Big is beautiful
Volvo launched its V90 estate in the UK five years ago and the car hasn’t dated a bit. It still looks terrific inside and out. A bit of rear luggage space has been sacrificed to give us the stylish rear end but not to the extent that it suffers compared to rivals as it can still swallow 1,500 litres of gear with the rear seats folded.
Volvo has now given the V90 a bit of a revamp which includes some welcome changes to the on-board tech that we’ll come to shortly.
Visually there’s a new lower bumper at the front and new tail lights. We are driving the T6 AWD in Inscription trim – yours for £56,800 without options.
It is expensive, but if you’re a company car driver that number will be less frightening because the T6 is a plug-in hybrid and that means a low BIK tax rating. Also, if you have a charging point at home, you’ll enjoy low running costs too.
Up front we have Volvo’s 1,969cc petrol engine that produces 253bhp and 350Nm of torque. This is backed up by an 87bhp electric motor that drives the rear wheels. Hence the AWD bit of the name. In all the T6 has a system horsepower of 335bhp which is good for 0-62mph in 5.9sec and a top speed which is voluntarily limited by Volvo to 112mph, which makes complete sense even if you use German autobahns.
Hidden away under the car’s floor is a 11.6kwh battery that gives the car a maximum electric range of 36 miles. You won’t get that, of course, but high 20s should be possible.
All V90s use an eight-speed automatic transmission and it works well with the engine.
The whole powertrain is slick and it’s easy to think you’re being driven solely on electric power when in fact the petrol engine is running.
The V90’s interior, like most current Volvos, is a masterclass in Scandie clean design. There’s a nice jewel-like gearshift and plenty of open grain wood which is the material of the moment across the car industry.
There’s one really welcome change inside the V90 and that’s the adoption of Google Automotive Services which includes Google Assistant voice control. Volvo uses it on the XC40 Recharge and the Polestar 2, and its superiority to most in-house developed voice control systems is dramatic.
When more and more car companies are embedding functions within their cars’ infotainment systems it’s crucially important that you can access them with voice commands and not have to take your eyes off the road. In most cars though, the systems are just not reliable enough.
Our Platinum Grey car has a comprehensive selection of extras that rocket the price up to well over 60 grand. I’d be very tempted by the Bowers & Wilkins sound system which is fantastic. Our car also has the optional adaptive suspension
which includes air springs at the back. It’s a £1,500 extra but the V90 was always comfortable on steel springs so I doubt they’re worth the outlay, although if you regularly carry big loads the self-levelling action will be useful.
If you’ve got off-street parking and can fit a charging point then the Volvo V90 T6 is a great choice. I liked the car before, but with the Google system fitted I can now enjoy driving it without swearing at the dashboard all the time.