Car review: Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription Pro

It will cover 28 miles in pure electric mode, boasts an incredible combined fuel consumption figure of 141mpg, emits just 46 g/km - and can be charged up in just two and a half hours

If you want a large, handsome, capacious, highly refined estate that’s still good and manoeuvrable to drive in London, it’s hard to beat the ‘standard’ V90.... unless you opt for the pants-on-fire version, the even more dashing, highly technical, T8 Twin Engine.

It’s a strange name but refers to the fact that this model is a plug-in hybrid; in addition to its 1,969cc four-cylinder petrol engine, it has an electric motor for the back wheels. The combined power output is a hefty 400bhp - enough to send the car from 0-62 mph in just 4.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 155mph. That’s fast.

It will cover 28 miles in pure electric mode, boasts an incredible combined fuel consumption figure of 141mpg, emits just 46 g/km - and can be charged up in just two and a half hours. That’s clean.

The added bonus of that the electric motor, powered by a large 10.4kWh battery pack, fitted unobtrusively into the central section of the car so that it doesn’t impede boot space, is that you can combine petrol and electric to get four-wheel-drive, when it’s slippery, or under fierce acceleration.

The acceleration isn’t just impressive on paper, it’s impressive on the road too, giving this Volvo welcome extra pep for safe overtaking manoeuvres or, for instance, when accelerating up slip roads to join motorway-speed traffic. It’s almost indecently fast.

There are other benefits, compared to the ‘standard’ V90. The ride is slightly firmer, slightly more sporting. This isn’t only a benefit on twistier country roads where it feels more sporty than, for instance, the accomplished V90 D4 Inscription, but also in town where it rides over sleeping policemen with much more aplomb.

The steering, too, feels slightly heavier and is more positive than in the standard car, again amplifying the sense of driver involvement. If you’re an out-and-out sports car driver you will still find the ride and handling a little on the soft side but most Volvo drivers will find it a welcome step up from the norm.

Most drivers won’t select the four-wheel-drive option but will allow the car to ‘choose’, in auto mode, so that it swaps between powers sources, giving you electric serenity when it can, and optimising fuel use, too.

The interior is a great place to be; it’s beautifully designed and appointed, extremely comfortable, very pleasing on the eye. As with other models in the V90 range it loses some of its load-carrying credentials thanks to that sloping rear tailgate, but it’s still a heck of a workhorse and, thanks to those exterior lines, an eye-catching one to boot.

It cruises beautifully, is whisper quiet on motorways, is packed with luxurious kit as standard and is ideal for big families.

The sting in the tail with all this high end technology, of course, is the price. With options - including various luxury packs, a stunning-sounding Bowers and Wilkins sound system, electronic air suspension and so on - it weighed in at a whopping £69,125, way in excess of the already luxurious and highly capable D4 Inscription, at £43,115.

It will nevertheless find a niche with deeper-pocketed drivers who like a little more edge to their car - along with the feel-good factor that comes with driving a Volvo that’s slightly more gentle on the planet, and rather more exclusive.

Details: Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription Pro

Top speed: 155mph

0-62mph: 4.8 seconds

Combined fuel consumption (claimed): 141

Emissions: 46 g/km

Price: £58,455

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