Volvo V90 Recharge T6 Ultimate review: a £70k plug-in hybrid estate

What’s that?

Much like the lesser-spotted woodpecker, marsh tit or even white-fronted goose, this ‘estate’ car could now be considered an endangered species, such is the proliferation of new SUVs and crossovers swarming Britain’s potholed roads. Their swollen ranks have trampled all over the humble estate.

Though, at pushing just shy of £70k, there’s nothing humble about this particular Volvo V90.

So what’s new about this particular Volvo V90?

A while back, Volvo rolled out a very small but crucial update to its ‘Recharge’ series of plug-in hybrids that powered the company’s ‘SPA’ platform cars. Assuming platform-codes make you nauseous, that covers the XC60 and XC90 SUVs, the S60 and S90 saloons, and of course the V60 and V90 estates.

And a quick refresh on the, um, Recharge drivetrain: there’s a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine up front and an electric motor on the back.

The updates centred around a bigger battery. By adding a third layer of cells to the pack, Volvo increased its capacity from 11.6kWh to 18.8kWh, and in turn allied it to a more powerful rear electric motor. That motor now produces 143bhp – 65 per cent more than before, says Volvo – contributing to a 345bhp total output for the AWD V90 T6.

Feels like a decent slug of power. Is it fast?

Not hair-raisingly so, but there’s a satisfying punch lurking within. Volvo claims a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds – a few tenths off an E46 BMW M3, for entirely irrelevant context – and a top speed of 112mph.

Does it offer good range, at least?

Yes, and here’s where the updates have proved crucial. The old Recharge cars could muster around 20 or so real-world miles on EV power alone before the combustion engine joined the party. We saw around 40 electric-only miles from this updated Recharge, and that’s more than the average daily commute.

This means should you have access to home charging – and one suspects if you have the funds to stump up nearly £70k for a premium Volvo, you probably will do – you could run for days purely on electricity alone.

Having the petrol engine also solves range anxiety (if that’s still something you consider), making long journeys entirely stress free.

Guessing it drives in an unstressed way?

Totally. The V90 is a very settled, comfortable and soothing car to tick off big miles in. While there’s good body control, weighty, accurate steering and great damping, it doesn't play with the sort of dynamism you get from, say, a BMW 5 Series Touring.

For 90 per cent of your time – stuck in traffic, dropping kids off, motorway miles to see friends and family, fully-loaded-off-to-somewhere-nice-for-the-weekend trips, it’s absolutely spot on.

And inside?

As we’ve mentioned before, this is a world-class cabin environment. The seats are spot on, the fit, finish and quality of the dash and surrounding materials is exemplary, the cabin ambience and allocation of furniture just so. The portrait central screen is perhaps starting to show its age a little, but it’s quick to respond and easy to navigate around.

Practical, too, though again that pesky BMW trumps it slightly in the load-carrying stakes. Still plenty big enough. We managed to transport a pair of bulky, excellently sprung single mattresses from a well-known Swedish furniture brand (how on-brand is that?) in the V90. Swallowed them up with ease.

Would you recommend one?

Here’s the rub. It’s a big, premium car that looks outstanding – perhaps the best-looking estate car on sale today – and offers a credible alternative to the 5 Series Touring, E-Class Estate and A6 Avant. It's a well resolved hybrid too, with useful real-world electric range and long-distance ability.

Something to consider, though, if e-range is something you're seriously dependent on from your estate: Audi is readying its all-electric A6 e-tron, scheduled for late 2023, with a rumoured range of up to 435 miles. Desperate for an equivalent EV now? You could get Volvo’s own XC40 fully electric… SUV.