Volvo V90 Review (2016-present)

In recent years Volvo has become well known for its XC family of SUVs, but go back a decade or two and Volvo was synonymous with estate cars. Head to your closest Volvo showroom and you'll still find estates rubbing wing mirrors with SUVs, and the Volvo V90 is the biggest of them.

If boot space, practicality and style are your priorities, you'll struggle to do much better. When the new V90 arrived in 2016, Volvo’s new flagship estate car was warmly received in reviews that welcomed its combination of good looks and cabin space.

How practical is it?

Go back a few generations, and Volvo's large estate cars were more about practicality than style. That's long since changed, and the V90's styling is modern and handsome. The sloping rear windscreen compromises space slightly, though, something that may be a frustration to dog owners.

Nevertheless, the V90 is a practical car. With the rear seats upright, there's 560 litres of boot space. That's just five litres shy of the Audi A6 Avant's capacity, although it's some way off the cavernous 640 litres of boot space in a Mercedes E-Class Estate.

Fold the seats down and you have a 1,526-litre luggage capacity. That's a lot of space, but again, less than you'd find in the E-Class.

Inside, there's generous space for passengers front and rear, and a comfortable driving position. The cabin design is everything you'd expect of a modern Volvo, with a clean and uncluttered look.

What's it like to drive?

From launch, Volvo offered a choice of two four-cylinder turbo diesel engines. The 187bhp D4 was the more economical choice, offered with front-wheel drive. For more power and performance, drivers could opt for the 232bhp D5 Powerpulse with all-wheel drive. Both diesel engines were matched to an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The Volvo V90 estate line-up grew further in 2017 with the launch of the V90 Cross Country. This more rugged version of the V90 has a raised ride height, four-wheel drive, and SUV-lookalike styling cues to create a halfway house between an estate and an off-roader.

If you want an illustration of how quickly things change in the world of motoring, take a look at how the V90 engine line-up has developed. As buyers have shifted away from diesel power, Volvo has been quick to offer alternatives, and the number of petrol V90s has overtaken the number of diesels. The entry-level T4 petrol develops 187bhp. There's also the 247bhp T5 petrol and the 306bhp T6 AWD.

For 2020, Volvo updated the engine range again. All versions are now mild hybrid (badged with a B, and these can be petrol or diesel) or plug-in hybrids, with outputs ranging from 194bhp to 335bhp.

As for the driving experience, the V90 estate is all about comfort rather than handling finesse. It corners neatly enough, but doesn't involve the driver the way a BMW 5 Series Touring does. Instead, long distances are dispatched with ease. Only the gruff sound of the diesel engines when accelerating disturbs the peace.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Volvo has always championed road safety, and the V90 upholds the Swedish brand's reputation. It earned the maximum five stars when tested by Euro NCAP in 2017. The 95% score for adult occupant protection is especially impressive, and there's a long list of safety features. Hi-tech driver aids include Volvo's Pilot Assist system.

This can steer, accelerate and brake for the driver, keeping the V90 within lane and maintaining a safe distance from the car in front. It's an adaptive cruise control with the ability to steer, rather than a truly autonomous system, as the driver has to oversee its operation and be ready to take over at any time. Drivers tend to either love or hate the feeling of letting the car take over; some find it relaxing, others disconcerting.

The Sensus touchscreen infotainment system sits in the centre of the dashboard. Whereas most rivals have landscape-shaped touchscreens, the V90's nine-inch screen is portrait-shaped. It looks great, with crystal clear graphics. However, it takes a precise touch to make the screen work reliably, and you need to go searching through sub-menus to find some functions. It can be hard to use on the move without becoming distracted.

Rival systems with a rotary control and physical buttons, like Audi's MMI and BMW's iDrive, are easier to use without taking your eyes from the road. The Sensus system does have a voice control function, which is worth getting the hang of to reduce the need to prod icons on the screen.

Volvo V90 running costs

If you are shopping for a used V90 and low fuel bills are a priority, the D4 is your best bet. This has an official combined figure of 62.8mpg, although in real-world driving, closer to 45mpg is more likely.

The D5 has more power and it's four-wheel drive rather than front-wheel drive. So unsurprisingly the more powerful diesel is thirstier. Ignore the official figure of 58.9mpg, and be happy with 40 miles from every gallon. That's respectable, and better than you could expect if you ran the Volvo XC90 SUV with the same engine.

Petrol cars may have become more popular than diesels, but go in with your eyes open if you want reasonable running costs. Again, you can forget the official figures and hope for close to 30mpg if you drive the T4 or T5 gently. The T6 AWD will be thirstier still.

Running costs for a V90 plug-in hybrid will vary massively depending on how often the car is charged and the day-to-day mileage. Short trips and overnight battery top-ups will lead to very low running costs. But if you leave the charging cable in the boot you'll be driving a heavy, thirsty car and wasting the benefit of the hybrid powertrain.

Updates to the V90 range in 2020 improved fuel economy and emissions. The T6 Recharge doesn't quite match the performance figures of the T8 Twin Engine it has replaced, but it's more fuel-efficient. The official combined figure is 104.6-134.5mpg.

The latest 'B'-badged cars will be more economical than their old 'D' and 'T'-badged equivalents. The petrol-powered B4, B5, and B6 should achieve mid-30s mpg or slightly better, while B4 and B5 diesels will be in the 40s. The front-wheel drive B4 might nudge 50mpg if driven gently.

Insurance groups range from 27 of 50 for the D4 Momentum, to group 43 for a high-spec T8 Twin Engine. That compares with insurance groups ranging from 30 to 40 for the equivalent BMW 5 Series Touring, so there won't be a huge amount between the Volvo and BMW in terms of insurance premiums.

Be aware that any car sold since April 2017 and costing more than £40,000 attracts an extra car tax bill of £325 per year for five years after the first year. That applies to all brand new V90 models. If you are looking for a used V90, check the original list price before you buy one. An early D4 will be under the £40k mark unless the first owner splashed out on lots of optional extras, so these will be cheaper to run than more expensive versions of the V90.

Volvo V90 reliability

Volvo generally performs respectably in reliability and owner satisfaction surveys. It's not quite at the top with the likes of Lexus, but Volvo performs as well as its key German rivals like Audi, BMW and Mercedes, and sometimes better. There's no sign that the V90 is going to let the side down, either, because all the evidence suggests that the mechanical parts are durable and robust.

If you are looking at the V90 as a used car, have a good look at the interior. Lighter-coloured cabin finishes tend to mark easily, and pale leather can discolour over time. Darker upholstery tends to hide its age better.

This is a long car and it's not necessarily easy to judge exactly where the bonnet ends, so have a good look around for any parking dings, dents or scratches.

There have been a number of recalls during the Volvo's time on sale. In certain driving conditions, the EGR cooling circuit may not be robust enough. This can lead to a build up of soot and potentially an engine fire. This fault applies to cars made between 2016 and 2018.

Another issue relates to a build-up of carbon deposits in the intake system, which can cause the plastic intake manifold to melt, leading to a fire. This relates to diesels made between 2016 and 2019.

Cars made in the 2019 and 2020 model years may have a software fault that renders the autonomous emergency braking system ineffective.

A Volvo dealer will be able to check if any of these recalls apply to any V90 you are thinking of buying. Alternatively, run the reg number through the recall checker on the gov.uk website.