2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge keeps its luxury appeal but reliability might be an issue
Volvo offers luxury and beauty in its flagship three-row SUV. Buyers who want fuel savings and reliability with their supple, luxurious touches might have to look a little harder.
This story was originally published in The Inquirer on April 10, 2022.
2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge T8 eAWD R-Design: Gas-saving safety box?
Price: $80,900 as tested. Climate Package adds heated rear seats and steering wheel and headlight cleaners for $750; Advanced Package adds graphical coolness for $1,650; summer tires on 22-inch wheels, $1,100; more noted throughout.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes that it “looks like an upper-class SUV, roomy and richly appointed interior, plug-in hybrid’s hasty acceleration,” but not that “gas engines make uncouth noises, uneven roads produce a bumpy ride, rival plug-in hybrids are more efficient.”
Marketer’s pitch: “For life. The plug-in hybrid SUV you trust to protect your family, now protects their future.”
Reality: Depends on your idea of “safe” and “gas saving.”
What’s new: Last tested in Driver’s Seat for the 2020 model year, the XC90 now features just a few packaging changes over the 2021 model year.
The brand continues to rack up IIHS safety awards.
Now, the Recharge also gets a new Extended Range version that almost doubles the pure electric range from 18 to 35 miles. We tested the boring, old 18-mile ranger.
Up to speed: The 2.0-liter super- and turbo-charged four cylinder engine with a plug-in hybrid provides combined 400 horsepower. The XC90 hits 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, according to a 2021 test on a site I’ve avoided referencing up till now, newcartestdrive.com.
The Extended Range also increases the horsepower to 455.
Shifty: The 8-speed transmission does its job quietly and without drawing much attention to itself.
On the road: Looking back, two years ago Mr. Driver’s Seat found the XC90 to be rough on the highways. This time around, on a couple trips into Philadelphia, the large SUV handled fairly well and was not at all rough on bumps or road seams. I’m sure this is due to the $1,800 4-corner air suspension.
Though the XC90 sports five drive modes, Constant AWD seemed the best at first for steady handling.
But after a few days I found that Sport mode made the XC90 a delight. It feels like it’s on rails on narrow curvy roads, more than almost any three-row SUV I can recall. And the exhaust note adds a pleasant tone to the ride.
Hybrid mode saves the fuel, of course, but it can be a little balky. Not much, but enough to notice.
It’s sad that the silver rolly bar that controlled the drive mode seems to have gone, and this is only nested inside the screen now. Not as cumbersome as one might think, but a downgrade.
Driver’s Seat: Aaah, it’s a Volvo. The leather-covered seat cradles the driver and provides a happy home. Last time around we had massage seats, though, but it costs $6,000 more.
Still, the black dashboard is attractive and luxurious, as are the silver controls and, well, everything. Volvo knows how to make a cockpit.
Friends and stuff: Middle-row passengers should be reasonably happy in the corners. The seat is comfortable and supportive, and leg, foot, and headroom are all wonderful. The seats are a tad narrow and the seatback fairly straight.
The middle passenger won’t be so delighted, suffering a small removable seat, a tall floor hump and an intrusive console. At least the whole row shifts forward and backward.
That won’t help the third-row passengers much. The accommodations back there feature tight quarters , although the seat itself is as soft as the others.
The XC90 does require extra-strength operators, though. While standing in the IKEA parking lot — side note: Did you ever try finding a dark-blue Volvo XC90 in an IKEA parking lot? They’re just about every other car — I found that folding, moving, and adjusting the seats took some force.
In the back, you’ll find room for 12.6 cubic feet of Swedish decor, 35.6 behind the second row, and 65.5 for flatpack furniture behind the first.
Play some tunes: Volvo remains committed to its vertical, iPad-looking infotainment center. Among touchscreen-based systems, it’s one of the most intuitive. Either it’s getting better or I am, as I had less trouble than usual swiping through choices.
The $3,200 Bowers and Wilkins Premium Sound system is listed as a separate line item over the Harman Kardon Premium Sound that’s included with the R-Design packaging. Whether all four of those great names had a hand in things or whether two of them elbow out the others, sound is excellent, about an A-, with all manner of equalizer adjustments and concert hall settings.
Keeping warm and cool: It’s all touchscreen for these controls, so not too easy to follow along while driving.
Fuel economy: Mr. Driver’s Seat averaged about 24 mpg in with a couple trips to Philadelphia, mostly highway but with some stop-and-go and country road driving.
Where its built: Gothenburg, Sweden
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the XC90 reliability to be a 1 out of 5.
In the end: It’s hard to consider something a safe choice when the reliability rating is this low. Too bad, because it’s a beautiful, comfortable vehicle, although the electro-sippiness is also suspect. Maybe the Extended Range will solve that problem.
This story was originally published in The Inquirer on April 10, 2022.