Is new always better? After all, if something’s good, you generally don’t need to change much to keep it fresh. The Eames Lounge Chair has been essentially the same for nearly the last 70 years, the ballpoint pen was largely perfected in the 1940s, and the basic recipe for lemonade has been around for centuries. It’s the same deal with the Volvo XC90, the default choice for a simply wonderful three-row luxury crossover for the past decade. A new facelift with smarter looks and revised tech promises just the right sort of updates for the new model year, but otherwise, Volvo doesn’t seem to have messed with its bread and butter crossover. The second-series one was great when I last drove it four years ago, so this third-series model should maintain that tradition, right?
Still, there was this nagging voice of concern in me. Is there a chance that underneath the facelift, the XC90 feels its age? Time to spend a week and several hundred miles behind the wheel to find out if Volvo’s largest hybrid crossover still holds up.
[Full disclosure: Volvo Canada let me borrow this Volvo XC90 for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it with a full tank of fuel, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Engine: Two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, 312 horsepower at 6,000 rpm; 295 lb.-ft. from 3,000 to 5,400 rpm.
Electric Motor: 107 kW, 143 horsepower at 15,900 rpm; 228 lb.-ft. from zero to 3,280 rpm.
Combined Output: 455 horsepower, 523 lb.-ft.
Battery: Lithium-ion, 14.7 kWh of usable capacity.
Transmission: AW TG-81SD eight-speed automatic.
Drive: eAWD, electric motor driving rear axle.
Curb Weight: 5,132 pounds (2,328 kg).
Fuel Economy: 58 MPGe combined (3.8 Le/100km).
Minimum Fuel Grade: AKI 91 octane required.
Electric Range: 33 miles (53 km).
Maximum Charging Speed: 3.6 kW
Body Style: Three-row luxury crossover.
Base Price: $74,295 including freight ($91,840 in Canada).
Price As-Tested: $88,195 including freight ($106,945 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
The original Volvo XC90 was the ignition moment for the three-row luxury crossover market, wasn’t it? Sure, the Acura MDX has been around longer, but given how that family transporter was only sold in North America, it was a bit like a wildfire in a curious land where body-on-frame SUVs still ruled the roost. The original XC90? That was like man discovering he could make his own flame. By the end of the mid-2000s, everyone had a three-row unibody roughly SUV-shaped thing. BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, even Lincoln had one on the horizon. As such, knowing that the second-generation XC90 is still on sale is like knowing you can cook a kebab over charcoal. It just feels right.
How Does It Look?
For the past decade or so, the Volvo XC90 has been one of the best-looking vehicles on sale, and that’s not going to change any time soon. Its fundamentals are correct, meaning that not only is there precisely enough styling here for one car instead of two or three, the surfacing is sublime. The crisp beltline, the subtle flats around the arches, the one little rising character line down the doors and across the rear bumper to break up the sheetmetal, it’s still elegant a decade since we first saw it.
However, it has received another facelift, and this is a play that automakers often find tricky. Get it right, and you’ll end up with a winner. Get it wrong, and you’ll end up drawing philosophical similarities to the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire. Volvo? They got it bang-on, with intricate new wheels and slimmed-down headlights that look fabulous shrink-wrapped around the Thor’s Hammer daytime running lights. I also love the new asymmetric grille mesh. It’s a bit of a bow tie, a jaunty accessory on a formal fit, the sort of statement piece that’s bold yet still tasteful.
What About The Interior?
Volvo was early aboard the trend of minimalist cabins, so the cockpit of the updated 2025.5 XC90 is really an exercise in subtlety. You immediately notice a fresh splash of woven textile, a wider aluminum mesh for the speaker grilles, and a new center console, but a closer look reveals greater change all in the name of smartening things up. More wood, new air vents, new door cards, smart horizontal metallic trim, like CoolSculpting, it’s not drastic but it all adds up to a younger, leaner look.
Thankfully, the materials are still as rich as ever, including the available crystal gear selector. Likewise, the seats are some of the most comfortable on the market with absolutely perfect support, and space in the second row is plentiful. Sure, the third row is a little on the small side and cargo space with it up isn’t great if your kid plays the cello, but the second-row built-in booster seat is a nice touch. Look further and you’ll find more thoughtfulness like vinyl-lined door bins and a little holder for parking receipts that puts the inside of the XC90 a notch above that of the Germans.
