Volvo V90 review

Volvo and estate cars go together like love and marriage, horses and carriages, and strawberries and cream, and this Volvo V90 is the most capacious of its current crop.

These days, though, the Swedish brand isn't content with simply building estates that major on practicality and safety – it's starting to become known for pretty and chic cars too. That leaves us with one big question: Do they still offer the same practicality and protection, or are they now more about style than function?

Take the V90, for example. It's based on the Volvo S90 luxury saloon, which is huge at nearly five metres from tip to toe, and, believe it or not, the estate is the shorter of the two by a few centimetres. That’s for styling reasons, so it does sound as though the V90 is going to drop the ball when it comes to usefulness, but – spoiler alert – it's still pretty vast inside.

Certainly buyers seem to think so. Volvo dropped the V90 – plus the smaller V60 – estate from its line-up, but due to customer demand, reintroduced both a year later.

But as part of its reappearance, the engine range has been slimmed down, meaning Volvo now offers two versions, both with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power. That means the V90 ideal for eco-minded estate buyers or those looking to pay less company car tax. 

In terms of estate car rivals, the Volvo V90 is up against the ever-classy Audi A6 Avant, BMW 5 Series Touring and Mercedes E-Class Estate, which are all available for similar money. Over the next few pages of this review, we'll look at whether it delivers in all the key areas, including performance, comfort and running costs, against that formidable line-up.

If at the end you decide the Volvo V90 – or a new car of any make and model – is right for you, be sure to check out our free New Car Buying service. You could potentially save thousands without the need to haggle, and it's the best place find deals direct from Volvo.

The Volvo V90 is available in two plug-in hybrid versions, both pairing 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engines with electric motors. In both models, a petrol engine powers the front wheels and an electric motor drives the rear wheels.

That setup produces a total of 345bhp in the T6, delivering a 0-62mph of 5.5sec. While it doesn’t feel as rapid as you might expect (partly because the eight-speed automatic gearbox takes time to react), it’s officially quicker than the 530e version of the BMW 5 Series Touring.

The T6 has a top speed of 112mph – or 70mph in pure electric mode – and the official range is 54.1 miles, which is further than the 530e’s. It is, of course, near-silent when it’s in electric mode and shuffles seamlessly between its two power sources.

In practice, the T8 model is broadly similar, although sacrifices some of its electric-only range in the pursuit of performance. Whilst the top speed remains at 112mph, its 0-62mph time is cut to 4.8sec. That's impressive on paper, but feels rather over-specced in a car that's at best when cruising.

The eight-speed automatic gearbox fitted to both models changes smoothly, albeit without quite matching the seamless shifts of the 5 Series. At speed, it's only the ruffle of wind noise from the V90's big door mirrors that is particularly noticeable because road noise is kept nicely at bay. So, overall it’s good, but an A6 Avant is definitely quieter at 70mph. 

Ride comfort is crucial in family estate cars, and this is another area in which the V90 impresses. The T8 Ultra comes with adaptive dampers, which includes air suspension at the rear, and helps the V90 glide along motorways with a relaxing buoyancy. In town, only particularly vicious ridges thud through the body, which is something the E-Class Estate tends to suffer from too. 

V90s are quite a bit softer than the 5 Series Touring in M Sports trim. Even without adaptive dampers, the V90 is comfortable enough, but avoid the biggest wheel options regardless of the type of suspension fitted if you want the best ride.

The adaptive dampers sharpen up the V90’s handling, making it marginally more composed through corners than the 5 Series. It doesn’t handle or steer as well as the Jaguar XF Sportbrake, with less of a sense of connection to the road. 

With the standard suspension, the V90 falls short of both the 5 Series and the E-Class for handling, feeling a closer match to the slightly ponderous A6 Avant.

Volvo seats are famously comfortable, and the driver’s seat in the V90 is no different. It's wide but still bolstered enough at the sides to hold you in place through corners. It’s also very supportive on long journeys and has a full range of electrical adjustment, and both Plus and Ultra trims include four-way adjustable lumbar support and a variable-length seat squab.

The pedals are near-perfectly aligned with the driver’s seat (in the Audi A6 Avant and BMW 5 Series Touring they're offset to the right) and the steering wheel has masses of range forwards and backwards, as well as up and down. You also get a set of easy-to-see digital instruments so it's pretty hard to fault the driving position. 

Only the climate controls let it down. They're not physical buttons that are easy to use at a glance, as you get in the 5 Series Touring. Instead, you’ll find that they’re icons within the infotainment touchscreen and you have to look down every time you need to change the settings. You can use voice recognition through the infotainment system's Google-based software, but the physical controls in the 5 Series are easier to use on the move.

