Before the world went SUV-mad, every growing family (and, if you believed the adverts, every antique dealer) wanted an estate car. Commodious, often more serious-looking than their saloon counterparts and definitely more useful, they were a staple of life in Britain. And, it seemed, they were usually Volvos, whether long-in-the-tooth old ones, or new.
Today estate cars are almost an endangered species, with most families wanting a higher-riding sports utility vehicle instead and the market adjusting accordingly. Heck, Volvo even deleted its estates from the UK market in 2023 but un-deleted them the following year because, well, because the people demanded it.
Rightly so. I’ve been in - and driven dozens - of big Volvo estates, right from the time the model was variously known as the Amazon (a pretty car considered a classic today), the 145 (a comparatively boxy affair), through the 245 (how grown up it felt booking one off the press fleet when I was merely 22), then the 260, 740, 940, 850 (that’s enough numbers, ed) and so on.
Will the V90 be the last, with SUVs ruling the roost? I hope not because it is a supremely class act. It has that rare combination of imposing, almost statesmanlike looks, a very high level of refinement, understated but palpable luxury, speed, power, driving pleasure, designed-in workhorse ethic and of course comodiousness, a word I made up just for the occasion.
Electric trips
The one we are reviewing is the T6 Plus Plug-In Hybrid AWD Plus, with a turbocharged four-cylinder 1,969 cc petrol engine producing 249.5 bhp at the front and an electric motor producing 143 bhp at the back. That’s not just 65 per cent more electric power than before Volvo uprated its battery by adding more cells, during a model refresh, it also means it’s now capable, on a full recharge, of a claimed 54 miles in EV mode; way in excess of the average commute (especially inside London, where we tend to do multiple shorter trips).
Of course Volvos are about far more than performance, but it’s hard not to notice that the combined power, from those two motors, really makes this car fly. With a combined 392bhp, that’s enough for a sizzling 0-62 mph in just 5.5 second, even if the top speed is limited to a comparatively measly 112 mph, but who cares in these safety-conscious days of speed cameras anyway, and a national speed limit of 70.
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What’s more, the electric rear motor makes this car even more practical by turning it into an all-wheel drive model and who - in winter, in muddy fields, for better grip out of gravelly junctions - doesn’t like that.
The real purpose of a Volvo estate, though, is family life, not flying around corners at speed, so how spacious and practical is it? Volvo says there’s 551 litres of space in the boot but because it’s square and long, it looks bigger than that (even with the two charging cables stashed in the tidy storage bag, taking up some of the space). In a move I particularly like (and have extensively used in previous Volvos), the review car has a sturdy luggage net that fastens into the roof and behind the rear seat, so that you can load up the boot in complete safety. Great for family hols.
Less happily, there’s now - because of those batteries - almost no storage space under the boot floor where, normally, I normally stash odds and ends. There is just enough room for a tow rope (I’ve never needed it but pack one in case, you never know when you might find a motorist in distress) and a roll of kitchen paper, because, well, who knows. It’s an easy boot to load with heavy objects however, as it has a low ‘lip’.
Scandi dark
The cabin is a very expensive-feeling place to be indeed, relaxing too in a mature, Scandinavian kind of way, with ‘Blond’ leather complementing the exterior Denim blue, with Dark accents. Passengers (there’s room for three in the back) have plenty of space and comfort, with very supportive seats, even if there is a large, central transmission tunnel running through the rear footwell. The door pockets are of medium size, and there are useful, though not capacious, luggage nets on the backs of the front two seats.
Some aspects seem slightly un-modish in this traditional estate. The upright infotainment screen looks small at nine inches, with commensurately small touch-icons, and there’s no tray for storing your phone, which is strange in this day and age, even though there’s a fold-out coin storage tray. Which is also strange in this day and age, when we mostly use apps for parking. Fortunately, there are two cupholders, although they’re not ideal for holding my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which – connected to the car’s Apple CarPlay - makes life more enjoyable, as your favourite, relied-upon apps for music, navigation and communication are always at hand.
Disappointingly, below the central arm rest, where you might expect a decent storage ‘bin’, there’s only enough room for a wallet with very little in it (ie mine).
On the road, however, these quibbles are swiftly forgotten: the V90 is super-refined, smooth, fast and harmonious. It’s very good to drive. The best single attribute among many of them is the sheer silkiness, the fantastic flow, of the steering, which makes guiding it around London and beyond a pleasure. It rides beautifully too and is very quiet, so much so that my passengers just doze off (or could it be me?).
Damping course
The ride, on standard 19-inch wheels, is excellent thanks to expertly-refined damping that really evens out speed ramps in London, and bigger undulations out in the wilds. Handling, while of course not sporty, is very reassuring and, again, fun, the automatic gear-changes smooth.
Thanks to all of these carefully combined factors, the V90 is an absolutely long distance mile-muncher as well as working well in town; we’ll be putting it to the test on a family-and-dog-full adventure into France’s autoroutes, to see how it copes in extremis, over a week-long break. I hope it lives up to expectations.
It will also raise the opportunity to test the standard equipment list, too, including four USB sockets, hands-free opening and closing tailgate and adaptive cruise control. Other equipment includes a 13-speaker sound system, City Safety with Steering Support including pedestrian and cyclist detection, Oncoming Lane Mitigation (which guides the car back into lane) and keyless entry. There’s also Traffic Sign Recognition and Run-Off Road Protection, automatically tightening front seatbelts. It is a Volvo after all. Luxurious touches include heated front and rear seats and a heated steering wheel.
Later, we shall review the costlier T8 version, which has more equipment - and more power.
After fully charging up the T6’s batteries at a converted lamp post in Lambeth, for £10.75 (the in-car computer predicted that that was sufficient for just 43 miles, not the claimed 54), we’ve been swanning, guilt-free, around London, using the EV cycle almost exclusively, while reflecting on what a loss it would be if estate cars were no more. Especially big handsome, sophisticated ‘clean’ ones, from Sweden.
The Facts
Volvo V90 T6 Plug-in Hybrid AWD Plus
From: £59,410
Top speed: 112 mph
0-62 mph: 5.5 seconds
Electric range: up to 54 miles
CO2 emissions: 18-25 g/km
Maximum charging rate: 6.4 kW
