2024 Volvo S90 Recharge Review and Test Drive

The plug-in hybrid luxury sedan has plenty of power and a designer-level interior, but it's shy on tech.

Jim Resnick | 

Oct 10, 2024 | 5 min read

Jim Resnick

With 455 horsepower, the Volvo S90 Recharge delivers more power than most luxury hybrid sedan competitors. It also tops the two-model S90 range in power and standard equipment. As a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) competing in a field of hybrid luxury sedans, the 2024 S90 Recharge can provide up to 41 miles of pure electric range, Volvo claims, though I found different results in testing.

The 2024 Volvo S90 comes in Plus and Ultra trim levels with either mild hybrid (B6) or plug-in hybrid (Recharge) electrification. Base prices range from the high $50,000s to the low $70,000s, including the destination charge to ship the car from the Daqing, China, factory that builds it to your local dealership. The S90 Recharge does not qualify for a federal tax credit.

For this S90 review, I test-drove the Recharge AWD Ultimate in Arizona. Optional equipment included a Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system, adjustable suspension, and the Lounge package, bringing the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $78,195, including the $1,095 destination charge. Volvo provided the vehicle for this S90 review.

Jim Resnick

Is the 2024 Volvo S90 a Good Car?

If you fancy a different luxury sedan with a reserved design and a long record of safety innovation, the Volvo S90 might be for you. The most compelling traits the car has versus its main competition — the Audi A6 55 TFSI hybrid, BMW 550e xDrive PHEV, and Mercedes-Benz E450 hybrid — are slightly more power and a stellar interior. The soothing, quiet cabin centers around the best seats I've experienced in a long time.

Jim Resnick

Reserved Yet Handsome Exterior Design Marks the Volvo S90

Even though the current S90 model debuted in 2016 as a 2017 model, it remains a handsome, reserved sedan with clean and conservative lines. By contrast, the Audi A6's arched roofline hasn't changed much in years, BMW's latest 5 Series suffers an awkward front end, and the current Mercedes E-Class features softer shapes.

The interior shines brightest, with open-pore wood, high-gloss black plastic, a crystal shifter, and perforated leather, providing a top-quality look and feel. Access to many functions, such as the climate controls, audio system, safety features, and massaging seats, requires using the center touchscreen. Front storage space is limited.

The S90s seats are among the best I've ever sat in, as quantified by the American Chiropractic Association, which endorses them exclusively. Lumbar adjustments and massaging are the icing on the cake. Meanwhile, at more than 40 inches, there's limo-like legroom for back-seat passengers. Cargo space is shy for the segment at 13.5 cubic-feet, though the Audi A6 offers barely more at 13.7. The BMW 5 Series trunk provides 18.3 cu-ft.

Jim Resnick

Good Tech in the S90, but Not Quite Full Tech

While the 2024 Volvo S90 comes with the latest technical advances, that tech doesn't smack you in the face as you enter the car. The S90 is much more subtle than some rivals, with most of its tech sitting quietly under the surface. You can configure the digital instruments for each driving mode: Auto, Pure (electric), Power, Hybrid, Charge, and Constant AWD.

The 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display is small by modern standards and features tiles you swipe for access to Google Maps, audio, phone, and car status such as tire pressure.

Try as I might, I could not fool the native voice recognition system. However, my S90 test car would not pair my iPhone with the system, even after trying five different conventional cables.

The S90 comes with the typical safety features you would expect, and the standard Pilot Assist system pairs adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assist. Unfortunately, Pilot Assist did not center the vehicle so well. Less-than-perfect highway surfaces also easily tripped up the system, and short breaks in lane lines caused steering confusion. I stopped using Pilot Assist on the third day with the car.

Counterintuitively, a quick touch of the cruise control buttons adjusts speed in 5 mph increments. You must press and hold those buttons to raise or lower cruising speed by 1 mph increments.

Jim Resnick

Swedish Cocoon on Wheels: The S90 Proves Driving Therapy Is a Thing

With 455 combined horsepower from combustion and electric power units, the S90 Recharge can accelerate rapidly. However, whereas other hybrids from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes use six-cylinder engines, the S90 Recharge uses a supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. That results in harsher operation and less refinement when the revs climb.

Underway, the S90 Recharge comes into its own with sublime ride quality and no wind noise on the highway. As roads twist, the comfort-tuned S90 doesn't love changing direction despite the test car's adjustable suspension. Even in the firmest setting, the Volvo exhibited stiffer shock damping but no greater handling ability. Grip from the Continental all-season tires felt adequate but not sporting.

The S90 Recharge is a plug-in hybrid, so you can select purely electric thrust. After a full overnight charge, I saw a maximum predicted range of 39 miles, a little better than the EPA rating of 38 shown on the car's window sticker. For two days, it bettered that figure, once giving me 43 miles and then 50 miles of electric range. However, on my 73-mile mixed driving loop, the sedan returned only 25.3 mpg, falling short of the EPA rating of 29 mpg in combined driving.

Respite is the best way to describe driving the S90 Recharge. With those supportive seats set to massage, the outstanding 19-speaker, 1,410-watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system set to Schubert, and cruise control set to adapt, getting away from it all means shutting the door — even just sitting in the parking lot.

Jim Resnick

Volvo's S90 Recharge lives in the luxury sedan segment, where top European and Japanese brands have built their reputations. Because it debuted for the 2017 model year, however, it's an aging model that could use an update. Though the car doesn't shine when you (or the roads) get sporty, it does when steady, relaxed motoring is the target. It's a worthy but aging luxury sedan with only BMW's 550e xDrive as a PHEV rival.

Jim Resnick

From racing exotic sports cars, to ranking new cars, to peeling back layers of cover up in an exhaust emissions scandal, Jim has chronicled the automotive sector for decades. Jim has also worked inside the corporate headquarters of three carmakers, and therefore understands how the automotive sausage is really made. But Jim’s affinity for vehicles takes a back seat to finding the truth and the cultural implications of modern transportation. He has also lectured at universities to engineering and policy students and faculty on the industry’s relationship with legislation in the wake of the diesel exhaust emissions scandal several years ago. Put simply, Jim reports on autos, mobility, tech, car culture, and the traffic jam of topics within.