Volvo V90 Review 2024

If you’ve already made the decision to purchase a large estate car then the Volvo V90 should definitely be on your shortlist. It is a premium model with premium prices, so you can get the same or even more space for less money with alternatives like the Skoda’s Superb, but if you fancy your wagon more luxurious than that, then the V90 is worthy of consideration.

As a family machine it should be absolutely ideal. There’s enough room in the rear seats to fit three kids back there without them sitting on top of each other, while the boot is capable of swallowing bulky pushchairs with ease. The Volvo V90 would also make for an excellent holiday vehicle or business wagon, effortlessly carrying heavy loads or bulky items on longer journeys. If you regularly plan on going into the city, the plug-in hybrid models may hold extra appeal, although you may also want a car that’s not quite as big as this one.

The Volvo V90 B4 petrol (197PS) and B5 petrol (250PS) units are two of the cheaper options and deliver a decent performance while being relatively efficient thanks to their mild-hybrid tech. We really like the Volvo V90 Recharge T6 plug-in hybrid as it offers a great blend of performance and economy if you can charge it regularly. That said, like a lot of PHEVs you pay a sturdy premium for it, and if you don't drive it in town very much, you won’t see much benefit. 

BMW’s 5 Series Touring is a default choice for many buyers shopping in the large estate segment on account of its image and entertaining driving experience, while the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate is highly regarded for its comfort and luxury. Another key German rival is the Audi A6 Avant, which combines good space efficiency with arguably the best cabin in the class, while Jaguar’s XF Sportbrake offers a first-rate driving experience without all the fiddly tech.

If you head outside of the established premium brands, Volkswagen’s Passat Estate and Skoda’s Superb Estate share a lot of hardware beneath their skin but also offer up a great deal of space, good equipment levels and in the case of the Skoda at least, excellent value for money.

We spent six months with the Volvo V90 Recharge T6 to find out what it's like to live with every day and were left thoroughly impressed. The boot is great, even with the reduced capacity of the plug-in hybrid configuration, while the car is in it's element on a long drive. We did a couple of long European road trips with it and it just ate up the miles with ease. And thanks to the incredibly comfy seats and space for everyone, we still felt in pretty good shape once we arrived. The adaptive cruise control and Pilot Assist were a big help here as well. 

These long trips meant we got nowhere near the claimed 353.1mpg of the Recharge T6 as once the battery was drained, the engine was not only having to lug us around, but also the battery as well. Once we were back home and able to plug it in to charge regularly, though, the  fuel consumption was much better, with the V90 driving around under electric power alone for long periods. 

The Google ecosystem worked very well, while the Bowers & Wilkins sound system on our Ultimate-spec car is a must for any audiophile. As a large family car that'll whisk you around in effortless comfort, the V90 makes a great case for itself. 

No serious contender in this segment can get away with penny-pinching. If you don’t deliver what is perceived to be a premium interior with good quality and tasteful design, you can expect to be ignored in favour of the established brands. The Volvo V90 more than steps up to the mark, however, and if anything it takes a slightly different approach with its design and mix of materials that is arguably more appealing than some of the competition.

One thing the Volvo gets right is that it feels like a genuinely quality product rather than a successful piece of deception. Almost all the surfaces and materials you come across are fashioned from either high-quality plastic, cool metal, attractive wood or tactile leather, depending on the model and options, so every interaction with the interior is pleasant.

Going hand in hand with that is the high standard of build quality. The switches and buttons (the few that there are) click and snap with reassurance, while the fabrics and leather feel like they could stand up to many thousands of miles of abuse and still hold together well.

Whether the style of the Volvo V90’s interior is preferable to its key rivals is a matter of taste and preference, but it’s safe to say that it does not lag far behind them in respect of the quality of the materials and the way they are put together.

All versions of the Volvo V90 come with a high-specification infotainment system. It has a 9.0-inch portrait touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard, as well as a 12.3-inch digital instrument display. A little way into the car's life, the V90's infotainment was updated to use Google Automotive, Google's in-car operating system that's a separate thing to Android Auto and has Google Maps, Google Assistant and Google Play Store built-in. You can login to your Google account and you'll have access to previously searched addresses for Google Maps for example, while you can download compatible apps from the Play Store (including Waze, Spotify and Google Podcasts). You got a four-year subscription when buying new, but you might want to check how much is remaining if buying used. Android Auto isn't available, but Apple users have access to Apple CarPlay if they prefer.

