• Well-made cabin employs high-quality materials
• Central touchscreen replaces much of the switchgear
• Very similar layout to the XC90 SUV’s interior

How is the quality and layout?

Climb aboard the Volvo V90 and you’ll appreciate that the cabin is full of lovely materials, from soft leather to wood or metallic trims that really lift the interior. It’s strikingly bare as well – most of the controls and buttons have migrated to the central screen so the cabin looks simple but elegant and really attractive.

However, if you’ve been in an XC90 you might get a sense of déjà vu, so similar are their cabins. We don’t think this a bad thing, though, and compared with rivals Volvo has a distinct style all of its own. Quality is easily a match to the German alternatives, too.

Infotainment and tech

If you’re the type of person who likes physical heating controls, you are out of luck. The climate controls, including the heated seats and steering wheel, are all integrated into the central touchscreen. It doesn’t take long to get used to this, but good though Volvo’s infotainment interfaces are, it’s still not as easy as using physical buttons. Gladly, these do still exist for the heated windscreen and rear window.

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The most recent tech upgrade inside the V90 is a very thorough integration of Google. This goes beyond Google Maps – also present and correct – to include Google Assistant, giving you easy ‘Hey Google’ voice control over many of the functions that were previously relegated to the touchscreen. There’s extensive app-integration, too, though the touchscreen menus are slightly more fiddly than before, should you not want to talk to your car.

Volvo also moved the drive mode controls to the touchscreen. Where once you could easily flick between all-electric and hybrid mode using a rotary dial on the centre console, it’s now buried within a menu that takes a few prods to get to.

Comfort

• Volvo’s seats are the industry benchmark
• Lots of space for passengers
• Rear seats especially generous

If it’s comfort you crave from a car in this class, we suggest you make the Volvo showroom your first port of call. From the superb seats to the calming interior design, the V90 is a masterclass in luxurious relaxation on wheels.

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You’d expect accommodation in the front to be good, of course, but the rear seats are nothing short of supremely comfortable. as well. And, while the V90 disappoints for boot space, it excels in rear passenger room. Two adults will easily make themselves at home, and three will be able to travel in relative harmony.

The rear head rests are notable, as they are adjustable but flush with the seat backrest. This means you don’t have to remove them when fitting a child seat. Wool upholstery is available instead of leather, although it felt overstuffed compared to the soft leather of our long-term test car. We’ve no complaints about the strong heating and cooling abilities of the front seats, which made cold winter mornings and hot summer days far more tolerable.