How Does It Drive?
While the plug-in hybrid XC90 is more potent than a Porsche 911 Carrera T, there is a caveat to that beyond the immense 5,132-pound curb weight. It uses a through-the-road all-wheel-drive system, meaning the only thing propelling the rear wheels is an electric motor. In plain English, this thing has 455 horsepower and is asking the front tires to manage most of them. As a result, you do get some torque steer when you plant your right foot through the carpet, and you can occasionally hear the rubber voicing its distaste for such haste. Best keep all that grunt on reserve for freeway overtaking, relax, and lean into the quiet effortlessness of Volvo’s biggest plug-in hybrid.
See, the XC90 is a proper luxury car. It doesn’t have a switch for sport mode on the steering wheel, or paddle shifters, or a button to fill the dampers with obsidian, so the steering is fingertip light around town, the ride on the optional air suspension won’t throw your matcha latte toward the headliner even if you find yourself driving on corrugated iron yet never feels underdamped, and the brake pedal is perfectly confident without being touchy. Frost heaves that would have you bouncing like a raver off a Mitsubishi if you were driving a Mercedes-Benz GLE are reduced to mere murmurs through the structure, largely ignorable behind whatever song you’re listening to.
Probably something rich in texture yet not hyperactive, because the XC90 is like drawing a bath at the end of a long day. It could be sold as a remedy for hypertension and the FDA wouldn’t bat an eye. Of course, the plug-in hybrid powertrain adds to the soothing nature, never feeling underpowered and always keeping things hushed so long as you have charge. The official electric range is 33 miles, but I managed about 40. Granted, the battery pack is large enough that you’ll really want Level 2 charging at home if you do more than 25 miles a day, but it’s worth it.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Sort-of. The new 11.2-inch touchscreen does stick out a bit like a book that doesn’t quite fit its shelf and the switch to a capacitive touch home button is a tad annoying, but it’s simply a better screen than you used to get, with greater contrast and deeper blacks. At the same time, the digital gauge cluster isn’t especially configurable, but it does give you Waze in between the dials if you’re using Apple CarPlay. Speaking of, CarPlay isn’t wireless here, and if you’re an Android user, you’ll have to simply sign into the slightly cluttered native infotainment system.
However, once you get your automatic climate control temperature and driver assists set up, you barely interact with the screen. The XC90 still has a real volume knob with a pleasing click to it, seek buttons, and a proper play-pause button, and those things control one of the best optional sound systems ever fitted to a production car. Once you try this optional Bowers & Wilkins setup, it won’t just feel like a steal, you’ll want to buy the car just for the audio. Keep it in studio mode and it’s the definition of an SQ system, with broad dynamic range and exceptional clarity even at skull-cracking volumes.
Three Things To Know About The 2025.5 Volvo XC90 Plug-in Hybrid
- The optional Bowers & Wilkins sound system is still one of the absolute best stereos ever fitted to a production car.
- It’s not especially hard to beat the rated electric range.
- You can definitely tell it’s front-wheel-biased.
Does The Volvo XC90 Plug-in Hybrid Fulfill Its Purpose?
The new XC90 plug-in hybrid is relatively good value for the segment at under $89,000 fully-loaded, but it’s no longer alone in the posh plug-in hybrid SUV arena. The BMW X5 50e has a far more mature powertrain and is an electric range cheat code, the Lexus TX plug-in hybrid has loads more space inside, and the Mercedes-Benz GLE plug-in hybrid has more brand snob appeal and doesn’t torque-steer, but none of that really matters.
People buy the Volvo XC90 because while yes, there are technically superior plug-in hybrids out there, and more ornate and sumptuous three-row luxury crossovers, nothing feels like an XC90. It’s measured, restrained, supportive, pragmatic, well-designed, and serves up an overwhelming sense of ease. You wear it like a suit that’s been tailored specifically for you. No pinstripes, nothing showy, just classic care and attention to detail. The fact that it does all the school run stuff so well is cream cheese frosting on a freshly baked cinnamon roll. So yes, the XC90 still fulfils its purpose.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2025.5 Volvo XC90 Plug-in Hybrid?
