Volvo V90 review

It’s not unusual to hear someone talking about “growing up in the back of a Volvo estate” so it's hard to imagine a world without one on sale, but we saw a glimpse of that in 2024 when the Volvo V90 was struck from the Swedish brand’s range in the UK.

Fortunately, the V90 – and the axed Volvo V60 – returned after a few months because of a resurgence in demand. We’re certainly glad they did because it gives buyers more choice: without the two estate cars every model in the Volvo line-up is an SUV.

As part of the V90’s reappearance its engine range has been slimmed down to two options, both with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power. That means the V90 is ideal for company car users who want to minimise BIK tax but are not ready to go fully electric.  

It's not, of course, the only estate car you can buy – premium-brand rivals include the Audi A6 Avant as well as the BMW 5 Series Touring and Mercedes E-Class Estate. Read on to find out how we rate the Volvo V90 against is key rivals...

The Volvo V90s two engine both pair 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engines with electric motors. In both variants, the engine powers the front wheels and the motor drives the rear wheels, so you get four-wheel drive.

The PHEV set-up produces a total of 345bhp in the T6 Plus, delivering a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds. The BMW 5 Series Touring 530e and Mercedes E-Class Estate E300e are both slower, with official times of 6.4 and 6.5 seconds respectively. In the real world the T6 does indeed feel quick, but not extraordinarily so.

It’s a similar story with the 449bhp T8 Ultra. Its 4.8-second 0-62mph time is impressive and the T8 certainly feels rapid, just not quite as rapid as the figures suggest. Then again the V90 is a big, heavy car and its eight-speed automatic gearbox is slightly hesitant at times.

If you’re after truly breathtaking acceleration, PHEV performance cars like the BMW M5 Touring and Mercedes AMG E53 Hybrid Estate will be more appealing – at least if you have much bigger budget required to afford them.

Instead, the V60 is a big, comfy cruiser at its core. It gives you plenty of silent, electric-only motoring on a charge – up to 54 miles in the T6 and 52 miles in the T8 officially. There’s also minimal wind and road noise, as well as a pillowy ride. 

The T8 Ultra comes with adaptive dampers including air suspension at the rear, which 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.

The T6 Plus doesn't get adaptive suspension and is less cushy in its ride, but remains impressively comfortable.

Handling-wise, neither the T6 or T8 is a match for the firmer, sharper 5 Series Touring. However, thanks to precise, well weight steering, in addition to four-wheel-drive traction and grip, the V90 allows you to tackle a country road with confidence.

“I’m a big fan of the way the V90 drives: it’s suitably wafty yet not to the point where it’s wallowy or uninspiring.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

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, four-way adjustable lumbar support and a variable-length seat squab.

It’s pretty hard to fault the driving position. Perhaps some taller drivers would want the seat to go lower but otherwise everything feels natural. The pedals and steering wheel (which has a good range of adjustment) line up with you well and the digital driver’s display is always in view.

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, and the T8 Ultra has matrix LED lights, which continually change the shape of their beams so you won't dazzle other road users.

The V90 adopts a minimalistic approach to its controls, and that unfortunately means many functions are controlled using the infotainment touchscreen. For example, you’ll find your climate, heated seats and heated steering wheel controls there.

Worse, the icons on the screen are tiny and fiddly to touch at a glance and the touchscreen is on the smaller side. At least the rival BMW 5 Series Touring gives you sizeable icons to press and a 10.3in screen.

Aside from those criticisms, the V90's screen is crisp and the menus are relatively easy to navigate. You get Google Maps sat-nav and Apple Carplay smartphone mirroring, but it’s a shame Android Auto is unavailable.

Plus trim includes an excellent 14-speaker, 600W Harman Kardon stereo, while Ultra betters has a superb 18-speaker, 1410W Bowers & Wilkins system.

All V90s have an expensive feel inside with a great fit and finish – it's truly up there with the best premium estate cars. It’s also great to see that you can opt for “Blond” (cream) leather at no added cost.

“With the Blond interior and panoramic sunroof, I found that the V90's interior felt super airy.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

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 sitting behind someone with the front seat set well back, you'll still be left with room to slouch. Head room is great, even with the T8 Ultra’s panoramic sunroof, 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 V90's interior, including cup-holders, large door bins and a big glovebox. There’s a folding armrest for rear-seat passengers, complete with cupholders.

The V90’s boot volume is 551 litres. It’s worth noting that the Mercedes E-Class Estate has a larger boot in non-PHEV form (615 litres) but a smaller one in PHEV form (460 litres). The E-Class Estate comes with more practical 40/20/40 split rear seats, against the V90's 40/60 split (although it does get a ski hatch).

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

“The V90’s boot is smaller in volume than the old V70’s, which I think is a bit disappointing.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of the Audi A6 Avant and BMW 5 Series Touring have starting prices slightly below the Volvo V90, although not by enough to be a deal-breaker either way for most buyers.

What might swing your decision is the Volvo's electric-only range: it'll cover up to 54 miles under official figures, which is less than the 5 Series Touring 530e (57 miles) and Mercedes E-Class Estate E300e (69 miles). Despite that, the V90 is in the same company car tax bracket as those rival PHEVs.

Private buyers have reason to be concerned over deprecation on the V90. Our data predicts weaker resale values than the three premium-brand rivals. 

The V90's entry-level Plus trim has the T6 engine, as well as leather seats, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, power-folding mirrors, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, 19in alloy wheels and keyless entry. It’s well equipped and the cheaper trim by some margin, making it our recommended choice.

Ultra is your other trim choice. It gets the T8 engine, in addition to a panoramic sunroof, a head-up display and a Bowers & Wilkins audio system.

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

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 12th in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey (out of 31 brands) – above Audi, BMW and Mercedes. On the other hand, the V60 ranked 15th out of 20 cars in the executive car class. Its disappointing 86.1% reliability score put it above the A6 but below the smaller Volvo V60. The latest 5 Series and E-Class are yet to feature. 

All V90's come with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty as standard, which is similar to the rivals.

“Our pick of the V90 range is the T6 Plus, but I think if you have the budget the T8 Ultra is worth considering for the adaptive suspension and added luxuries.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer 

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