2023 Volvo XC90 Recharge Review: Plug-In Hybrid Luxury SUV Still Holds A Wildcard

The XC90 marked a turning point for Volvo back in 2015, and the 2023 XC90 Recharge is arguably the three-row SUV's "final boss" form. Promising a blend of Scandinavian comfort, plug-in hybrid electrification, and genuine performance, for the moment this "Ultimate" trim family hauler is the flagship of the automaker's line-up.

Volvo's big, all-electric SUV is coming, of course. The 2024 EX90 is expected to launch in 2024, joining rather than replacing the XC90. It'll have seating for up to seven, up to 400 miles of range from a 111 kWh battery, and introduce an uptick in driver assistance tech from embedded sensors like lidar.

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Eventually, Volvo plans to go all-electric across its lineup. Even today, every one of its current models is electrified in some way, though that includes 48V mild hybrids. Still, with many people not yet in a position to consider a full EV, an XC90 Recharge delivers many of the benefits we've come to expect from plug-in hybrids.

XC90 ownership starts at $56,000 (plus $1,095 destination) for the mild-hybrid version, but you'll pay from $71,900 for the Recharge plug-in hybrid. That gets you the Core trim, with a panoramic glass roof, quad-zone climate control, a 12-inch driver display, front and rear parking sensors, 20-inch wheels, and leather upholstery. $74,695 (including destination) steps up to the Plus trim, adding nicer interior lighting, a 360-degree camera, side parking sensors, a heated steering wheel, and heated rear seats.

Then there's the XC90 Recharge Ultimate you see here, priced from $80,695 (including destination). It adds a Harman Kardon audio system, head-up display, and front seat ventilation, together with bigger wheels, and smatterings of extra exterior chrome. Factor in the Bowers and Wilkins audio system ($3,200) and the air suspension ($1,800) and this Denim Blue Metallic SUV tops out at $85,495.

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Volvo's aesthetic has aged gracefully, a testament more than anything else to just how nicely designed this generation of XC90 was originally. Muscular without being outlandishly so; curvaceous without drifting into "amorphous blob" territory. The diamond-cut 21-inch alloy wheels look like they're spoked with tuning forks.

That same handsome styling continues inside. Volvo makes liberal use of real metal and wood, and the Tailored Wool Blend seats — a no-cost option instead of perforated Nappa leather in the Ultimate trim — are glorious: soft, supportive, and enough to make you wonder why hide ever got the upper hand. The fabric's only downside (bar stain resistance) is that opting for it means going without ventilated front seats, which the leather gets. Either way, the front and rear seats are heated, as is the steering wheel.

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The XC90 is a three-row SUV, in either a six or seven-seat configuration. Legroom in the rearmost row is, however, snug for anybody adult-scale. Better, arguably, to drop it down and expand the normally 9.3 cubic-foot trunk (or 11.2 cu-ft to the roofline) to 22.6 cu-ft (or 34.1 cu-ft to the roofline) instead. Drop the second row, meanwhile, and that rises to a healthy 85.7 cu-ft in total.

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The plug-in hybrid is rated for up to 5,000 pounds of towing, matching the mild-hybrid B6 AWD, and 1,000 pounds more than the entry B5 AWD can manage. Unlike a lot of family SUVs, though, the XC90 isn't particularly filled with nooks and cubbies. Storage space between the front seats is fairly narrow, for example.

The 9-inch central touchscreen seems on the small side, too — Volvo apparently agrees, given the 15-inch version it's fitting to the upcoming EX90 — though the software is fresher than the hardware first looks. Now Android-based, with Google Maps for navigation, the Google Assistant for voice control, and access to the Google Play store (for, albeit, a subset of dashboard-approved apps), it's generally straightforward to use. There's also wired Apple CarPlay support if you'd rather go that route.

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Volvo still gives you dedicated volume and play/pause controls, but the drive mode dial is a much-missed memory. Switching between the various options now requires a trip to the Settings menu, and then another tap again before you see the row of choices. Being able to twiddle a dial was far more straightforward, not to mention it kept your eyes on the road.

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Something it's great to see Volvo stick with is the Bowers and Wilkins audio system. Yes, it's on the expensive side for an in-car audio upgrade, but there's no denying how good it sounds in the XC90's otherwise quiet cabin.

As the Recharge badge suggests, this XC90 is electrified. Specifically, it's a plug-in hybrid: Volvo's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine is paired with an electric motor and an 8-speed automatic transmission. The result is a hefty 455 horsepower and 523 lb-ft of torque, with 0-60 mph taking a quoted 5.0 seconds (and that feels a little conservative).

The electric motor alone is responsible for 143 hp and, combined with an 18.8 kWh battery, the XC90 Recharge can drive on e-power alone for an EPA-rated 33 miles. By default, the SUV will either start in hybrid mode — deciding itself on the gas-electric blend — or pure-EV mode, at least until the battery is fully depleted. However, there are AWD and sport modes, too, plus the option to hold the current level of battery charge, or even top it up by using the gas engine as a generator.

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That can be handy, but most of the time you'll be plugging into a charger, preferably a 240V Level 2 one. With the XC90 Recharge's 3.6 kW onboard charger, it'll take around five hours to go from 0-100%. Like most PHEVs, there's no support for public DC fast chargers: the connector itself won't fit.

For a hardly-small SUV, the XC90 Recharge can certainly hustle. Even without switching to the more performance-minded drive modes, Volvo's judicious application of instantaneous torque means surging away from stop lights is a rapid affair. The throatier tones of the mild-hybrid in the V60 Cross Country aren't so much present here — different segment, different priorities — but even when the 2.0-liter gas engine is roused, it doesn't sound milquetoast despite being down on capacity and cylinders compared to many of the XC90's peers.

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The 4-corner air suspension is a $1,800 option and a worthy one. Volvo's ride refinement levels are high, allowing the XC90 to waft with unconcerned ease over poor-quality road surfaces. There are 8.3 inches of ground clearance, should you consider it worth risking those sizable alloy wheels, and an option to have the SUV automatically dip around 1.4 inches in the easy entry/exit mode.

Considering the pace of model turnover in the auto industry these days, by all rights the XC90 should be showing its age. The fact that the Volvo still feels fresh and compelling — even with strong competition both from the usual German competitors and an array of affordable-luxe upstarts — is a testament to just how well the automaker's reinvention started out.

Even with the fully-electric EX90 on the near horizon, the XC90 Recharge still carves out a space of its own. The blunt reality is that for many people, even those who'd like to go full EV, the practicality isn't there yet. Charging infrastructure — whether at home or on the road — along with price and range remain significant hurdles.

Balanced against that, a plug-in hybrid still wields that familiar convenience of filling up at a gas station, blended with sufficient electric range for most to do their daily chores on e-power alone. In the case of the 2023 XC90 Recharge, that combination carries a not-insignificant premium once you get to Ultimate trim plus nice-to-have options. All the same, if you're looking for refinement and unexpectedly punchy performance in an SUV that doesn't feel ostentatious, Volvo's current flagship still more than fits the bill.