Volvo V90 Video Review (2016)

Volvo V90 Video Review

Volvo’s V90 is the successor to the well-liked V70, which has been the Scandinavian firm’s flagship estate for years.

This car costs a shade under £40,000 and this particular press car is £46,000. That’s because it’s got all sorts of bells and whistles and accessories on it. North of 62 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds means this is a pretty fast luxury family car.

It’s quiet and smooth as all good diesel engines should be and it’s expected to take up the majority of Volvo V90 sales. It perhaps isn’t quite responsive as we’d like but that’s down to the relaxed nature of the automatic gear box more than the engine.

This car is an automatic and initial driving impressions are absolutely fabulous. It’s a very, very soft, relaxed, contented feel you get behind the wheel of this Volvo V90. And I have to say I’ve had a few people looking at me, well, not me, but the car as I’ve been driving by because it’s obviously a new Volvo and it’s a very handsome car too and I think people are trying to work out what it is.

Visibility is absolutely excellent, lots of light in there. That’s the sort of feeling you get in the cabin anyway.

If you’re familiar at all with the feel of German rivals such as Audi or BMW, there are a few things you’ll notice almost immediately. The most prominent difference is the weight of the steering. With Volvo, they mean to make the driver’s life as easy as possible. The steering is far lighter in the V90 than its German competitors and the car is easier to maneuver as a result.

So, this Volvo V90 D4 inscription model has a powered tailgate and it opens to reveal a pretty massive boot. There we are. Look at that. That is one decent load area.

As you can see from my very, very small rucksack you’re going to get two big family-size suitcases in that on the way to the airport. This can be lifted up after your weekly shop and you can stick all your bags there and they’ll stay firmly against this platform and won’t fall into anything else such as this bag at the other side. Of course, if you’ve got children, this low load lip here is really useful. Believe me I’ve got three kids and I can tell you that before you’ve had kids, you don’t think about things like this but I’ve got a really bad back.

Volvo is on top form with its designs recently and has perfected the recipe of eye-catching yet classy design. As with all Volvo’s there’s a real focus on quality. The build, touch points, and feel of the controls all give the impression that they’ve been thought about and cared for. There’s nothing that isn’t done to a high standard. So often we criticize new cars for lacking a solid entertainment system but the sensor system that Volvo utilizes through an iPad-size screen in the center of the dash is excellent, being user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do, you’re away with it.

Other things such as you’ve got run off-road protection, that automatically tightens the front seatbelts here should the car inadvertently leave the road for any reason. You’ve got LED headlights. You’ve got a powered tailgate to the back so that when you unload stuff up from let’s just say Ikea or wherever, you can stick your stuff in there without actually having to manually lift the tailgate up yourself. You’ve got a power folding rear seat, backrest, and headrests. You got a leather faced upholstery, all on round, all around the seats. Heated front seats even to add to the luxury. And outside, you’ve got 17-inch alloy wheels and you’ve got the 60/40 splits for folding rear seats which is fantastic, again, when it comes to any kind of practicality.

Try something different. The new Volvo V90 won’t disappoint buyers. You can’t help but feel this might be the start of something special for Volvo.