2023 Volvo XC90 Consumer Reviews
Pricing
B5 Core - $57,095 MSRP
Edmunds suggests you pay
$48,621We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 XC90, so we've included reviews for other years of the XC90 since its last redesign.
XC-90 Recharge - The Good & The Bad
Lt Dan, 03/22/2022
2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid T8 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD w/6 Passenger Seating, Prod. End 11/21 (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger gas/electric plug-in hybrid 8A)
53 of 57 people found this review helpful
I have now had (3) XC-90's. Two T-6's and now the 2022 T-8 Inscription Recharge. Interior wise they are all essentially the same except the T-8 has a crystal shift knob. Sound systems are all the same and excellent. I had a loaner with the upgraded sound system in it and its not worth the extra $$$ IMO. So let's talk about the recharge hybrid functions that you likely won't understand just taking a test drive. I've got 20K on mine so I have a lot of drive time with it. The charging cable can be plugged in to a regular 110v outlet in your garage with the adapter that comes with the cable, it takes about 7 hours or so to fully charge. If you have a 220v connection installed you can use the other adapter it comes with and it charges in about 3 hours. A single charge is good for 20 miles. That's it! In my opinion 30-40 miles would be ideal. The hybrid mode varies the engine in between electric (under 70 mph) and gas when you have charge left, otherwise it's all gas all the time. There is substantial lag when you want/need to accelerate quickly in hybrid mode from a standing stop. I mean noticeably a lot, like 1/2 a second a lot. I should point out that the T-8 is NOT AWD all the time like the T-6 (and even that isn't really AWD all the time either) but I digress, you have to go into the menu and select AWD otherwise the car is front wheel drive. The vehicle apparently reserves some of the charge for AWD as the rear engine (rear wheel drive) is electric. To date I have never needed AWD even in the snow. Where is the 400 HP you may be wondering? Well if you change the drive mode from hybrid to sport now you get the full brunt of the 400 HP engine all the time, otherwise, meh, not really all that noticeable in hybrid mode. But, and here's the bad part of that, if you really stomp on it in sport mode, the car takes off like a shot, however, with borderline dangerous torque steer! So hang on to that steering wheel! The actual shifting into gear has 2 modes "D" for drive and "B" for battery. If you use "B" as you should, it charges the battery using your braking and the engine braking a little bit, but its something. The vehicle, for me, gets about 29 MPG average. I drive 24 miles each way to work and I don't have access to a charging station at work or I would be getting way more than that. The best way to drive/manage the vehicle's performance (not gas mileage) in my opinion, is run the vehicle in hybrid mode on local roads, it won't take much to run out the battery. I drive a big portion of my daily drive on the highway where the 400 HP is more of a necessity. So I switch to sport mode entering the highway and switch back to hybrid when I'm back to local. Sounds like a pain, and you don't have to do that, I'm saying how I do it. The XC-90 has a bunch of other features like reserve charge, etc, way too much to go into here. To summarize the XC-90 Recharge is a very nice vehicle. Period, full stop. But the hybrid functionality could use some work. The torque steer is a real issue if you drive aggressively, even occasionally, and the battery life needs improvement. Would I get another one? Given the current fuel prices probably yes.
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Citrus flavored
Liz, 08/13/2022
2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid T8 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD w/Prod. End 11/21 (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger gas/electric plug-in hybrid 8A)
41 of 44 people found this review helpful
Sadly what should’ve been a peach of a car is turned out to be more of a lemon! My first couple of months of the car I was extremely happy with my purchase. Then all the previously mentioned in other reviews issues with the batteries and the module (whatever that is) started. I have had to leave the car for three separate occasions totaling nearly two months as they had difficulties getting parts and what not. To make matters worse we don’t live near the Volvo service center so this has created major issues for us. Volvo is now a dirty word in our household. We wish we would have chosen something with better reliability and saved ourselves continuing headaches!
