Closer inspections can lead to sleep deprivation – or is it the other way around?
Temptation is a fickle mistress. Every single new iteration of the Range Rover series has made me, even for a moment, ruminate over the possibility of owning one. Many factors halt any form of progress in this area, usually, but not exclusively financial. I’ve enjoyed my Volvo S90 (Nimrod, for that is its name) for two and half years now, and the occasional thought of change does enter my mind. Why, is difficult to explain, for it never lasts long.
Recently, on a night when slumber evaded me, and having up to now successfully avoided any form of S90 update, I found myself looking more deeply. The results surprised me, not all of it being of the pleasant variety.
The S90 saloon, along with its V estate and XC utility brethren, came to the European market in 2017 – the launch of which completely passed me by. Thomas Ingenlath, along with Robin Page and Maximillian Missoni delivered a vehicle squarely in the executive class with Scandinavian minimalism and high class materials. I found my S90 by chance, but my motoring life changed for the better upon doing so.
The interim years have borne few changes to the beast, largely trim levels and pricing. Starting with the handsomely equipped Momentum, those thinking their Volvo needs an aggressive slant might choose R-Design. Inscription used to be top dog. Plus and Pro were since added for extra niche trim levels. Audio systems begin as either Volvo’s (perfectly fine) own or (paying through the nose for) Bowers & Wilkins, containing huge wattage outputs and speaker count.
Since owning Nimrod, diesel has become the fuel of Beelzebub. Volvo’s aim is to wean customers gently away from fossil fuels onto hybrids and then electrical power, becoming electric only from, or even before 2030. At launch, 90s came with four cylinder 2-litre engines, both petrol and diesel, in various states of tune; petrol from 187 to 320bhp with diesel 148 to 235bhp. Drive being frontward unless AWD. Hybrid power was also offered from the start; petrol driven, AWD, turbo- and supercharged with electrical power driving the rear.
A 2020 facelift brought minimal exterior changes. Bright trim brought more external chrome or by choosing Dark turned these gloss black. The ‘God of Thunder’ remains on lighting duties with the ‘lion’s expression’ front valance now a little more formal.
Ah yes, the global semi-conductor shortage. Volvo UK’s website clearly informs prospective customers of a delay of “maybe nine or ten months. But the wait is worthwhile!” Having looked into sales figures of the S90, the saloon has become an ever rarer breed. According to carsalesbase, saloon figures are combined with the V estate but still muster agreeable numbers. But with such delays, the Daqing, China plant can hardly be pumping them out by the minute as rivals in Germany clearly are. But we’re heading off topic.
Is there any future for the Sino-Swedish saloon? Today in the UK, those well heeled and Swedish in taste who fancy taking on the S90 (starting at £63,000 or over £1,000 per month) have but one option, the T8 AWD Recharge. Consisting of that same petrol engine with plug-in hybrid assistance increases the output to what some may consider an un-Volvo 455bhp (but with 112mph capped limit). Whisper quiet electric range is over 50 miles and one can recharge the hybrid with braking en route to the office, if you’ve forgotten the cable. Over 350mpg is advertised but in the real world expect considerably less. And of course the car wears opposing side fuel flaps; one for petrol insertion, t’uther for the plug.
Other options are also rather limited. Colours, (no added charge) mainly soberly drab, there are but seven. None do the car justice as Luminous Sand (but I would say that) and there’s no other wheel designs on offer; 19”diameter with eight aerodynamic spokes is your lot. Trim levels, again are really the only difference. Plus being standard or the (£5k extra) Ultimate. If you can’t possibly live with just a heated windscreen, Harman Kardonn sound system and LED headlights, Ultimate bags you full LED headlights along with a Head Up Display, laminated side windows and a sunroof. Queues this side, please. And don’t forget the 19 speaker Bowers & Wilkins 1,460 watt system!
