SPYSHOTS: 2020 Volvo S90 facelift seen in Malaysia

The facelifted Volvo S90 has been sighted running road trials in Malaysia, here sighted by paultan.org founder, Paul Tan himself. The example seen here wears the T8 AWD Recharge badge on its bootlid, which is a renaming for the brand’s range of plug-in hybrid models previously known by the Twin Engine moniker. As with the pre-facelift car, this will be a locally assembled model for Malaysia.

As with its global debut, the S90 facelift is identified visually by redesigned bumpers and full-width chrome strips at the front and rear, which are visible on the rear end of trial car here. This update brings revised tail lamp elements, omits the exhaust outlets which were previously visible chromed trapezoidal units on the pre-facelift car, and replaces the aforementioned Twin Engine naming for the Recharge badge.

Powertrain is expected to continue to be the twin-charged (turbocharged and supercharged) 2.0 litre inline-four petrol engine with a total system output of 407 hp and 640 Nm of torque, of which 320 hp and 400 Nm of torque is from the internal combustion engine, and 87 hp and 240 Nm is from the rear-axle electric motor.

Tail lamp clusters, facelift vs pre-facelift

As with the exterior, revisions to the interior will be sparing as well, where the Inscription trim level will get a re-shaped Orrefors crystal gear knob, an Advanced Air Cleaner with a PM2.5 particulate filter and an upgraded Bowers & Wilkins sound system with a new amplifier, active noise cancellation and a new jazz club setting. It remains to be seen if this will receive the Android-based infotainment system on the XC40 Recharge.

In Malaysia, the pre-facelift Volvo S90 sedan line-up consisted of the flagship T8 Twin Engine and the T5 that is powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged Drive-E four-cylinder engine with 254 PS and 350 Nm of torque from 1,500 to 4,800 rpm. The facelifted range will follow the brand’s global direction for electrification across all variants courtesy of a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, which come in 250 hp/350 Nm B5 and 300 hp/420 Nm B6 versions at launch.

Despite this sighting of a road-ready facelifted S90, our sources indicate that the flagship Swedish sedan isn’t likely to enter the Malaysian market this year, owing to business plans that have been delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. For now at least, 2021 will be the soonest that actual production units will arrive in the hands of Malaysian customers.

GALLERY: 2020 Volvo S90, V90