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Motoring Discussion > Volvo - Farewell (soon) my V90
Thread Author: Slightlyfatdirector	Replies: 18

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Tue 10 Dec 24 12:59

Volvo - Farewell (soon) my V90 - Slightlyfatdirector

Well, three years are almost up and the V90 goes back to Volvo at the start of Jan.

A mainly positive experience. T6 Recharge petrol plug-in hybrid in Inscription spec. 2 litre turbo petrol FWD with c.253bhp, plus 87bhp electric RWD = 340 combined. Quite a lot, but it's a big heavy car.

Amusingly I had colleagues in the car in Germany telling them I was going to get it up to it's top speed on the autobahn and they were terrified. They didn't know that it's limited to 112mph... Get's there quickly though.

Comfortable seats (a million miles better than in the E220d that came before) and the best SatNav of any car I have driven. It's Google Maps and you can have it so it's the satellite view of wherever you, are just like the same on Google maps. Fascinating to explore your surroundings like a moving photograph, and it updates and warns of issues brilliantly and is a significant step up from the old Sensus system in pre-2021/2022 cars. Brilliantly informative for choosing the right lanes at complex junctions too.

'Over the air' software updates almost always improved things, with the map screen in the middle speedo screen having been upgraded a couple of times (for the better).

The boot is not as practical as the squared-off Volvo estates of before (V70 and back) but it's still a good size. Rear seat space generous and comfortable. Engine powerful but a bit gruff and the gearbox likes to have a think about whether you are serious about flooring it, or whether you might want to change your mind. A bit sluggish....

Extremely quiet cruiser though. Near silent on the motorway. Economical too. A full battery charge never offered more than 25 miles and you could hit that with cautious driving. Stated electric mileage from new was 35, but the screen never showed that was even possible ("They all are like that sir"). Fuel consumption on a long journey just on petrol is normally 33-35mpg. Not bad for a heavy turbo petrol that gets driven in a spirited manner on occasion. My old 2 litre Mondeo estate wouldn't do that

Dislikes? Not many.

Sometimes the infotainment screen would not wake up (so no radio / satnav, etc). A reset normally fixed this. Rain-sensing wipers were supposed to be on it but were missing and that was annoying as they are brilliant. No doubt missing chips post-covid that also delayed it's delivery. Memory seats often got forgetful. The panoramic roof is great for those in the rear, but the driver was barely under it so a bit pointless other than for keeping the car a bit brighter. The Harman Kardon sound system was underwhelming

I was going to try and buy it after the lease ends, but they won't let me, and looking at 2-3 year old versions the 2nd hand price is really high (over £40k fr low mileage) so I will say farewell to Volvo for the foreseeable future, but would certainly recommend a V90 to anyone.

It was also the most attractive car I have ever owned, up there with the 2005 S60 I had 19 years ago.

Not so long ago I was stopped in a Tesco car park by someone raving about what a stunning looking car it was. And it still is in my mind.