Auto Express – August 07, 2019

O

tis

Cl

ay

NEED

TO KNOW

Youcan still buy
the T8 plug-in
hybrid XC90,
which offersa
modestelectric-
only range

selectorseemstotallyirrelevant.Instead,

theXC90isarelaxedcruiser.Tickthe

£2,150boxmarkedActiveFour-CChassis

onthecar’soptionslist,andthestandard

set-upisreplacedbyairsuspensionwith

adaptivedampers,whichcertainlyimproves

thequalityoftherideyouexperience.

Theintegrationofthe48-voltsystem

nipsawayatpracticalityalittle,butthe

bootcapacitystillstandsatahuge680

litreswithfiveseatsinplace.AllXC90s

comewithsevenseatsandafullleather

interiorasstandard.Andevenfouryears

intoitslife,theXC90stillimpresseswith

itslevelofqualityandtheamountof

spaceonoffer.It’saseriouslycomfortable

machine,andarefreshingalternative

totheharder,sportierimageprojected

bytheVolvo’sGermanrivals.

Everycargetsapinpoint-sharpnine-

inchinfotainmentscreen,sat-nav, digital

dials,adaptivecruisecontrolandalonglist

ofsafetykitasstandard,whileInscription

THEB5dieselpicksupwherethe

D5leftoff.Itcementsitsplaceas

ourpowertrainofchoiceinthestill-

superbVolvoXC90;it’sslightly

moreexpensivethanbefore,but

thetechbringsimprovedfuel

economyandmeansthebigVolvo

shouldstilloccupyaspaceon

yourshoppinglist.Justbesureyou

buythecorrectone–confusingly,

oneofthehybridpetrolmodels

willbebadgedB5aswell.

★★★★★

Verdict

EQUIPMENTVolvo’s portrait

touchscreen is as easy to operateas

ever,but features likeApple CarPlay

areoptional. Other extras include a

360-degreesurround view forparking

PRACTICALITYSpaceinside the

XC90 is good, but you’ll find moreroom

in the thirdrow of the latestLand Rover

Discovery. Qualityiseverybit as good as

you’dexpectthough, with leather all over

VolvoXC90 B5 (D)

AWDInscription

Price: £56,985

Engine: 2.0-litre4cyldieselMHEV

Power/torque: 232bhp/480Nm

Transmission: Eight-speedautomatic,

four-wheeldrive

0-62mph: 7.6seconds

Topspeed: 137mph

Economy: 37.7mpg

CO 2 : 154g/km

ONSALE Now

Essentials

VolvoXC90B5 NEWCARS

7August2019 31

modelspileonthecreaturecomforts.

Theregulartrimisreplacedbysofter

Nappaleather,thefrontseatsgain

multi-directionallumbarsupport,while

thebackrowfeatureswindowblinds.

To injectadditionaltechnologyand

features,you’llneedtoupgradefrom

Momentum,R-DesignorInscriptiontrims

tooneoftheProvariantsofthesemodels.

Thelattertwogainairsuspensionandthe

optionofaWinterPack,whichaddsheating

forthesteeringwheel,windscreenand

washernozzles,aswellasaheadlight-

cleaningsystemandahead-updisplay.

However,eventhesemodelsaren’tfully

equipped–youstillhavetopayforsome

small-ticketitemslikeAppleCarPlay,either

byaddingitalone(£300)orbyselecting

oneofthesixcomprehensiveupgrade

packages.It’snotanentirelystraightforward

range,andyou’llhavetodosomemaths

toworkoutthebestwayofgettingallthe

equipmentyouwantforthebestprice.

TRIM

Inscription

models are

pricey,but are

kittedout with

softerNappa

leather and get

neat touches

such as the

crystal-finished

gear selector