Forward visibility is good and, while the V90 isn't as boxy as Volvos of old, you get a pretty clear view out of the back. If the rear seats are empty, you can press a button to lower their headrests to make your over-the-shoulder view even better.

If you're a nervous parker, rest assured: there are front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera as standard. All V90s come with LED headlights, although the T8 Ultra has matrix LED lights, which continually change the shape of their beam so you won't dazzle other road users.  

The 9.0in infotainment touchscreen is portrait orientated and dominates the dashboard. The display quality is top-notch and uses Google Maps for its sat-nav, and gets Bluetooth, Apple Carplay, a DAB radio, and wireless phone-charging. The system runs an Android operating system, but Android Auto smartphone mirroring is not available. Instead, you have to download the apps you want to use straight to the car after you log into your Google account.

When you tap or swipe the screen, it responds promptly to your inputs. It’s quite easy to navigate between menus, but we still prefer the 5 Series' iDrive system with its physical controller and shortcut keys, which is easier to use when you're driving.

Plus trim includes an excellent 14-speaker, 600-watt Harman Kardon stereo, although Ultra betters this with a superb 18-speaker, 1410-watt system from Bowers & Wilkins.

All V90s have a lovely interior finish that's right up there with the best estate cars. The Inscription trim is even better thanks to its leather-wrapped dashboard, nappa leather seats and smart oak or ash wood veneers. It's not just well finished – it's also bolted together solidly.

The Volvo V90 is superb at accommodating four adults. Those in the front are treated to a broad interior with loads of head and leg room, and it’s the same story in the rear.

There’s class-leading knee room, and if you're tall and sat behind someone with the front seat set well back, you'll still be left with room to slouch. Head room is great too, whether you add the optional panoramic sunroof or not, and the rear bench is wider than in the Audi A6 Avant (good to know if you ever need to fit three adults in the back).

You'll find loads of storage spaces throughout the interior, including cup-holders, large door bins and a big glovebox. There are also a few nooks and crannies for your odds and sods. 

Luggage space is a match for the A6 Avant's – we managed to fit eight carry-on-sized cases below each car's tonneau cover, which is pretty good going. The V90's low loading lip and standard powered tailgate (with gesture control) also make life that bit easier.

There's a ski hatch for when you have a long, thin load to carry, and when you fold down the V90's 60/40-split-rear seats there's even more room for a trip to the tip. It's worth noting, though, that the Mercedes E-Class Estate has an even bigger boot, which includes a vast amount of under-floor storage. It also comes with more practical 40/20/40 split rear seats.

Plug-in hybrid versions of both the Audi A6 Avant and BMW 5 Series Touring have starting prices slightly below the V90, although not by enough to be a deal-breaker either way. What might swing your decision is the Volvo's all electric range: it'll cover up to 54.1 miles under official figures, which is around 15 miles more than the Audi and about 20 miles more than the BMW can manage.

Head over to our free New Car Deals pages to look for the best prices on the new V90 because that will help to offset its pretty savage depreciation. In three years it'll be worth not much more than a third of the list price, and that's nowhere near as good as the A6 Avant, 5 Series Touring, or E-Class estate. Poor resale values tend to mean higher PCP finance payments.  

The revised V90 range is very appealing to company car drivers. Here, the T6 plug-in hybrid is the best way to lower your benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax, and it'll be cheap to fuel as long as you make the most of its electric range and avoid using the petrol engine when you can. It comes with a Type 2 charging cable, for use at public charging stations, and the battery takes around three hours to charge from 0-100%.

To make up for its price and heavy depreciation, Volvo gives you plenty of equipment. The entry-level Plus trim has all the items we've mentioned – the infotainment suite, the parking aids, the LED headlights etc – plus leather seats, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, power-folding mirrors, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, 19in alloy wheels and keyless entry.

Plus is our pick, but it’s a great shame you can’t add the optional air suspension on that trim. If you can stretch to significantly more money, the T8 Ultra features this as standard, as well as a panoramic roof, head-up display and a Bowers & Wilkins audio system.

Every V90 is equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) front and rear, which recognises pedestrians, cyclists, large animals and, of course, cars, along with traffic sign recognition and lane-keeping assistance.

Euro NCAP awarded the V90 the full five-star crash safety rating. If you look at its individual category results, you’ll see it does a better job of protecting adults  than the A6 Avant and E-Class Estate.

Volvo finished 9th in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey (out of 32). That’s a above Audi, BMW and Mercedes. The V90 came 9th in our list of the most reliable executive cars, too. All V90's come with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard, which is not overly generous.

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