Inside hasn’t changed much from when Nimrod was but a lad. Standard (and supremely comfy) leather seating and trim in black, sorry, charcoal or, lifting the ambiance immensely, blonde. Whereas my old motor’s interior surround contains wood with a warming glow that is also a tactile delight, the new model has a cooling grey ash, tempering any ardour. Whilst pleasant enough, it’s also rather austere. One can opt for ventilated Nappa seat leather. Or, as a complete turnaround, seats covered in a wool blend in a fetching Midnight Zinc. This appeals to your author as the package also includes the Orrefors glass gearstick for the left hand to caress. But the interior is then a sea of grey, which to these neurones is actually a notch above that of everything black.
How are the readership with tinted windows? I find them gauche, irrelevant and make manoeuvring on summer evenings, never mind those in daylight saving trickier than necessary. Such a saloon, for this is a Swedish Buick, or possibly a Chinese Chrysler, needs not such frippery. Do S90’s transport dignitaries require such privacy? One might expect the head honchos of Pågen Krisprolls[1] to be chauffeured around as such but mere mortals do not need any more opaque veneers masking their identity. Glass is for seeing through, unless a criminal.
Which is a word which comes to mind in terms of what’s happening to the whole saloon brigade these past umpteen years. Bias will always remain but this author believes the S90 is a vehicle exuding class, a most relaxing feeling that can be sporting when necessary but genteel otherwise. The car might not bloody the German nose but by Beowulf, it outperforms in style alone. And show them a side they never knew. Something humane. Long live the Volvo S90.
[1] I enquired but other than thanking me for buying their delicious Krisprolls, no other information was provided.
Author’s footnote; since writing this, Volvo has quietly reintroduced the marginally smaller S60 into the UK market as an AWD only event. Sales were halted just before Christmas 2022. Perhaps there’s an inkling of the saloon not leaving altogether? Or wishful thinking?
Driven To Write 
I’m with you on proper saloons. They are a dying breed sadly. Still, I think Volvo missed a trick when they dropped their mighty V8 engines. Great article though. Thank you.
Me too, Tim – though my own choice would be the V90 rather than the S90, even if the load space is less practical than Volvo estates of yore. An elegant vehicle and an elegant article – thank you Andrew. I just wish I could see the point of low profile tyres but I suspect that for me they will always look, er, what’s the word? – wrong…..
This would be one of the few truly elegant cars of the last ten years. I am with you on salooniness despite being the quondam owner of a fifth-door car for more than two decades. Having lived with a four-door for five years I can´t think of any incidents where missing the hatch made me miss a beat.
It is such a gorgeous car, especially the station wagon model. My wife is an unwavering admirer of Volvo, I wish I could buy her one, even if I am a bit wary of European cars nowadays.
Good evening, Andrew, and thank you for the update on the S90. Is it really two and a half years since you acquired Nimrod? (My, how time flies at my time of life!)
I’m delighted to read that Nimrod is still proving such an amiable companion. If I were asked to describe the S90 in a single word, the one that comes immediately to mind is ‘civilized’, although subtle, understated, discreet, sophisticated and classy also describe the car accurately. One must commend Geely for allowing Volvo the creative freedom to continue ploughing their uniquely Swedish furrow and not waste time and effort trying to compete with the German premium triumvirate on their own ground. As Jaguar knows to its cost, it’s a futile exercise.
Well done also to Volvo for not tinkering too much with the S90. Facelifts rarely improve a design, they are just about offering something different, not better. It is difficult to think of a facelift that markedly improved upon the original design, but easy to think of many that moved the dial in the opposite direction to varying degrees between ‘meh’ and ‘Fiat Charter’.
As for Range Rover, I can understand the temptation but I would counsel that you resist at all costs. They are fine and handsome vehicles, but still no paragons of reliability, and have a bit too much of a ‘premiership footballer’ image for my taste.
Its too big. It doesn’t fit in any UK parking space, and if it does the car next to it can’t open its doors.
Having grown up in the land of giant cars it would be fine there, but please… not here.
Totally agree. Here in southern Europe, ten or fifteen extra millimetres in length can mean the difference between finding a parking spot on a street or driving around the neighborhood for the eleventh time.