It might not be on the top of its class from a technical standpoint, but if you have money to spend, it’s still the three-row plug-in hybrid luxury crossover that feels the most like home.
(Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal)
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We picked up a fully loaded 2023 CPO version of this last year. It had been on an “executive lease” to a Swedish NHL player (I only know that because his Spotify was still logged in when we got it).
Overall it’s been everything I’d hoped for. The EV range is enough for most days and still drives well enough for its size. The seats and B&W sound system are scrumptious. I wish the air suspension was a little better though, it can be harsh sometimes.
We car camp out of it and absolutely stuff it to the max including a roof box and 4 bikes hanging off the back. It swallows up all our gear quite well.
The Polestar tune turns it into a sleeper when you’re feeling spicy.
After a year with it I’d buy it again. The only thing I want more is a R1S.
When the idea of a Grand Highlander Hybrid keeps hitting $60k after Toyota and the dealers have their way with the car, I keep coming back to a CPO XC90 T8. The 2024/2025s have depreciated quite a bit already without a lot of miles. You can extend the CPO warranty through Volvo for years.
Pretty sure I’ve seen some action on these new ones on Lease Hackr too. $7500 tax credit for leases is still there, plus some good discounts can make the lease price pretty attractive.
I agree with the comments about the touchscreen being ugly, I don’t think it’s all that bad. It looks almost exactly like the set up in my Polestar 2. When I bought my Polestar 2 I was surprised at how much the big ugly touch screen didn’t really bother me. Lots of stuff still works like a normal car (wipers, glove box, etc.). I find the HVAC is pretty much set it and forget it. The navigation mirroring to the screen behind the steering wheel is great. All of that, combined with the physical volume nob and the buttons on the steering wheel for skipping through tracks/stations and using the phone, I find that I rarely need to interact with the touch screen while driving.
My previous vehicle was an early 2000’s Ford Ranger that had absolutely nothing digital. It was all knobs and buttons, so when I got the Polestar I was really worried that the tech crap would bother me. I had driven several Tesla model 3 and hated having to use their screens. I mean they actually found a way to make using the windshield wipers dangerous.
It’s refreshing to see clean simple exterior styling and windows big enough to see out of again. Hopefully this will start a trend in styling. I miss the days of yore when vehicles had simple lines and big windows. This new Volvo is almost retro in that regard and I like it.
I love these but OMG THEY ARE $88,0000!!!
Yeah I’d have guessed 60-65. 88k? Gtfoutta here.
The last gen depreciated pretty heavily.
I firmly believe that any article discussing the history of the XC90 should mention the available Yamaha V8, it is the only 60 degree transverse V8 ever fitted to a production car and the turbocharged Noble version put out 650 hp!
Reading “bouncing like a raver off a Mitsubishi” and laughing because I KNOW you aren’t referring to a Japanese car.
TOP ONE.
NICE ONE.
GET SORTED.
Don’t know if any media spot does multi-vehicle comparison tests anymore like was normal in the 1990s, but would love to see a test comparing the three row PHEVs:
Volvo XC90 PHEV
BMW X5 50e
Lexus TX PHEV
Mercedes-Benz GLE PHEV
Car & Driver puts a decent amount of old reviews on their site, some dating back to the 60s. Those comparison tests are some of my favorites!
Edmunds still does reviews like these for modern vehicles. They aren’t my favorite source for car reviews but can fill the mult-vehicle comparison niche. Also, savagegeese (youtube) will occasionally do a comparison test.
Almost perfect.
The vertical orientation of the screen is awful, and screen should be integrated into the dash (I think there shouldn’t be touch screens in cars at all, quite frankly, but doing one vertically just looks like ass).
And then the tablet/sceen has a capactive touch button? Fail.
If I could change those two things, with the B&O system, this would be exactly what I would want in a daily driver.
The previous years had the screen integrated in the bezel and a physical home button. this new screen one looks tacked on
How does one manage your map app, get music from your phone, or change car settings (like headlight-off delay after turning the car off, whether it unlocks when shifting into park, remote chirp volume, etc.) without a touchscreen?
I absolutely think some things like climate control should be physical buttons, but touchscreens’ versatility is nigh unapproachable for now.
