Volvo XC90 (2024 - ) review

There are two models available, a B5 mild hybrid and a more powerful T8 plug-in hybrid. Click here if you need a refresher on hybrid tech and translation for what that means! Anyway, as both have four-cylinder engines for the petrol-powered side they don’t cost as much to run as similar premium rivals with bigger motors, the T8 offering the best of both worlds. Which is to say the sort of performance an upmarket SUV capable of carrying seven like this should have, yet with the running costs of a supermini if you make proper use of the electric element of its drivetrain. Officially, the XC90 can do around 40 miles without even using the petrol engine, though you’ll need to be able to plug it in somewhere to benefit and some fresher rivals have bigger batteries and much more usable electric range.

The second-generation Volvo XC90 has proved to be a dependable car, with owners praising it highly in reliability surveys. Few issues have been reported over the years, with the most commonly encountered faults being onboard electrical glitches. Volvo offers the industry-standard warranty of three years and 60,000 miles, but this can be extended for a fee to either four years and the same mileage cap, or even four years and 80,000 miles if you want. The extra reassurance, the hybrid battery pack in the T8 is covered by its own specific warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever is sooner.

‘Volvo’ and ‘safety’ go together like strawberries and cream on the basis it has long upheld the wellbeing of its customers as sacrosanct and includes the three-point seatbelt as among the innovations it has introduced to the automotive mainstream. At heart the Volvo XC90 is a big, solidly built SUV with a host of advanced driver assist safety (ADAS) systems fitted as standard, including an off-road mitigation setting which automatically protects the passengers as best it can if the worst happens and the car heads into the scenery. This generation of the XC90 picked up a full five-star Euro NCAP award when it was evaluated in 2015, with particularly high scores for adult occupant safety and driver assist systems. The tests have got more stringent since then, but we’d be surprised if the Volvo couldn’t still bag a five-star accolade if it were retested.

You should buy an XC90 with optional air suspension if you can, as we think it offers the more comfortable and quieter ride quality overall. Even the standard set-up is excellent, as it now features more advanced suspension for improved ride comfort. The fact remains that the air suspension gives the XC90 the elegant glide a prestigious SUV like this deserves, though, while every model is fitted with the comfiest seats in the motoring industry. Suffice to say, long-distance journeys in an air suspension equipped XC90 would be a pleasure, not a chore.

Volvo has equipped the updated XC90 with an 11.2-inch Google-powered infotainment system, which is a substantial improvement on what went before. There’s still quite a lot of screen-prodding needed to control various functions, such as the air conditioning, but in general it is more intuitively laid-out and sharper to look at than the old set-up. Besides that, there’s a wireless smartphone charging pad and a digital instrument cluster, and even base-grade XC90s have plenty of useful standard equipment. For some of the grander technology – such as the utterly tremendous 19-speaker, 1,400-watt Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system, or even ventilated and massaging front seat – you need to fork out for the top-spec Ultra model, which as a T8 most certainly isn’t cheap to buy.

Both B5 or the T8 drivetrains have plenty of power to move the Volvo XC90’s sizeable stature along, but for the genuinely impressive performance you might expect from a high-end SUV you need the T8. Altogether, its ‘twin-charged’ (this means it has both a turbocharger and a supercharger fitted) 2.0-litre engine and electric motor serve up the sort of power that would rival something like a V8-powered Audi SQ8. And there’s enough performance from the electric motor that the XC90 feels plenty swift enough even when it’s moving on electric power alone.