Its angular styling says Volvo.   In side view, the XC90's roofline rakes upward dramatically from the windshield to a high horizontal plane, with the arc of the top echoed by the curve of the roof rails.   A high beltline enhances to the typical visual image of a tall SUV, and creates the feeling of a protective cocoon inside.   The rear glass is inclined toward the front of the vehicle, which shortens the roofline a bit and tidies the profile. Its basic stance gives the XC90 a well-planted look and promotes handling stability.   Its wheelbase is long, but the overhangs are short, so the body doesn't extend very far past the wheels.   It has a wide track as well.   And despite its height, the XC90 has a lower center of gravity than many SUVs.  

The taillights are huge, designed to ensure visibility to other drivers.   The back-up lights seem as bright as the roof lights on a Baja pickup, making it less likely to back into something at night.  

All XC90s feature side mirrors with integrated LCD turn signals to warn drivers in your blind spot of your intensions.   Active Bi-Xenon headlights are available that generate brighter light and swivel up to 15 degrees off center in the direction of travel to better light up the turns.  

The rear hatch is split into two sections, with a larger, upper glass portion that swings up and a lower, steel gate that drops down.   The split-line between is about waste high, so if you're just stowing the groceries or dry cleaning, you might not need to drop the tailgate.   Larger objects require opening both halves, so this clamshell hatch has its strength and weaknesses.   On the plus side, the upper glass liftgate lifts and closes easily, and because it's smaller, it's less likely to bonk you or someone else on the head when you raise or lower it.   Liftgates on some SUVs are hard to raise due to their weight and the angles involved, but that's not the case here.   The little tailgate also keeps groceries and other cargo from rolling out when you open the hatch.  

Sporty R-Design models are dressed up with bright roof rails, additional brightwork on the front skid plate, silk-matte caps on the outside mirrors, and a racy rear bumper with quad exhausts and important-looking air outlets.   But you could honestly miss all of that and just find yourself wowed by the strikingly slim, five-spoke Vulcanis alloy wheels, like certain swimsuits, what most impresses about them is just how little there is to them.   By comparison the optional Cratus 20-inchers are downright ordinary, despite the deliberately uneasy asymmetry of their own five spokes.  

Volvo's reputation for safety engineering is well deserved because Volvo devotes impressive resources and manpower to improve occupant protection.   The XC90 offers the full array of active and passive safety features, including a Roll Stability Control system, and a rollover protection system intended to shield occupants in the unlikely event of an actual rollover.   There are also features like a roof structure fashioned from high-strength steel.   We've seen an XC90 hurled across a parking lot at Volvo's safety center in Sweden and it held up impressively.   The lower front crossmember is engineered to inflict less damage on small vehicles if an accident occurs.   It may be the safest SUV on the road.