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Stealth Luxury!
dano77vette, 01/17/2022
updated 01/18/2023
2022 Volvo XC90 T6 Inscription 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
40 of 43 people found this review helpful
XC 90 Inscription hit all the key features that we were looking for and more without the outward appearance of high end luxury. It is just a Volvo (not a Mercedes or BMW!) Comfort was the first consideration. The driving experience, visibility, heads up display and lane keeping make longer drives a breeze. The seats in the car are amazing. Both the driver and the passenger have the same control features...both rare and a must! The interior quality is first rate, leather and wood. The Harman Kardon stereo is superb! The car is equipped with every safety feature currently available and more. Recently when the car detected a quick stop...the seatbelts retracted with modest force pulling us back into the seats...not a problem but a "safety surprise"! It is a big car that drives effortlessly just like a midsize (gas mileage is not the same however) but it is truly peppy. Given the paucity of cars in the market...we were quite lucky connecting with Valenti Volvo of Watertown, CT...they were the only dealer that only charged $500 dollars over invoice...not over list, but over invoice. All other dealers we visited (Kia, Ford, Subaru, etc. were charging over list(with $5 -10K typical) often with lengthy waits for a car that might be coming in. As promised our car was delivered on Christmas eve 2021...and they even provided a big red bow (like on TV). They were fantastic to work with. Long ago we had a Volvo station wagon...this is not your grand dads Volvo! So far so good we are very happy with our "stealth luxury car"!
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Which trim you buy is key! Details are important.
An engineer, 08/08/2023
2022 Volvo XC90 T5 Momentum 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I am a car guy (engineer) working in the auto industry (do not work for Volvo) but I do work for a key Volvo supplier. Never owned a Volvo before my 2021 (S60) and I was so impressed that I also purchased an XC90 T5 for my wife. (In 30 years we have owned Nissan, Infiniti, Honda, VW, BMW, Cadillac and do not have any complaints about any of those brands. They were all trouble-free.) Knowing the history of the engines, I chose the T5 trim for both our S60 and XC90. Those that mention premature rebuild of engines due to excessive oil burning, yes, that has happened, especially with the early T5 engines from 2015-2018. Those issues were addressed with new piston rings so the new T5/T6 engines are usually flawless, except the supercharger on the T6 has had some premature failures. I prefer the T5 (2023 mild hybrid and called B5) because it is a much simpler engine design that has been in production for about 10 years now. Neither of our Volvos consume any appreciable amount of oil between oil changes. The T5 feels peppy enough as long as you're not driving a loaded car all the time. Due to the numerous issues with the Recharge (T8), I recommend to avoid it. The ride in the XC90 is great with no appreciable wind noise. It is solid and definitely the most solid car we have ever owned. The S60 is very much a tank just like the XC90. There are a ton of engineering safety features (real tangible things, not gimmicks) in the car that I would not spend time explaining here that are very unique and advantages that Volvo has over every other brand. For that reason alone, I bought my first Volvo. We usually keep cars for many years and so far it looks like this one will be like it. No issues at all from either of our Volvos. Just oil changes. Again, the trim level matters. The Recharge is a very complex car with new technology that works well but is not reliable. This applies to any other premium plug-in hybrid. Just be ready to deal with those issues and do not expect a vehicle so complex with tons of software and electronics to be as reliable as a pure gas car. Finally, I would like to say that the build quality is amazing. If you're into cars and work on them, you will notice that of Volvos immediately. Look under the car and it is a work of art. The organization of the components and quality of the build is second to none. The extensive use of aluminum is another indication that this car is definitely a premium vehicle.
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Traded Up to XC90
Jeffrey T, 02/24/2022
updated 08/24/2022
2022 Volvo XC90 T6 Momentum 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Twincharger 8A)
29 of 33 people found this review helpful
8/24/22 Update: I'm still really impressed. The XC90 is a pleasure to drive and supremely comfortable. We're coming up on the first oil change, and that trip to the dealer will be the first time our Volvo has ever been back since we drove it off the lot. I've never owned a new vehicle that didn't have to go back to the dealer to resolve an issue in the first six months. Great quality, craftsmanship and reliability. My only complaints: the less-than-generous center console storage and the lack of cupholders. We traded an XC60 with 24,000 miles and essentially got what we paid for it new in 2018. Took the money and bought an XC90 because the cabin is more spacious for a family. Having some experience with Volvos, I knew I wanted one thing in our XC90: the T6 engine w/ AWD. The T5 in our XC60 lacked some oomph. In contrast, the T6 is incredibly powerful for a 2.0 four cylinder. I also enjoy the slight supercharger whine. Altogether, we ended up in a Momentum package with T6 AWD, blond interior in Crystal White with 21" wheels. It's beautiful. We've owned it for 3 months now and have only put about 2600 miles on it, but so far no trips back to the dealer for any bugs. Everything works as it should. Not surprising since the XC90 has been around for several years so most issues should be worked out by now. To make things even sweeter, the XC90 seems to be one of the few vehicles in this crazy car market that you can actually buy at or below MSRP.
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