Volvo S90 review

If you’re bored of all those big German cars, the Volvo S90 could be the breath of fresh, crisp Scandinavian air you’ve been looking for.

The S90 is a luxury saloon that shares its underpinnings and much of its interior with the Volvo V90 estate and Volvo XC90 SUV. If you're interested in cutting your emissions, reducing the amount you pay in company car tax, or both, this might be the car for you.

Why? Well, Volvo has dropped diesel and petrol-only engines from the S90 range, and it's now available exclusively with a 2.0-litre petrol-electric plug-in hybrid system. It has also dropped some of the trims, rationalising them down to just two. 

We suspect there will be plenty of buyers frustrated – and perhaps somewhat confused – by Volvo’s decision to keep the cheaper engines on in the equivalent V90 while removing them from the S90. But the Swedish manufacturer is on a mission to become something of a market leader in electrification and this move in effect turns the S90 into a halo model for the brand.

That does, however, mean that its starting price is now significantly higher than the entry-level versions of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class and Jaguar XF.

Buyers of large luxury saloons are a demanding bunch who expect a comfortable ride, superb refinement and generous levels of luxury equipment. So, is this electrified car good enough in those areas to tempt them away from its impressive rivals? Read on over the next few pages of this Volvo S90 review to find out.

When you have finished reading, don't forget that we can help you to save thousands of pounds on nearly every new make and model of car available without the need to haggle over the price. All you have to do is use the free What Car? New Car Buying service to see what you can save right now and find some excellent deals on new Volvos.