As for width, here in Spain the legal width for parking garage places is 2500mm, or so I’ve been told, but I guess it doesn’t apply to older garages, or it’s not so precisely enforced, because I’ve been to some garages where you’d struggle to get out of the car without brushing against the flanks of both your car and the one beside it; the penalty for parking a 1800mm wide “compact” car in a spot designed for a 1500mm Seat 600.
As for the S90, I really like it and would love to make a really long road trip in it. I think it would be a very good long distance car that looks relaxing (especially in a light-coloured interior), quiet, and non-agressive. I would plan my trip to avoid tight parking spaces, though!
I’m another fan of proper saloon cars, with a decent rear overhang. Sadly not a fan of Chinese cars, or faux-leather upholstery. I do like the black stuff though – I’m doing my bit to save the planet by driving a car with big performance that does 55 mpg and has low CO2 emissions, and I will make it last at least twenty years to lower the carbon footprint.
As a tangent, today I’m seeing diesel cheaper that petrol again in garages in Cork – the world is getting back to normal perhaps.
Andrew- the S90 is one of my favourite cars and I think you’d be pushed to find one with a nicer interior, or indeed a better all-round car.
I’m quite happy looking at other cars online having realised that what I really want is the car I’ve got now. I’ve enjoyed driving Volkswagen T-Rocs and Tiguans as courtesy cars very much, but once the novelty had worn off, I think it would dawn on me that they’re too big for what I need.
The commanding seating position and the refinement are pleasing, though, so I can see the attraction of a Range-Rover. I was going to suggest renting one or asking a dealer to loan one to you, but that might be dangerous. I think you’d regret selling the Volvo.
It is always a pleasure in Germany to see cars like this Volvo, the Peugeot 508 and the Alfa Giulia instead all those Tiguans or SUVs of Mercedes, BMW or Audi.
Yes, the S90 strikes me as almost the polar opposite of the Ford Explorer discussed yesterday. Civilised and urbane, as opposed to “active” or “adventurous”. If the idealised Explorer buyer wrestles a grizzly bear before lunch and plays lead guitar in a Dad rock band at the weekend, then I visualise an S90 driver as playing in a string quartet (I bet the boot can swallow a cello case) and quietly building up a rather good art collection through shrewd rather than lavish buying.
Regardless, I wish Andrew many more happy years with Nimrod. How many drivers of the big German SUVs would name their steeds thus classically, I wonder?
I wouldn’t mention the Volvo in the same sentence as the Giulia. The Giulia is a Bimmer look-alike with a different aggressive front.
Alfa Romeo has lost what Volvo was able to maintain.
Yes, the Giulia shares a lot of the recipe of the BMW sedans. But was this not always so in the past – more or less.
Here in Germany it is an exotic car and often in red, blue or green. I never saw a BMW 3-series in red, because it has to wear grey or black.
I had forgotten Volvo was still around. Oops!
I have to wonder at the extra-cost sound system. How good are the buyer’s ears? If the original is, by your own admission perfectly fine, then what is the point? Is it sheer snob-value, being able to Drop That Name in conversation, or is it offered for the top-flight musicians who can (presumably) pick the difference, and afford to pay for it?
It’s interesting to see the mention of 9-10 month wait there for the S90. My local dealership here in the US has a S90 AWD Ultimate sitting on the lot available. Not custom order, of course. Volvo also has one of the highest inventories for days on lot. Vast majority are SUVs though.
And me Tim. Never had a SUV and unlikely that I ever will. Will get another estate car if I need extra space. Lovely article Andrew but a Range Rover – really???
Hello everybody
César, in Portugal parking dimensions are regulated by the municipality.
Here in Lisbon, where space is scarce, width minimum is 2.3m. Lenght is 5m when parking parallel to the kerb, 4.5 when perpendicular, 4.2 when the single os 60 or 45 degrees.
