New Armoured Volvo XC90 Detailed

Swedish luxury automaker Volvo took to YouTube recently with an in-depth new video detailing the new armoured Volvo XC90. This model features is of course based on the heavily face-lifted 2025 model that recently made landfall here in Malaysia.

Like before, the new armoured Volvo XC90 model continues to bring an extra layer of specialised protection made especially for high-risk individuals – i.e. heads of states, royal personalities, dignitaries, diplomats, oligarchs, etc.

Made-to-oder especially for high-risk individuals, the armoured Volvo EX90 takes safety and protection up to significantly higher levels.

According to Volvo, each armoured XC90 build starts with the luxury crossover being disassembled to bare metal state. After which, engineers use sophisticated 3D scanners to fabricate armoured parts that integrates both seamless and discreetly.

The automaker also details that key armour components are made using ballistic-resistant aramid – the same stuff used to make tactical bulletproof vests. Layers of which are arranged both around the car and on the roof.

Next comes specially reinforced laminated glass windows measuring up to 19 MM thick. Despite being much thicker than the regular XC90’s glass, Volvo claims these do not interfere or impede existing cameras and sensors for the ADAS features brimmed aboard.

Specially laminated and thicker glass windows plus multiple layers or aramid boasts high levels of ballistic resistance - in other words, these add a bulletproof layer.

Designed to provide equally excellent levels of protection and visibility, the thicker glass does come at one cost of convenience – the windows in the rear doors are now fixed and cannot open or close.

Altogether, the result of which sees the armoured Volvo XC90 receive both American NIJ-IIIA and European VPAM 2009 standards. In fact, Volvo touts that it’s the only carmaker that builds an armoured offering that meets both standard simultaneously.

Added too are custom-made stainless-steel reinforcement, which beefs up the armoured XC90's structure - something third-party outfitters tend to overlook, claims Volvo. 

That aside, the armoured XC90’s body is also beefed up with custom-made stainless-steel reinforcements. This is meant to give added strength to the overlaps, joints and pillars – areas that specialist retrofitters often overlook, claims the automaker.

Critically, the added reinforcement, which are done precisely in-house, sees no unnecessary extra weight added, claims Volvo further. Additionally, these also don’t rob much on board in terms of space, luxe and comfort.

Moreover, Volvo promises that the armoured XC90 has driving dynamics that are not too dissimilar from the regular version too. Key optimisation to note here are beefed up brakes and primed it with special heavy duty 20-inch wheels to boot.

Regular 2025 Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV pictured. In this guise, the premium crossover SUV commands RM442,888.

Before you ask, the armoured XC90 featured adopts the familiar T8-badged 455 HP plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain package, though the added weight from the armouring does see a reduced electric-only WLTP-rated range of 67 KM (it's 77 KM for the regular model).

Lastly, Volvo skirted away from revealing price figures, though the pre-facelift armoured XC90 did reportedly command US$450,000 (approx. RM1,906,424) back in 2019. For reference, the current face-lifted XC90 is tagged at RM434,888 (B5) and RM442,888 (T8).