I use a USB stick for music, and I set my map on my phone via talk to text before I even get in the car. But I am specifically criticizing having functions that you might need to change while driving (as you note, like climate control). Having things only accesssible by touchscreen is unsafe because tocuhscreens need you to look atthe screen and not use physical memory like analog controls.
The specific ‘features’ you mention aren’t things on my radar, nor are they the types of things a driver would typically need or want to change while operating the vehicle.
That being said, hitting a button turning knob to adjust or switch things on or off is faster than using menus and sub menus on a screen.
My 2012 Volvo does all of that through a knob and an ‘ok’ button, and it’s mirrored by a click scroll wheel on the steering wheel as well. Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it! I love the system and it lets me navigate through pretty much every setting with both hands on the wheel.
The tech dystopia interiors make current Volvos a total non-starter for us. Is this one of the models with a glove box that can only be opened through the infotainment screen? That being said these do depreciate heavily and Volvo has an excellent certified program that includes an optional 10 year warranty. With the staggeringly complex powertrains in them it’s not a matter of if something goes wrong, but when.
So if you want to buy a PHEV secondhand (the $80,000ish these run new is tough pill to swallow, but at $50,000ish they’re great buys) a certified Volvo seems to be about as sure of a bet as there is. In fact many of the certified ones on lots right now have the old, significantly better interior…
It turned my mom off too. She loves Volvos, we had a ’93 850 and an ’01 V70 when I was growing up, each kept for a decade and over 100k miles. She’s had a Mercedes and a couple X5s since then, but was ready for something smaller. She test drove the XC60 which she really liked…except for the infotainment system, which she did not like at all.
She got a Macan instead, and loves it. My dad has one too, a GTS that feels high strung nearly all of the time. Hers has the base engine and it’s a much more relaxed driving experience. But it still feels almost magic in the way it drives almost like a hatchback, not a CUV.
Teslafication is a cancer that’s affected the entire industry negatively but Volvo in particular has really gone off the deep end in the tech department. It likely has to do with their Chinese ownership who are used to focusing on cars for their market that wants rolling automated tech monstrosities, but it’s still disappointing…especially for those of us that know the old Volvo well.
The Chinese ownership is a good point, never thought of that being a cause but it makes total sense.
The V70 had the most comfortable seats I’ve ever experienced in a car. Can we bring that back please? It was like driving in a recliner. Now that screens are ubiquitous, maybe the definition of “luxury” will trend more towards quality and feel of materials, pleasant analog controls, and comfort. I’m not super optimistic, but I can dream!
Even their sister brand is giving decent warranty deals on used Polestar 2’s I got one 2 months ago and they come CPO with a 2 year unlimited mile warranty. Since I got mine with 52k miles it was already out of bumper to bumper so it is nice to have that warranty in case any of the dumb bits break like parking or blis sensors. I will agree not having physical HVAC controls is a pain but at least on the Polestar end (haven’t test drove a Volvo) it is android based software and the voice controls work pretty well for adjusting HVAC. Also for mine the glove box is still a typical old manual type which is nice.
I’ve started calling these updated DRLs with the unlit center the T-Bones, because once I saw it, I could never unsee it.
Then I’ll call them Coco.
Then I’ll call them Gammy.
Volvo makes very pretty vehicles these days. Also that electric range is totally commutable for a lot of people.
Volvo makes the best seats and has an excellent safety record. These facts alone warrant checking one out!
It’s more Googling that I can do in between work stuff, but in my mind, the XC was one of the later additions to the 3-row crossover game, not early. They sure did nail the styling (from day 1), but the first time I read about each headlight costing about $2,000 in case of a small collision, I pretty quickly wrote this one off as too much fashion over substance.
My biggest beef with Volvo is that for the past 25-ish years, they’ve really pushed hard to be a luxury brand. The first years of that era under Ford, I’d say “close but no cigar.” Today it’s a lot nicer, but there’s still a part of me that struggles to see how $90k makes sense here against, for example, a Mazda CX-90 PHEV at around 2/3 the cost. If you go beyond PHEV, there are tons of luxury 3-row beasts out there from non-traditional luxury brands that can do a really good impression.
This is and has been one of my favorite 3 row suv’s on the market, for a long time. However, we bought a CX-90 this past year because it plays the role of ‘budget’ XC90 VERY well.
I don’t think the GLE or X5 can be had both with a third row and the PHEV powertrain.