Volvo V90 review

Interior

Dashboard & tech

The V90’s interior has a cool, minimalist Scandinavian design that feels both modern and luxurious. At the centre of the dashboard is a 9-inch portrait-style touchscreen that controls most of the car’s functions, from satellite navigation to climate control. It looks smart and comes with DAB radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto as standard.

While the screen helps create an uncluttered feel, using it on the move can be a little distracting until you get used to the menus. Every V90 comes with plenty of great kit, including cruise control and LED headlights. Moving up the range can get you extra goodies like a digital driver's display and a head-up display that projects key information onto the windscreen.

Comfort

When it comes to comfort, few cars can match the Volvo V90. The seats are superbly supportive, which makes even the longest of journeys feel effortless. Finding your ideal driving position is simple thanks to the wide range of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel.

The car glides over bumps and potholes, creating a calm and serene atmosphere inside. It's an outstanding motorway cruiser, remaining quiet and refined at speed. It’s worth noting that models with larger wheels, like the R-Design, have a slightly firmer ride, but they are still very comfortable.

Quality

Step inside the V90 and you’re greeted with a cabin that feels genuinely premium. Volvo has used high-quality, soft-touch materials throughout, and everything feels solid and well-assembled. It’s a very pleasant place to spend time.

Details like the metal-effect trim and, on Inscription models, beautiful wood inlays, give the V90 a high-end feel that stands out from its rivals. It feels special, and the build quality gives you the sense that it's built to last for many years to come.

Practicality & boot space

Interior space

Volvo has a long-standing reputation for building practical estate cars, and the V90 proudly continues that tradition. There’s loads of space inside, with plenty of head and legroom for everyone, whether they're in the front or the back. Rear-seat passengers can really stretch out, making it a brilliant car for family road trips.

You’ll find two sets of Isofix points on the outer rear seats for securely fitting child seats. Storage is good, too, with useful door pockets, cupholders, and a decent-sized glovebox for all your bits and pieces.

Boot space

As you’d hope from a big Volvo estate, the boot is massive. With 560 litres of space, it’s big enough to handle everything family life can throw at it. From a huge weekly shop to luggage for a two-week holiday, the V90 has you covered. The boot opening is wide and there’s no annoying lip, which makes sliding heavy items in and out a breeze.

While a couple of rivals offer slightly more space on paper, the V90’s boot is a very useful, square shape that feels incredibly practical in the real world. Many models also come with a powered tailgate, which is a great help when your hands are full.

Versatility

If you need to carry something really big, the rear seats fold down completely flat at the touch of a button on some models. This opens up a cavernous 1,526-litre load bay, giving you van-like carrying capacity for those trips to the DIY store or for moving bulky items.

The V90 also includes some clever features, like a pop-up divider in the boot floor that helps to stop your shopping bags from sliding around. It's these thoughtful touches that make the V90 so easy to live with every day.

Driving

Driving experience

The V90 is all about relaxed, comfortable driving. It’s not a car that encourages you to throw it down a twisty country lane; instead, it excels at making every journey as stress-free as possible. The steering is light and accurate, which makes it surprisingly easy to drive around town for such a large car.

On the motorway, it feels incredibly stable and composed, eating up the miles with ease. If you fancy a bit more adventure, the Cross Country model features a raised ride height and all-wheel drive, giving you extra capability on slippery surfaces or rough tracks.

Performance

You have a great choice of engines with the V90. The diesel engines, badged D4 and D5, are strong performers that are ideal for drivers who cover a lot of miles, thanks to their excellent fuel economy. The T4 and T5 petrol engines are smoother and quieter, offering brisk acceleration.

For the ultimate in performance and efficiency, the T8 plug-in hybrid model is the one to go for. It combines a powerful petrol engine with an electric motor to deliver seriously rapid acceleration while also being capable of running on electric power alone for short trips. Most V90s come with a smooth and responsive automatic gearbox.

Running costs

Fuel economy & CO2 emissions

For such a large and luxurious car, the V90 can be impressively cheap to run. The D4 diesel engine can officially return up to 58.9mpg, which is excellent for long-distance drivers. Even the petrol models offer reasonable economy, with the T4 claiming around 41.5mpg.

The plug-in hybrid T8 model is the champion for low running costs, especially for company car users, thanks to its very low CO2 emissions. It has an official fuel economy figure of over 140mpg, though you’ll need to charge it regularly to achieve anything close to that. This also means it can run on pure electric power for most daily commutes.

Value for money

The V90 is a premium car with a price tag to match, but it feels worth the money. It’s competitively priced against its main rivals from Audi and BMW, and comes with a very generous level of standard equipment. On the used market, the V90 can represent a real bargain, offering a huge amount of luxury, space and style for the price.

Reliability & Warranty

Volvo has a strong reputation for building safe and durable cars, and the V90 feels like it’s made to last. The brand generally performs well in reliability surveys, so you can buy with confidence. When new, the V90 came with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, which is standard for the premium car class.

Safety

Safety features

Safety is at the heart of everything Volvo does, and the V90 is one of the safest cars on the road. It received the maximum five-star rating from the safety experts at Euro NCAP, with particularly high scores for protecting adults and children.

Every V90 comes with a huge list of standard safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking that can detect pedestrians, cyclists and even large animals. It also features lane-keeping assistance and Pilot Assist, a semi-autonomous driving system that can help with steering, acceleration, and braking on the motorway.

Trims & Engines

Trim levels

The V90 comes in several appealing trim levels. Momentum is the entry-point, but it’s far from basic, with standard kit including 18-inch alloy wheels, a 9-inch touchscreen, sat nav, and LED headlights. The sporty R-Design trim adds a more aggressive body kit, lowered sports suspension, and supportive sports seats.

The Inscription trim focuses on luxury, with features like fine Nappa leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, and elegant wood interior trim. The Cross Country model is a standalone trim, offering rugged looks with extra body cladding, a raised ride height, and all-wheel drive for all-weather confidence.

Engines

There’s a comprehensive range of petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid engines available for the V90. The diesel lineup includes the efficient 187bhp D4 and the more powerful all-wheel-drive D5. Petrol choices include the 187bhp T4 and the punchy T5.

The range-topping option is the T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid. It combines a supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor to produce a total of 390bhp, delivering sports-car-like performance alongside the potential for zero-emission driving. Most engines are paired with a smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox.

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