Skip advert
Advertisement

Volvo XC90 review - is range topping T8 hybrid any good? - Design

Volvo targets German SUVs – and creates a Range Rover rival

Evo rating
RRP
from £46,850
  • Stunning interior, quality feel, huge reserves of refinement
  • Not the sharpest thing to drive

Design

The exterior is similar to the old XC90, albeit sharpened up, smoothed out and given the latest high-tech detailing. And it works really well, especially as it masks the Volvo’s bulk – the XC90 is almost five metres long, more than two metres wide and 1776mm tall. So it’s not a small machine, but standing next to it, the XC90 doesn’t dominate.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Some of the detailing is fabulous – the ‘Thor’s hammer’ daytime running lights stand out in particular, and are fitted range-wide as standard in the UK. The entire car looks sophisticated and modern, without resorting to complicated or gratuitous design trends. You might say it's very Swedish, in that respect – and like the model it replaces, it shouldn't age too quickly.

Best of all, it looks good no matter what size wheels it is sitting on nor which trim you specify. At the launch event, there was a beautiful-looking R Design finished in a matte blue paint, but as yet Volvo UK isn’t planning on bringing that finish here. It should do, because it made an already handsome SUV look absolutely fantastic.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
News

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV

If you have to have an SUV, a Stelvio QV is acceptable. Now it's being heavily discounted.
8 Jul 2025
Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track
Ferrari F80 review
Reviews

Ferrari F80 2025 review – near-1200bhp tech tour de force tested on road and track

Maranello’s latest hybrid hypercar and successor to the LaFerrari blends mind-bending capabilities with deeply intuitive character
10 Jul 2025
New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo
Festival of Speed 2025
News

New cars at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed – all the debuts from Aston to Zenvo

The 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway. Here’s what’s in store from the biggest British motoring event of the year
11 Jul 2025