The Volvo XC90 has always looked and felt more elegant than the competition. For its newest refresh, the Swedish automaker is adding a few extra touches to make its three-row SUV even more attractive, despite being nearly a decade old.
The 2025.5 (no, the .5 is not a typo) Volvo XC90 brings forth the mildest of refreshes, which not only keep the luxury SUV relevant but also make it more comfortable, refined, and efficient than some of its direct competitors. Impressive feat, Sweden.
After the T8 plug-in hybrid powertrain in the XC90 saw mechanical updates in 2023, giving it more range and a smoother operation, Volvo tweaked its gas-powered SUV’s design and technology. All mild changes, but somehow the small tweaks add up to meaningful updates as a whole.
The grille is now more detailed and refined with a criss-crossing of lines, the Thor’s Hammer LED daytime running lights are now sharper and more defined, and there’s new vertical chrome trim on the lower front bumper bookending the sides, but that’s about it. Fresh wheel designs give some visual pop to the XC90’s stance, while the shapely LED taillights are now smoked darker than before.
Inside, the 9.0-inch portrait touchscreen has been replaced by an 11.2-inch unit that appears tacked onto the dashboard rather than integrated like the old one. The touchscreen’s interface is similar to that of the electric EX90 featuring Google built-in while still supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Though curiously, despite being 2025, a new infotainment system, both in hardware and software, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not wireless. This remains a Bring Your Own Cord affair.
The Android Automotive-based software proved to be notably less buggy than the system in the EX90. Thankfully, a large volume button still remains on the dashboard, and so does a manually adjustable steering column in a nearly $90,000 luxury SUV. Weird.
The XC90’s T8 plug-in hybrid powertrain continues to pair a turbocharged 2.0-liter, inline-four engine rated at 310 horsepower with an 145-hp electric motor on the rear axle for a combined output of 455 hp and 523 pound-feet of torque. An 18.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack powers the electric motor while an eight-speed automatic transmission pairs with the gas engine.
The powertrain was upgraded for 2023 and remains a smooth operator with an abundance of power. The turbo-four sounds like what it is, but extra sound deadening added for the 2025.5 refresh puts most of the engine and wind noise at bay while on the road. The power and smoothness would feel at home in a Range Rover, but the sound when the gas engine is kicked on would seem a bit out of place.
Steering is light but doesn’t require constant correction on the highway, and feedback while going around a corner would be an ask that goes unanswered. But the optional $1,800 adaptive air suspension smooths out bumps and broken Midwest pavement with ease.
The front seats are some of the most comfortable and supportive in the business, despite not looking like oversized couch cushions. The second row is road-trip worthy, but the captain’s chairs aren’t as shapely as the front seats. The third row remains a kid zone but is habitable by adults for short trips around town. Color me impressed, and buyers should note, a twin mattress, box spring, and associated frame will all fit in the back of the XC90 with both the second and third rows folded flat. Anyone looking to sleep in the XC90 won’t have an issue.
The XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid has an EPA-rated electric-only range of 32 miles before the gas engine kicks on, then it has a 27-mpg combined rating. I drove the XC90 on electricity alone for 32 miles over several days and drives, so the gas engine didn’t really kick on until the weekend road trip. On said 430-mile highway road trip, I drove over 70 mph and still averaged 33.0 mpg according to the onboard trip computer. That’s nothing short of impressive, given the power and size of the three-row XC90.
Volvo says it takes about five hours to charge the 18.8-kWh battery pack on a Level 2, 240-volt charger, and that claim is dead-on based on my experience. It took overnight to perform the same dance on a Level 1, 120-volt outlet.
Audi still somehow doesn’t have a hybrid Q7, the BMW X5 plug-in hybrid isn’t particularly pretty (and only has two rows), and the Mercedes-Benz GLE plug-in hybrid’s third row is both smaller than the XC90’s and optional. Volvo managed to keep a decade-old three-row plug-in hybrid SUV not just competitive, but compelling in what seems like a size and powertrain configuration the competition has overlooked.
The 2025.5 Volvo XC90 T8 is exactly what consumers claim to be looking for with a usable, around-town electric-only range and an efficient gas engine for road trips with three rows of seats. The fact that it’s gorgeous and comfortable, yet for the most part a decade old, makes this Swede feel a step ahead of the competition.
The 2025.5 Volvo XC90 balances efficiency with understated luxury in an elegant three-row package.
As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media.
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