The Volvo V90's audio system comes with 10 speakers and a 220W output, but this could be upgraded to a Harmon Kardon system with 13 speakers, a subwoofer and 600W power output. Or, for the full concert hall experience, a Bowers & Wilkins system with 18 speakers and 1,400W. 

Operating the system is generally an easy and intuitive process. You still have the fundamental issue with any touchscreen to negotiate, namely that you have to take your eyes off the road to operate it. The Volvo V90 does without the secondary controller that you get in a BMW or Mercedes-Benz allowing you to control the system without taking your eyes from the road, which is a shame. The Volvo V90’s screen and its graphics are low-key and easy to read, while the screen is responsive to inputs.

The Volvo V90 is 4.9m long and 1.8m wide, so this very much fits the bill as a large estate car. Its competitors are genuine large estate cars, too, not pseudo stylish sport wagons, so big accommodation for people and luggage is essential. The good news is that the Volvo V90 manages to do both very well, although it is not quite the best in the class on this front.

Front seat occupants will have nothing to complain about, however, with yawning amounts of room for legs and heads. There’s also a lot of shoulder- and hip room, even though the transmission tunnel is quite wide: you do feel a little enclosed, but it’s cosy rather than claustrophobic, especially as there is plenty of light coming into the cabin.

It’s a similar story in the back seats, where there is ample space for two adults, or even three if they know each other well. In particular legroom is excellent, even if the front seat occupants have their seats set a long way back. As with most cars in this class, the outer two seats are comfortable and well-shaped, but the centre seat is compromised both by its shape and the transmission tunnel in the floor reducing the amount of foot space. That said, if you have three older children, they should be able to share the rear seat without getting into an argument within seconds.

Head for the load area, and the standard electrically-operated tailgate allows easy access to the space. You get 560 litres of boot space in the boot of the Volvo V90 with the rear seats in place: that’s competitive in the segment, but only 40 litres more than in the smaller V60, which is partly down to the V90’s quite steeply-raked rear tailgate. If you're opting for one of the Recharge PHEV versions, boot space on the V90 drops to 488 litres due to the extra space needed for the batteries, though this is something most PHEVs suffer from, including key rivals. 

With the rear seats folded, you have 1,526 litres to play with, which is pretty generous although not quite as much as the giant Skoda Superb. Surprisingly, you have to make do with a conventional 60/40 split rear seat rather than the 40/20/40 version you get elsewhere, although the seats drop at the touch of a button and you get a completely flat floor from the load lip through to the backs of the front seats.

The engine line up in the Volvo V90 was slimmed right down towards the end of its life, leaving two mild-hybrids and two plug-in hybrids. The entry-level 197PS B4 petrol is a decent unit, and with a hefty 300Nm of torque, it is certainly quick enough, so you’ll never feel like it doesn’t have enough power. The B5 is quicker still, but it might feel like a slightly unnecessary extra expense in a car that isn’t pretending to be some kind of sports car in disguise. The basic B4 is quick enough for most - especially as all Volvos are limited to 112mph - so you might as well make a saving.

If you need more torque for towing or carrying heavy loads – or just want improved fuel economy –  then it’s worth looking at the older diesel options on the used market. The D4 with 190PS and a chunky 400Nm of torque will cover most eventualities, and it balances being usefully quick with strong economy. The 235PS D5 diesel option has 480Nm of torque, so it can pull anything wherever you want it to go, and with the security of four-wheel-drive, too.

Plug-in hybrid models are badged 'Recharge' just like Volvo's electric models of the time, which a little confusing. The Volvo V90 Recharge T6 plug-in hybrid is powerful and very fast, and is capable of impressive fuel consumption, but it only really make sense if you spend a lot of time in the city or doing regular short journeys and are able to charge regularly. That said, a 0-62mph time of just 5.5 seconds and an electric-only range of 54 miles is pretty tempting.

If you can afford the high sticker price, the fastest Volvo V90 is the Recharge T8 plug-in hybrid, and it'll rocket you to 62mph in 4.8 seconds, while still able to provide an electric-only range of 52 miles. 

