Volvo V90 review

Volvo and estate cars go together like love and marriage, horses and carriages or Ikea and flat pack furniture, and the Volvo V90 is the most capacious of its current crop.

Over the years, Volvo has built plenty of sturdy, reliable and safe wagons, and its latest batch may be its prettiest ever, too. But do they still have that solid Volvo DNA to back up their plush, modern styling? On paper, the ingredients certainly seem very positive.

The new V90 is based on the Swedish carmaker's large executive saloon, the S90, and, while it's actually a couple of centimetres shorter than that car (for styling reasons), the V90 still has an enormous boot behind its spacious five seats. There’s a decent choice of engines, too, including a pair of 2.0-litre diesels, a 2.0-litre petrol or a powerful petrol-electric plug-in hybrid for green-minded estate buyers.

The V90's executive car roots mean it’s priced against premium models from the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes, namely the established and very capable A6 Avant, the 5 Series Touring and the Mercedes E-Class Estate.

Buyers of these sort of estates aren’t just looking for space; they also want a comfortable ride, a sharp drive, strong engines and generous levels of luxury and equipment. Does the Volvo offer all of those things? And should it warrant a choice over its esteemed rivals?

Read on over the next few pages for our in-depth impressions, along with our recommendations for which trim level and engine to choose. And, whichever car takes your fancy, head over to our New Car Buying pages for a great deal without the need to haggle.