Volvo S90

Volvo S90 at a glance

The second S90 replaced the Volvo S80 as the brand's flagship saloon. Its estate twin is the Volvo V90, and its technology came from the Volvo XC90 of 2015.

The first S90: the renamed Volvo 960 (1996–1998)

From the 1997 model year Volvo renamed the 960 saloon the S90 and the estate the V90, matching its new naming scheme. European markets received the new names in late 1996. The cars kept the 960's square styling, an aluminium 24-valve straight-six and a multi-link rear suspension with a transverse composite leaf spring.

The 2.5-litre six was rated at 120 or 125 kW (163 or 170 PS). The 2.9-litre six, launched at 150 kW (204 PS) in the 960, was the main engine. A five-speed manual gearbox was available in Europe, and a four-speed automatic was standard in many markets. All versions drove the rear wheels, which made the S90/V90 one of the last rear-wheel-drive Volvos for a quarter of a century. The old 1cars review gave the saloon's dimensions as 4,871 × 1,750 × 1,420 mm and a kerb weight of 1,643–1,700 kg.

Production ended in 1998. The 960, S90 and V90 together reached 154,329 cars: 112,710 saloons and 41,619 estates. The front-wheel-drive S80 took over in 1998.

The second S90: design, platform and production

Volvo released the first official photos of the new S90 in December 2015 and showed it at the Detroit motor show in January 2016. Its styling, with T-shaped "Thor's hammer" LED daytime running lights, won a production-car design award for 2015. The car uses Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), with a body of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel plus aluminium parts in the front structure.

Production started in Torslanda, Sweden, but moved to Daqing in China by mid-2017; from then on Daqing supplied Europe, with cars shipped by train. Local assembly also took place in Malaysia and India. A long-wheelbase S90 with 120 mm more legroom in the back was first shown in China in November 2016. It became the standard body in the United States from 2018 and was offered alongside the normal car in Europe.

Engines and gearboxes of the S90 II

Every second-generation S90 has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Drive-E engine. Diesels used two turbochargers; the D5 added PowerPulse, a small tank of compressed air that spins up the turbo from low revs to cut lag. The T6 combined a turbocharger with a supercharger, and the T8 Twin Engine added an electric motor on the rear axle.

Most versions use an eight-speed Aisin automatic. Early front-wheel-drive D3 and D4 cars could also be ordered with a six-speed manual gearbox, and the old 1cars review gave 8.2 seconds to 100 km/h for the manual D4. The all-wheel-drive system uses an electronically controlled clutch that sends torque to the rear axle when needed. Launch data quoted the D5 at 7.3 seconds to 100 km/h, 230 km/h and about 5.1 l/100 km on the old NEDC cycle.

From 2020 Volvo added 48-volt mild-hybrid engines, and over the following years the diesels and plain petrol engines disappeared from most markets. The early T8 offered about 45 km of electric range on the NEDC cycle; the Recharge T8 of 2022 brought a stronger rear motor with 105 kW.

Compared with the D4 diesel, which carries about 13 kg per kW, the 338 kW Recharge T8 needs only about 6.4 kg per kW even at 2,150 kg. That 1cars calculation explains why the heaviest S90 is also by far the quickest.

Interior, technology and safety

Inside, a large portrait touchscreen for the Sensus system replaces most buttons, and a 12.3-inch digital instrument display sits behind the wheel. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were available. The Inscription trim offered ventilated front seats and a separate climate panel for the rear seats. The rear bench seats three, though the middle place suits shorter trips; the long-wheelbase car is the one to choose for chauffeur use.

The S90 carried Volvo's full safety equipment. City Safety automatic braking detects cars, pedestrians, cyclists and large animals, and Pilot Assist keeps the car in its lane up to about 130 km/h. Run-off-road protection and blind-spot monitoring were also available.

Updates and the end of the S90

A February 2020 update brought mild-hybrid engines, sequential LED indicators and new bumper details. In 2022 the British range was cut to the Recharge plug-in hybrid only. From the 2023 model year the American S90 lost its conventional engines and used mild hybrids as the base.

Sales never matched the German rivals. In the United States the best year was 2017 with 8,640 cars; in China, where the long-wheelbase car sold well, deliveries peaked at 42,668 in 2019. Volvo withdrew the saloon from Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia, and production for those markets ended in late 2024 with the 2025 model year. A further facelift in April 2025, with the front of the 2024 XC90 and an 11.2-inch screen, was limited to China, the Middle East and South Korea. In Europe the electric ES90 of 2025 now fills the gap.

Rivals: how the S90 compares

The S90's advantages are its quiet cabin, comfortable seats and safety record. Its weak points are the four-cylinder-only range, which sounds less refined than the six-cylinder rivals, and the limited dealer support now that it has left many markets. Any two cars can be checked side by side in the comparison tool.