A friend and co-worker of mine, traffic engineer, used to justify it this way around 2013:
‘there is no space available to design parking spots for the largest car (Volvo S90? 🤣). We design for the average sized car.’
‘but what car is that?’
‘the average sized car is also the most popular nowadays: the Renault Megane SW’.
Of course, as cars dimensions keep growing up, I can only imagine how harder is becoming parking them.
And I don’t understand how people buy them, though I suspect people are fooled by design language: does anyone looks at the measurement of a 4 spot Smart ?
Nota that I can complain: using only older machinery (whose dimensions are not above Said Renault), I get more chances of finding a parking spot, as S90s 🤣 leave more vacant ones…
Hello everybody
César, in Portugal parking dimensions are regulated by the municipality.
Here in Lisbon, where space is scarce, width minimum is 2.3m. Lenght is 5m when parking parallel to the kerb, 4.5 when perpendicular, 4.2 when the single os 60 or 45 degrees.
A friend and co-worker of mine, traffic engineer, used to justify it this way around 2013:
‘there is no space available to design parking spots for the largest car (Volvo S90? 🤣). We design for the average sized car.’
‘but what car is that?’
‘the average sized car is also the most popular nowadays: the Renault Megane SW’.
Of course, as cars dimensions keep growing up, I can only imagine how harder is becoming parking them.
And I don’t understand how people buy them, though I suspect people are fooled by design language: does anyone looks at the measurement of a 4 spot Smart ?
Note that I can t complain: using only older machinery (whose dimensions are not above Said Renault), I get more chances of finding a parking spot, as S90s 🤣 leave more vacant ones…
Apologies for automatic writing errors 🙄
We forgive you, Gustavo. And thank you for your input.
My S90 fits comfortably both on the drive at home and in the office car park, luckily. And hopefully the UK government don’t read this, else it might give them new and ever more ridiculous ways to tax us! Once upon time, this country had window tax…
Hi there DE
Thanks for your comments regarding the Sino-Swedish brand. I find it a shame you feel this way but this is of course your prerogative. If their engined wares caused you to seek another form of dynamism elsewhere, perhaps one of their electrical devices may suit better?
May I suggest this?
https://driventowrite.com/2022/03/12/things-havent-worked-out-as-expected-volvo-c40-recharge/
Interesting cars these SPA platform Volvos, they have truly massive showroom appeal inside and out but given their technically impressive chassis I’ve found them to be very disappointing indeed dynamically. I went down to the Volvo dealer with my wallet at the ready to try a new V90 at launch an went away very disappointed; the engines might be acceptable in a van but ruined any illusion of being a sophisticated car, and the ride was incredibly jiggly and yet the car posessed the dynamic inertness of a VAG product.
I wanted to love them, I really did, but every subsequent encounter has confirmed my belief that despite the beautiful interior and killer stereo every single metre driven in one would be less enjoyable than in a Mercedes Benz or BMW.
None of this is really new to Volvo, I’ve owned loads and they all managed to expertly blend disappointing ride quality with thoroughly unenjoyable road manners.
I believe SavageGeese on YouTube echo my thoughts on a recent XC90 review.
Thank you Andrew 🙂
When I knew about the Window Tax, I had a good laugh!
(I Will explain because some non British readers may not be aware of it)
But when I thought about it, it didn’t seem so strange (that is, following the principle that those who have more material resources should pay higher taxes) : until glass became cheap ( and it’s production stopped being hand made), it was very expensive.
So, if you had large window areas on your house, you had to be wealthier than those who hadn’t them.
The same applies to the number of facade apertures : then, like now, any window is an expensive device. It requires mechanisms to open and close, precision taylored frames, the hability to withstand weather agressions and to protect from wind, rain, etc. Back then, each one needed a beam or an arch above it (in fact, a small bridge) which is never a cheap constructive feature…
This applies to a not very sunny place like England, off course. On southern Europe it wouldn’t make sense.
So, it might not have been such an inadequate idea…
Worst was in Portugal around the fifties I guess, when those who owned a lighter needed a paid permit… in order to protect the national match industry!