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.
But the battery-only range disappointed.
Volvo says
the XC90’s plug-in-hybrid will do 12-to-24 miles on pure electric power, but
I’m not sure I got 12-to 24 miles of battery operation in hybrid mode
on a full charge. It drained precipitously while out running errands; I had to
switch to gas-only mode to reserve some battery to test the hybrid mode on the
highway.
Some
caveats: it was cold during my test period, dropping down to about 20 degrees
Fahrenheit at night. I had to keep the XC90 outside, since it didn’t fit in my
garage. I also did my errands in short bursts, which Volvo says limits the
range vs. doing one long stretch. Still, I remained well within the normal
usage levels, so this sort of issue is a little disconcerting.
The XC90 excels at what you use it for.
The XC90 is
not the SUV I would hoon around the Nordschleife, nor the SUV I would choose
for traversing the Australian Outback. It may be the luxury SUV I would choose
for my everyday suburban dad life, however. It’s comfortable and it’s practical
— particularly with the third row dropped down for added cargo space. It has a
lot of torque, and can scoot from 0 to 60 mph in less than six seconds. It’s
not just safe, it’s Volvo safe. It’s sort of a rich man’s Kia Telluride, where it does everything a
reasonable person would want — and does it well.
Source: GearPatrol
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