2023 Volvo XC90 B6 AWD First Test: Still the Konung

From the first time we drove the current-generation XC90 at the launch event in 2015, we knew it was a winner. Sure enough, it ran away with our 2016 SUV of the Year award. Still, that was more than seven years ago, an eternity in car time. No seven-year-old design still feels new today, unless it's a 2023 Volvo XC90 B6 AWD.

Cars get design updates every three to five years to avoid feeling stale. Most of them, anyway. Any look that's too of-the-moment isn't going to age well. Tastes change, trends move on. Creating a truly timeless design is capturing lightning in a bottle, and it's even harder on a car that has to meet countless regulations worldwide. Volvo did it. The XC90 looks as contemporary today as it did in 2015, and it basically hasn't changed.

The big tell, really, is the infotainment screen. Back in 2015, we thought it was so big it ought to have a ledge to steady your hand on while operating it. It's a 9.0-inch screen. How quaint. That's nothing these days, and if giant floating screens look modern to you, the XC90 certainly will feel like a product of a different time.

If you prefer your screens actually integrated into the dashboard rather than suspended in front of it, though, it's a triumph of design. The inside of this vehicle is as delightful today as it was years ago. The look remains sleek and refined, and the materials are still class-leading (though opinions are mixed on the crystal shifter). The cabin feels rich and classy.

The center screen has actually had some work done. Menus have been simplified through multiple iterations and are a bit more intuitive, though there's still a learning curve. The hardware now accepts over-the-air software updates and comes preloaded with Google Maps for navigation and the Google Assistant for voice controls. The latter is the real win, because unlike most automaker voice assistants, the Google one understands conversational speech. You ask it for directions or to change the cabin temperature the same way you'd ask a person in the passenger seat, and it gets your request right on the first try.

A little work on the instrument cluster screen would've also been appreciated. Its menus and the cryptically labeled steering wheel controls that navigate them are still quite confusing even if you've used them countless times.

Also in need of a rethink is the exterior camera control. It's accessed through the infotainment screen, but the digital button comes and goes based on your speed and whether or not your foot is on the brake. When you're just trying to turn on the cameras before turning into a tight parking space at Target it's distracting trying to remember the correct sequence necessary for the button to show up, and that's not an ideal time to be staring at the screen rather than your path.

For those not riding up front, little has changed, and that's not a problem. The second-row split-folding bench seat in our test car remains comfortable and spacious for tall adults, and there's no fall-off in materials quality as you move rearward.

The third row is a bit tight for average-height adults but otherwise excellent for folks smaller than that. Even back there, where you're effectively sitting in the cargo area, you still get leather-wrapped armrests, charging ports, and air vents. Just be mindful when you fold down the way-back seats, lest you tear the armrests.

The biggest updates the Volvo's flagship SUV has received have occurred under the hood, and even then they're not earth-shattering. For the 2023 model year and beyond, every XC90 is electrified in some way. It's the industry's latest weasel word that means the powertrain has an electric motor in it somewhere, but the car isn't an EV. (For a fully electric big Volvo experience, the new EX90 will be the ticket.) In this case, all XC90s are now mild hybrids employing 48-volt starter-generator motors in place of the traditional alternator. In plain English, this means a small 13-hp electric motor has been fitted to the engine that adds power during acceleration. Really, it reduces the workload of the gasoline engine, making it more efficient.

An electric motor that small won't make an enormous difference, of course, and the EPA numbers reflect that. This new powertrain returns an EPA-estimated 20/26/22 mpg city/highway/combined. Compared to the same engine sans electric motor on the 2016 XC90, this new one gets 1 mpg better on the highway, and that's it.

It also makes less power but more torque—295 hp and 310 lb-ft compared to 316 and 295 from back when—and that explains a lot. Unsurprisingly, it's slightly slower than before, needing 6.8 seconds to hit 60 mph instead of 6.6. That's likely the missing horsepower. Behind the wheel, though, the XC90 feels powerful and surprisingly quick. That's the extra torque getting you moving.

The real benefit of this system is the electric motor's ability to pitch in where it's needed. Between that, the supercharger, and the turbocharger, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is never out of breath hauling around this 4,775-pound, seven-passenger luxury SUV. Quite the opposite, actually: It feels downright quick getting away from a stoplight or merging onto the interstate. Volvo has this complicated powertrain absolutely dialed in with this vehicle. You're never left wanting more.

Not just quick, the XC90 has an inherent sportiness to its movements. It's not trying to be a high-performance vehicle by any means, it just has the sort of crisp responses and slightly firm ride that make driving enjoyable. Volvo could just as easily have made this SUV disconnected and doughy but chose to make it nimble and carlike to drive.

Despite that, the interior remains quiet and well isolated from the outside world. Parents and in-laws in the second and third rows found the ride just as comfortable as the DINKs up front. That is, when the driver kept his right foot in check. The gain on both the throttle and brake pedals is turned up a mite high, and it's easy to get more than you intended from either until you're acclimated to them.

Sometimes, a car company just gets it right on the first try. The enduring excellence of the XC90 over the better part of a decade is a testament to what Volvo can do when given the freedom and funding to do things properly. This luxury SUV hasn't changed much since its introduction because it hasn't needed to. Eventually, that won't be the case and a more substantial refresh will be called for. Just not yet.