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The XC90, at least for the time being, is Volvo’s flagship luxury SUV. When it launched, the second-generation model heralded the brand’s SUV-centric future — one packed with impressive levels of luxury and safety tech, all based on Volvo’s new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform.
Of course, that launch came in 2014. Volvo’s SUV of the future is now very much the present; as such, the XC90 is now a venerable model getting a few tweaks for 2020 ahead of a full overhaul down the road.
Despite its age, however, the XC90 remains one of the most compelling luxury SUV options on the market. I drove the now top-level Inscription trim in full, impress-the-car-reviewer spec — i.e., with about $20,000 in options. The car also packed Volvo’s best powertrain, the T8 E-AWD plug-in-hybrid, which puts out 400 horsepower and 472 lb-ft of torque while still delivering reasonable gas mileage. The five-year-old XC90 still feels modern, luxurious and potent — and it still puts some newer and more expensive luxury SUV offerings to shame.
The XC90 offers top-notch luxury.
A classical concerto broke out when I first turned on the XC90. It was the coincidental SiriusXM preferences of the person who delivered it to me, but it felt like it should have been a feature. The sound quality from the fancy Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system may be the best I’ve experienced in a car. Indeed, it was perhaps too good; I listen mostly to podcasts and audiobooks, and I could have done without knowing how every host’s seasonal colds were progressing.
The sound quality was just one part of the multi-sensory experience. The XC90’s interior looked and felt luxurious; it had Nappa leather, gray ash wood trim and a plush Nubuck headliner. The front seats massage you. The vertical touchscreen is refined, simple, and easy to use. The cabin is quiet and insulated. (The only touch that came off a tad excessive was the Orrefors crystal shifter.) The whole experience leaves you feeling like you’re basking in the serenity of a Scandinavian five-star hotel…at least, until your kids pipe up from the back seat.