All the Volvo V90s conventional engines offer a good level of refinement and are generally quiet even when extended. Even the diesel options have low noise levels and not too much vibration in pretty much all conditions. 

The PHEV models are the best of the lot, though. They can operate purely on electric power for long periods. This is of particular benefit if you travel in cities, where lower speeds allow the car to operate in pure EV mode for more of the time.

As for other sources of disturbance, tyre noise is mostly well-contained, but does tend to flare up on models that have the larger wheel and tyre combinations. Wind noise is also rarely a factor, with only the occasional rustle around the door mirrors at higher speeds.

Euro NCAP tested the Volvo V90 in 2017 and awarded it the full five-star rating. As standard, all V90s are fitted with head- and side airbags for the front seat passengers, as well as curtain airbags for both front and rear passengers. A knee airbag is fitted as standard for the driver also. Seat belt pretensioners and load limiters are fitted for both front and rear seat passengers, with a seat belt reminder for all seats. 

ISOFIX child car seat mountings are standard in the rear seats and optional for the front passenger seat, with an airbag cut-off switch standard. An active bonnet is fitted, too.

With such a high rating for safety assist, it is no surprise that the Volvo V90 is fitted with a comprehensive range of driver assistance systems as standard. This includes automatic emergency braking that can detect pedestrians as well as cyclists, as well as speed assistance and lane assist. 

An optional Intellisafe Surround safety pack adds a blind spot information system – that’ll warn you if a car’s hidden in your blind spot – cross traffic alert, which can stop you reversing out into oncoming traffic, and rear collision warning with mitigation. The last of those features helps protect you if the car you’re driving is involved in a rear end shunt.

The Volvo V90 Recharge T6 PHEV model has an official combined range of 54 miles, which is similar to other PHEV models that are comparable to the V90. It’s an excellent choice if you have a short commute and somewhere to charge the car, because it means you can get from A to B using cheap electric power alone, slashing your runnings costs. 

Take a look at the most recent HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, and Volvo puts in an entirely adequate performance. The brand doesn't feature in the list of the 10 best manufacturers for reliability, but it doesn't feature in the list of the 10 worst, either. In terms of its performance on overall customer satisfaction, it placed 14th out of the 29 carmakers considered, and you can't get much more middle-of-the-road than that.

This is a big and quite expensive car with a range of powerful engines, so insurance ratings are going to be broadly on the high side. The lowest grouping (of 50, with 50 being the most expensive) you'll find is 27, but most models will be in the mid-thirties. Groupings go all the way up to 44 for the T8 plug-in hybrid.

The very earliest Volvo V90 models were on sale before April 2017 when the change in tax rules occurred, so you can get a model that's taxed under the older CO2-based system, which should be cheaper. The lowest you'll pay is a measly £35 per year, although that's only on a handful of low-spec diesel models.

All those registered from April 2017 onwards are taxed at the same flat rate for all petrol and diesel cars, a rate that currently stands at £190 per year. The mild-hybrids and plug-in hybrids, meanwhile, qualify for a discount, albeit of only a tenner.

Beware, though, because all cars that cost over £40,000 when brand new (including optional extras) are liable for an extra luxury car surcharge of payable between years two and six of the car's life. The vast majority of V90 models were priced at above that threshold, and only a handful of early low-spec models were less than that.

That surcharge currently stands at £410, taking your annual outlay for that five-year period up to £600. That means it's always worth performing an online check with the registration of any potential used purchase to be sure of what you're looking at.

Volvo V90 Plus models are fitted with adaptive cruise control and Pilot Assist, meaning they can pretty much drive themselves on the motorway and in slow moving queues of traffic. They also include convenience features such as auto-dipping LED headlights, automatic wipers, a power tailgate, 360-degree camera and front- and rear parking sensors. Even the basic model feels luxurious inside as it comes with two large infotainment screens, leather upholstery with heated front seats, and a DAB infotainment screen with 10 speakers and 19-inch alloy wheels.

Volvo V90 Ultimate models look even sportier with 20-inch alloy wheels, while other additional features include a panoramic roof as standard, tinted rear windows and a Bowers & Wilkins sound system.