Volvo V90: the last of Volvo’s big estates

The Volvo V90 was a mid-size luxury estate built from 2016 to 2025. It was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016, two months after the S90 saloon, and its end marked the conclusion of more than six decades of Volvo station wagon production.

Volvo V90 at a glance

History of the Volvo V90

The V90 followed the S90 saloon to Geneva in March 2016 and was offered in several trim levels. In the United States it could only be bought by special order because dealers concentrated on the V90 Cross Country, and the car was withdrawn from that market after 2021. Globally it was discontinued in 2025 as Volvo shifted its focus to electric cars and SUVs; the very last V90 was built in October 2025.

Cross Country

Previewed before the 2016 Paris show, the V90 Cross Country is a raised, all-wheel-drive version intended for rough terrain, unsealed roads and light off-road use. On 30 October 2017 Volvo announced an Ocean Race edition to celebrate the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race, with orange touches on the bumpers, carbon fibre interior trim, orange stitching and seatbelts and a detachable torch in the boot; 84 were sold in the United States, 41 as 2018 cars and 43 as 2019 cars.

Updates

In February 2020 photographs of a refreshed V90 leaked along with the S90, showing sequential LED tail lamps and chrome garnish on the front bumper of Inscription versions. In 2022 Volvo introduced a mild hybrid V90 that replaced the belt-driven supercharger with an electric one and added a belt alternator starter. In 2023 conventional engines were dropped in the United States, making mild hybrids the base option. In July 2024 the V90 returned to Britain in T6 Plus and T8 Ultra trim as a plug-in hybrid only.

Throughout its life the V90 used 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines from the VEA family. The more powerful petrol engines and the T8 plug-in hybrid are compound charged, and the D5 diesel features Volvo’s PowerPulse system to cut turbo lag along with i-Art injection.

Design and features

• Estate flagship: the wagon version of the S90 saloon.
• Cross Country: raised, all-wheel-drive version for rough roads.
• Ocean Race edition: a 2017 special with orange detailing.
• Electrification: mild hybrid from 2022 and a T8 plug-in hybrid.
• End of an era: the last V90 was built in October 2025.

Volvo V90 versions

• V90: the standard estate.
• V90 Cross Country: raised all-wheel-drive version.
• V90 Cross Country Ocean Race (2017): 84 sold in the United States.
• V90 mild hybrid (2022): electric supercharger and belt alternator starter.
• V90 Recharge T8: plug-in hybrid, the only UK version from 2024.

The V90 is the estate version of the Volvo S90, and it follows the earlier Volvo V70 as Volvo’s large wagon. More cars are in the Volvo collection.

Sources

• Volvo V90, English Wikipedia: launch, markets, Cross Country, editions, updates, engines