Midway across the Øresund bridge between Denmark and Sweden and I can’t help but think dark thoughts. After all, this is exactly the spot where the gruesome beginnings of the hit TV thriller The Bridge took place.
However, not everything about this trip is Nordic Noir. Take, for instance, the interior of the new Volvo XC90 with its strip of blonde wood sweeping across the dashboard and into the door caps, the soft fabrics, and shiny metal finishes. It’s all very bright and airy, yet reassuringly warm. On the Danish side of the bridge they’d call it hygge.
Inside the XC90 is where the biggest changes have been made – under the skin it’s fundamentally the same vehicle that was introduced a decade ago and has been progressively updated since.
The cabin of the XC90 has always been a relaxing place to spend a journey, but now there’s a new depth to it. Most obvious is the massive 11.2-inch touchscreen that sits slap-bang in the centre of the dash. It does away with a lot of physical buttons, but thankfully not all. Beneath it are vital switches for hazard warning, demist, DSC, and major audio controls. Meanwhile, the display itself always keeps HVAC settings accessible and has customisable zones to ensure that even if you’ve got the nav screen on you can still access your sounds or other features. Running an Android operating system, it also includes a Google Assistant which can take care of plenty of requests if you speak to it nicely, so with practice you might hardly have to touch the touchscreen at all.
However, you will want to run your fingers over the variety of new materials artfully placed throughout the car. The ash wood trim, which comes in a choice of colours, adds a tranquil vibe and is complemented with a new recycled fabric for the soft-touch surfaces on the dash and doors, while there’s also sleek chrome for the Bowers & Wilkins speaker grilles. Two new seat fabrics have been introduced as well. First is Nordico, a high-end leather substitute made from recycled and forest-sourced material. The Navy Herringbone weave is created in recycled polyester but has a natural cloth-like feel to it. Nappa leather is also available, and all seats come with finely detailed stitching for each of the three rows.
The XC90 remains a capacious people carrier with room for real humans in the third row and a van-like cargo space which only gets bigger when the rear-most seats are folded away.
Volvo’s designers haven’t made many sheet metal changes, but the front wings have been tweaked and the hood is new to better merge with the Thor’s hammer-inspired LED headlamps which feature on the EX90 EV as well. The front grille is a new asymmetric design and the rear lighting has also been simplified a little.
Leaving full electrification to its siblings, the XC90 comes with a pair of hybrid powertrains starting with the 244bhp B5 and topping out with the 439bhp plug-in T8. Both use a two-litre four-cylinder engine and eight-speed automatic transmission as a starting point.
Before the 4.5-mile, part-bridge-part-tunnel, Øresund crossing was completed in 1999 the only way to travel between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden was by diesel ferry, and the B5 XC90 is unquestionably a more refined method. There’s barely a whisper of wind noise at motorway speeds, and the engine can only be heard when called upon to give its all. It sounds a little pained at having to move such a big mass and, although it can post a respectable 0-60mph time of 7.3 seconds, the B5’s performance is best described as adequate.
Specs: Volvo XC90
- Price: £63,790-£84,150
- Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbo hybrid, 8-speed automatic
- Horsepower: 244-439 bhp
- Torque: 266-523 lb ft
- 0-60 mph: 7.3- 5.0 seconds
- Top Speed: 112 mph
- Drivetrain: All-wheel drive
- Layout: Front-engine, five-door, 7-passenger SUV
- EPA-estimated fuel economy (combined): 33.2-235 mpg
- Competitors: Volvo EX90, Kia EV9, BMW X7, Genesis GV80
As standard, the XC90 comes on updated suspension with Frequency Selective Damping, designed to give a better feel without compromising ride comfort. For the most part, this seems to work well, although the Scandinavian roads are remarkably smooth, so the only real test comes over speed humps in the villages and that proves to be a little jarring. The upside is the XC90 steers well and feels secure and reassuring.
It’s a slightly different story in the T8 where there’s much more at play. For a start, we have the combination of the four-cylinder with both turbo- and supercharging providing 308bhp, along with an electric motor throwing in another 141 horses. Start your stopwatch when you hit go and it will show exactly five seconds by the time you reach 60 mph. That’s pretty swift for something so large, but in these days of electric “Hyper SUVs,” it won’t leave you gasping for air.
Air is what’s used in the T8’s suspension and it delivers a much more floaty ride, so if comfort is your priority then it’s worth checking the box on the order sheet. The trade-off is that the driving experience feels a bit more remote, the steering’s a tad less intuitive and there’s a slightly unnatural way to the body’s motions as it first rolls and then settles itself in corners. Both cars wore winter tyres and might feel better on all-season or summer rubber, but the difference would still be there.
Unless you find yourself pursued by a Scandinavian serial killer as in The Bridge, such matters are probably not top of mind, so instead you’ll be thinking of the 30-odd miles you could drive in EV mode or the better average fuel economy. According to WLTP test the B5 gives a combined 33.2mpg and the T8 235mpg although the real-world difference was a lot less. The trip computer displayed 9.6 liters/100km (29mpg) for the B5 and just 7 liters/100km (40mpg) for the T8.
That said, the price difference between the two is not insignificant, so it would take quite some time to make it up in fuel savings. Entry to a B5 Core spec is £63,790 costs $73,000 and you’ll pay £84,150 for the highest specification T8 Ultra. Volvo expects the majority of XC90 sales to be mild hybrids, and I’d say the popular vote is the correct one.
Volvo XC90
Highs: Lovely cabin ambiance, huge capacity to carry people and their stuff.
Lows: Engines are noisy when pushed, and not as speedy as full-EV rivals.
Summary: Your Scandinavian-styled home on the road.
