architecture and it allows the XC90 to be larger lighter and safer than before the new model isn't a dramatic visual departure from its predecessor but utilitarian good looks and neat touches like the standard Thor hammer LED headlights help it stand out from the crowd as does the xc90s cabin most notably because of the Striking Central touchscreen and the space available in all seven seats the touchscreen controls all of the xc90's major functions meaning that the rest of the dash is left looking uncluttered and pleasing ing to the eye but it's not just about style because the xc90s cabin is both comfortable and practical as evidenced by the second row seats that can be fully adjusted and a large flat load space in the boot there's some nice touches too such as a powered tailgate as standard that can be operated with just a wiggle of your foot Volvo's approach to engines is different to that of many of its Rivals all Volvo engines are now four-cylinder units but they cope well with powering even the big X C90 they all deliver a decent blend of power performance fuel economy and Emissions claims which enable the XC90 to compete with The Very Best in Class there's also a Twist in the form of the T8 hybrid which combines engine power with an electric motor to deliver more performance than is available from the old V8 but at a fraction of the fuel economy and there's an option of an all electric driving mode over short distances those engines are light too which goes some way to explaining why the XC90 feels perky and alert to drive in everyday traffic that complement a car that steers consistently grips well corners without fuss and which stops straight and true it also rides pretty well especially on the optional air suspension the xc90s body control is good too so much so that it feels like a large passenger car rather than an out andout 4x4 there's a lot to love about the Volvo XC90 but another pleasant surprise is the fact that it's well priced and well equipped against its Rivals when you consider it has seven seats four-wheel drive LED headlights and Volvo's excellent 9-in touchscreen multimedia system as standard and the fact that residual values are also standing up well it makes good rational sense too today have it the Volvo XC90 a 2016 autocar Game Changer Award winnerwelcome to Silverstone the home of British Motorsports and the venue for the auto car Awards 2016 we're here to honor the very best cars we've tested in the past year and the inspirational people who make them I'm standing here with the Volvo XC90 for very good reason because we're giving it one of our autocar game changer Awards this prestigious award is for cars that have redefined their class Benchmark autocars testers believe that the Volvo XC90 sets a new standard in many areas and it's also the first car to sit on an all new multi-million pound platform the XC90 sits on an architecture that will underpin a rough of new models in the coming years it's called Spa scalable product architecture and it allows the XC90 to be larger lighter and safer than before the new model isn't a dramatic visual departure from its predecessor but utilitarian good looks and neat touches like the standard Thor hammer LED headlights help it stand out from the crowd as does the xc90s cabin most notably because of the Striking Central touchscreen and the space available in all seven seats the touchscreen controls all of the xc90's major functions meaning that the rest of the dash is left looking uncluttered and pleasing ing to the eye but it's not just about style because the xc90s cabin is both comfortable and practical as evidenced by the second row seats that can be fully adjusted and a large flat load space in the boot there's some nice touches too such as a powered tailgate as standard that can be operated with just a wiggle of your foot Volvo's approach to engines is different to that of many of its Rivals all Volvo engines are now four-cylinder units but they cope well with powering even the big X C90 they all deliver a decent blend of power performance fuel economy and Emissions claims which enable the XC90 to compete with The Very Best in Class there's also a Twist in the form of the T8 hybrid which combines engine power with an electric motor to deliver more performance than is available from the old V8 but at a fraction of the fuel economy and there's an option of an all electric driving mode over short distances those engines are light too which goes some way to explaining why the XC90 feels perky and alert to drive in everyday traffic that complement a car that steers consistently grips well corners without fuss and which stops straight and true it also rides pretty well especially on the optional air suspension the xc90s body control is good too so much so that it feels like a large passenger car rather than an out andout 4x4 there's a lot to love about the Volvo XC90 but another pleasant surprise is the fact that it's well priced and well equipped against its Rivals when you consider it has seven seats four-wheel drive LED headlights and Volvo's excellent 9-in touchscreen multimedia system as standard and the fact that residual values are also standing up well it makes good rational sense too today have it the Volvo XC90 a 2016 autocar Game Changer Award winnerwelcome to Silverstone the home of British Motorsports and the venue for the auto car Awards 2016 we're here to honor the very best cars we've tested in the past year and the inspirational people who make them I'm standing here with the Volvo XC90 for very good reason because we're giving it one of our autocar game changer Awards this prestigious award is for cars that have redefined their class Benchmark autocars testers believe that the Volvo XC90 sets a new standard in many areas and it's also the first car to sit on an all new multi-million pound platform the XC90 sits on an architecture that will underpin a rough of new models in the coming years it's called Spa scalable product architecture and it allows the XC90 to be larger lighter and safer than before the new model isn't a dramatic visual departure from its predecessor but utilitarian good looks and neat touches like the standard Thor hammer LED headlights help it stand out from the crowd as does the xc90s cabin most notably because of the Striking Central touchscreen and the space available in all seven seats the touchscreen controls all of the xc90's major functions meaning that the rest of the dash is left looking uncluttered and pleasing ing to the eye but it's not just about style because the xc90s cabin is both comfortable and practical as evidenced by the second row seats that can be fully adjusted and a large flat load space in the boot there's some nice touches too such as a powered tailgate as standard that can be operated with just a wiggle of your foot Volvo's approach to engines is different to that of many of its Rivals all Volvo engines are now four-cylinder units but they cope well with powering even the big X C90 they all deliver a decent blend of power performance fuel economy and Emissions claims which enable the XC90 to compete with The Very Best in Class there's also a Twist in the form of the T8 hybrid which combines engine power with an electric motor to deliver more performance than is available from the old V8 but at a fraction of the fuel economy and there's an option of an all electric driving mode over short distances those engines are light too which goes some way to explaining why the XC90 feels perky and alert to drive in everyday traffic that complement a car that steers consistently grips well corners without fuss and which stops straight and true it also rides pretty well especially on the optional air suspension the xc90s body control is good too so much so that it feels like a large passenger car rather than an out andout 4x4 there's a lot to love about the Volvo XC90 but another pleasant surprise is the fact that it's well priced and well equipped against its Rivals when you consider it has seven seats four-wheel drive LED headlights and Volvo's excellent 9-in touchscreen multimedia system as standard and the fact that residual values are also standing up well it makes good rational sense too today have it the Volvo XC90 a 2016 autocar Game Changer Award winner\n"