Should you buy one?

This is a stylish, usable and unpretentious estate that has a lot going for it. It’s efficient, lovely inside and comes packed with advanced safety kit. If ultimate practicality isn’t your biggest concern it’s certainly worth thinking about.

Theoretically, the T6 Recharge plug-in hybrid should be the most economical – after all, you can drive it for miles on electric power alone. However, T8 is the only way to get Ultimate spec which makes this a truly luxurious estate.

What we like

We like that it’s a credible alternative to the default prestige choice of the BMW 5 Series Touring. And that this credibility comes from Volvo’s own philosophy, rather than trying to take the Germans on at their own game.

Comfort and style are the key features here. The V90 is a lovely car to spend large amounts of time in and, though the infotainment can appear a little fiddly, it all works very well. We could grumble about the boot space, but it’s actually good by plug-in hybrid standards.

What we don’t like

At least one pure petrol or diesel option would be nice, and we’d like to combine the plushest trim with the lesser engine. The 3.6kW charging rate is poor by modern standards.