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 three-row plug-in hybrid 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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