Imagine getting 169.4 mpg in a week’s drive. You read that right, not just 69 mpg, but 169 mpg while driving 288 miles. Gas cost? Just $5.48 for 1.7 gallons. Unimaginable! But real!
That’s what this week’s fabulous Volvo S90 Recharge plug-in hybrid (PHEV) delivered because I plugged it in each night to my lowly 110-volt garage outlet and got roughly 50 miles of electric range per day. Tops was 52 miles; lowest charge was 45 miles.
This is a luxury sedan, to be sure, starting at $66,745 for the base hybrid S90, but I’ve never driven a car that was this efficient for a week’s drive. It proves the value of a plug-in hybrid vs. a standard hybrid where one is fortunate to get about 50 mpg, although I’ve gotten better in a few models.
No range anxiety here as the luxury sedan’s turbo and supercharged 2.0-liter I4 engine is happy to kick in once you burn through the battery-stored electric power. And kick it does with the electric motors helping boost the quiet luxo-liner to highway speeds in a blink with its 455 horses mated perfectly to an 8-speed automatic.
You get that bodacious boost dialing in the Power drive mode, although the S90 is never slow, even in Hybrid or Pure (electric only) drive modes. There’s also a Constant AWD setting for when road conditions turn slick and sloppy. All are controlled easily on a console dial.
While power is exemplary, S90 really caters to the luxury-oriented buyer who needs, well demands, sensuous styling, a library quiet interior, a soothing ride and massaging seats to relax front seat passengers.
Volvo’s S90 Recharge has it all.
The ride is well controlled and the shock dampers along with rear air suspension ($1,200 option) ease the 200-inch long sedan over crumbling roads and incessantly choppy highway expansion joints. Riders praised the silky quiet ride and oodles of rear seat legroom.
Handling is fairly responsive too, much more so in Power mode, but don’t go thinking you’re buying a racer despite those impressive ponies. No, this sedan leans heavily into luxury.
The car’s lines definitely deliver a long, lean look that insinuates style and prestige. Folks gawk and the test car’s fine dark metallic blue (Denim Blue Metallic) oozed sophistication. Up front is still the distinguishing chrome Volvo grille so one quickly identifies the make. Taillights are a stylistic triumph too.
Slide into the creamy Nappa leather interior and it’s obvious this isn’t your parents’ boxy old 240 or 260 sedan. The vertically oriented digital screen mid-dash is a big giveaway, but all the soft perforated leather on the seats, two-tone gray and cream leather wheel and the gray accents to the top of the door panels and dash are pretty convincing too.
There’s even open-pore fake gray wood trim dash and doors, brushed metal trim, a crystal shifter knob and multiple-function power seats with lower cushion extensions. Knobs on the lower seat cushion’s sides activate a massaging function for both front seats too, but one must coordinate the toggling of that knob with the readout of what and how the massaging feature is working via the visuals on the info screen. Better to have those controls all on the screen.
Speaking of which, Volvo’s info screen is not as large as many today and continues to hide too many functions within that screen. Some require sliding the screen over via a finger to find additional functions. For instance, it takes a couple screen touches to access the drive modes, or even to raise or lower the rear window sunscreen. Awkward!
That said, the interior looks and feels great, plus there’s a heated steering wheel (adjusted via the screen) as are the heated and cooled front seats. Rear seats offer the same functionality thanks to a $1,500 option package that adds the massaging feature up front. All seats are comfy and supportive, and legroom is a monstrous 40.4 inches in back. My 5-foot-10 son and 10-year-old grandson luxuriated in the rear seats one weekend. They and others appreciated the panoramic sunroof overhead too.
Love music? Then the $3,200 Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system with 19 speakers and 1,460 watts is a worthy addition. For those of us with less refined ear drums, the standard 10-speaker 220-watt system may be fine.
A power trunk lid and driver’s head-up display are standard on this Ultimate trim level of the S90 Recharge, but oddly for a luxury vehicle there’s no wireless phone charger or power tilt/telescope steering wheel.
I’m also no fan of the odd ignition start knob one must turn on the console or the sedan’s thick A-pillars, although I know they are necessary for the highly raked windshield design. And there is a 360-degree camera function to help outward visibility.
Volvo also continues to lead with a full bevy of safety equipment, including blind-spot warning that seems to be optional now on so many vehicles. This system includes everything from front collision mitigation and adaptive cruise control to whiplash protection and post impact braking.
In back is a mid-size trunk at 13.5 cubic feet, but that’ll still hold four suitcases or a couple sets of golf clubs, sans hand cart.
Note that the S90 prefers premium fuel, but will run fine on regular just with fewer ponies when you go full-on with the accelerator.
Note too that the S90 is made in China, if that matters to you. A reminder here that Volvo is owned by Geely Holding Co. of China.
Let’s point out too that I tested the smaller Volvo S60 a year ago and raved over its looks and performance. For those needing luxury and comfort, but less interior room the S60 is a grand choice. Its wheelbase is 7 inches shorter and overall length 13 inches shorter, yet features the same turbo-supercharged engine, so oodles of power.
This tested S90 started at $72,295, including delivery, and after options hit $78,195. A gas-only S90 starts at a more affordable $58,795 and also features AWD, but just 295 horsepower. The entry level PHEV lists at $66,745 with delivery, the hybrid system adding $7,950.
Estimates are the PHEV system will save $1,200 of gas costs on average each year, so figure a six to seven year window to recoup the costs, if that’s a buying motivation beyond cutting tailpipe emissions.
To save a little coin one could opt for the S60 sedan, that’ll set you back about $59,045 to $65,000 and still offer the same power in a lighter weight car.
This is a crowded high-profit portion of the market, so the Volvos compete well with BMW’s 5 Series sedans, the Mercedes-Benz E Class, Cadillac CTS (it costs less), Audi’s A6 and the Genesis G70 and G80. Note the G80 offers electric power and a 282-mile range at just slightly more than this tested S90.
Still, to eliminate range anxiety the S90 is a tough act to follow!
FAST STATS: 2024 Volvo S90 Recharge AWD Ultimate
Hits: Smooth stylish sedan, excellent power, ride, handling, plus AWD. Big sunroof, heated wheel, heated/cooled front and rear seats, supper supportive multi-adjust seats with massage front seats, awesome stereo, a stylish and quiet luxury interior, plus head-up display, power trunk lid, and a full bevy of safety equipment.
Misses: Infotainment screen distracting to use while driving due to hidden functions, no power tilt/telescope steering wheel or wireless phone charger. Odd start knob on console, thick A-pillars. Pricy stereo upgrade. Prefers premium fuel.
Made in: China
Engine: 2.0-liter turbo & supercharged I4 w/plug-in hybrid electric motor, 455 hp
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Weight: 4,628 lbs.
Wheelbase: 120.5 in.
Length: 200.4 in.
Cargo: 13.5 cu.ft.
MPG: 66 elect/29 gas
MPG: 169.4 (tested)
Base Price: $72,295 (includes delivery)
Invoice: $68,023
Major Options:
Lounge pkg. (luxury rear armrest, cooled rear seats, massage front seats), $1,500
Bowers & Wilkins premium audio, $3,200
Active chassis w/rear air suspension, $1,200
Test vehicle: $78,195
Sources: Volvo, www.kbb.com
