Volvo V90

On the inside too, the Volvo V90 is as luxurious as a station wagon could be, as it outclasses even some of the similarly priced sedans in terms of sheer premium appeal. The interior cabin is a good mix of soft-touch black and beige Nappa leather upholstery, with good doses of faux wood and aluminum inserts.

The driver’s cockpit looks quite futuristic with the three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel along with a full TFT instrument console behind it. The centre of attraction here is the big and vertically laid out touchscreen infotainment system, which houses the fantastic Bowers and Wilkins audio system and controls for the four-zone automatic climate control.

The spacious and luxurious cabin is enhanced even more by the extensive list of features onboard, and the airiness of the cabin is further increased by the large window panels on the sides and massive panoramic sunroof above. Even the boot space of the Volvo V90 is quite cavernous.

While the station wagons are perceived to be quite boring in terms of visual appeal, that is not at all the case with the Volvo V90. The estate vehicle is the sleekest a station wagon can get, and commands a great road presence for that matter.

At the front, the Volvo V90 maintains a wide stance of its own, with the large rounded rectangular grille containing vertical slats and the traditional diagonal Volvo logo taking the centre stage. On the sides of the front face, one does get pentagonal shaped all-LED headlamps, with the familiar Thor’s hammer-shaped daytime running LEDs. The front bumper looks quite bulky, which is all down to large air dams with a heavy dose of chrome surrounding it, beneath which sit the petite LED fog lamps.

The Volvo V90 looks very elegant when viewed from the sides, thanks to the long wheelbase and low ground clearance, giving it a low slung stance, which is then further accentuated by the large multi-spoke machined alloy wheels. There is a sleek character line flowing just below the window waistline, which gives the sense of continuity here. The large door mounted rearview mirrors and large window panels make the vehicle look even bigger.

At the rear too, the Volvo V90 maintains its squat stance, with rakish windscreen and Christmas tree-like LED tail lamps with boomerang-shaped light inserts within them. At the middle of the rather small boot is a large hexagonal housing for the license plate.

The Volvo V90, being a station wagon, focuses much more on ride quality and comfort of the inner occupants, which is well taken care of by the fantastically tuned suspension setup on a softer side. Due to the low slung as well as the wide stance of the Volvo V90, it feels very planted to drive, something which only gets better by the very responsive steering.

For the Singapore market, the sole engine and gearbox option for the Volvo V90 is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine coupled to an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The engine produces quite healthy power and torque outputs, which are rated at 324 PS and 400 Nm respectively.

A benchmark among station wagons in terms of safety, the Volvo V90 is heavily equipped with safety amenities like the front, side, curtain and knee airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, traction control, pilot assist, adaptive cruise control, distance alert, oncoming lane mitigation, city safety with braking support, run-off road mitigation, driver alert control, road sign information and hill start assist.

The Volvo V90 is one fantastically engineered station wagon which not only fulfills the basic purposes of having a spacious and comfortable cabin but also is a no-compromise vehicle when it comes to luxury and technology on offer.