How does Volvo Cars make XC90 seats so comfortable?

Every good story – and every good journey – starts with people sitting comfortably. A tiny Swedish flag stitched into the corner of the front passenger seat of the Volvo XC90 hints at where that story began.

Volvo Cars’ history of making ultimate seating comfort stretches back more than six decades, with adjustable lumbar support introduced via the 1964 Amazon.

Volvo enlisted the help of orthopaedic surgeons to co-design the seat, subsequently working closely with renowned Gothenburg spine specialist Professor Alf Nachemson, whose precision anthropometrics – body measurements that feed into ergonomics honed by designers – helped refine those designs.

Over the following decades, Volvo Cars invested increasing resource into the science of ergonomics, building out a specialist team that dovetailed with independent researchers to create the most comfortable, supportive – and safe – seats.

(In turn, the seats help inform the design of the cabin, so that the driver never has to reach too far for essential controls, and can see all the key information they need while keeping their eyes on the road.)

Three decades after the Amazon, Industrial designer Lennart Liedberg joined Volvo Cars’ Ergonomics unit in 1994, spending several years tackling the conundrum of making sportier seats as Volvo shifted from boxy designs to more streamlined models. Liedberg’s first assignment was creating ‘bucket’ seats for the V70 and S60, somewhat different to the ‘Swedish armchairs’ of their predecessors.

“We really wondered if Volvo buyers would accept the sportier seat,” he later said, “but they did!"

Liedberg and his team then played a key role in the design of the seats for the XC90, as well as the overall ergonomics of the cabin. Their criteria for success?

“At the end of a long, all-day journey, the driver must feel just as fresh as when starting out.”

Some 20 years later, the new Volvo XC90 fully delivers on that promise.

A luxury seven-seat SUV, ‘comfortable’ is its middle name – with massage function in the front two seats and built-in booster seats for younger children in two window side seats. In the back row, two six-foot adults will, naturally, be sitting comfortably.

Improved suspension also means the ride is better than ever: Each individual damper is able to adapt mechanically to road conditions to optimise both comfort and stability – for a more confident and relaxed driving experience.

Optional air suspension takes that even further, working together with an active chassis that monitors the car, road and driver 500 times per second to give the most comfortable ride possible.

As Top Gear recently put it:

“The best family SUV out there … This is a handsome, cool car for forward-thinking people. Like you."

“The XC90 will carry you and your family in safety and security, with minimal fuss and hassle and look good while doing so.”

Which is why the Volvo XC90, made in Gothenburg, remains a top selling car – and as the little Swedish flag stitched into the driver’s seat subtly implies, a flagship of the fleet.

Find out more about the new XC90 here, or contact your local retailer to sit down, relax and enjoy a remarkably comfortable test drive.