Say Hello To The New Volvo V90: Your New Favourite Wagon

Once upon a time, a Volvo estate meant a humble, dependable box on wheels. How times have changed. In fact, we might even stick our necks out and label the latest Volvo wagon - the newly-revealed V90 - as the prettiest estate car you can buy right now. Its curvy, understated flanks are an excellent riposte to the comparatively vulgar German premium estate car options, and after having a little look through these images - some of which you might have already seen thanks to the recent leak - we reckon you’ll agree.

All of this sexy Swedish goodness sits on Volvo’s new Scalable Project Architecture, which also underpins the XC90 SUV and the V90’s saloon brother, the S90. This means that like the S90 and XC90, the V90 comes only with a range of 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engines, as that’s all the platform is designed for…sorry Volvo five-pot fans.

But the lack of a five-pot doesn’t mean that the new V90 won’t be quick . The top-of-the range T8 will feature a ‘Twin Engine’ plug-in hybrid, which combines an 87bhp, 177lb ft electric motor with a 2.0-litre diesel engine to give an overall output of 401bhp and 472lb ft of torque. A fuel economy figure of 134.5mpg is claimed for the new motor.

The rest of the range will feature 2.0-litre engines, starting with the petrol T5, which produces 250bhp and 258lb ft of torque. But it’s the diesel D4 that the majority of buyers in the UK will be interested in. Using a clever two-stage turbo, the four-pot produces a healthy 187bhp and 295lb ft of torque. For buyers looking for a little more grunt, there’s the D5, which features four-wheel drive and 232bhp and 354lb ft of torque.

Unfortunately, the four-cylinder petrol-engined T6, with its 315bhp and 295lb ft of torque, won’t be coming to the UK.

The V90 range kicks off with the front-wheel drive D4 - the only car available with a manual - while the D5, T6 and T8 will only be available in all-wheel drive forms. A Polestar variant using a tweaked version of the T8 powertrain is expected to follow.

As in the S90, the diesel engines will use ‘Power Pulse‘ technology, which aims to kill turbo lag by using compressed air for an ‘instant’ spool up.

Other clever tech additions include a semi-autonomous mode, safety features like ‘large animal detection’ and ‘run-off road mitigation’, and Apple CarPlay.

Want one? Prices haven’t yet been released, but as this is aimed at rivals like the Audi A6 Avant, BMW 5-series touring and Mercedes E-Class estate, expect a starting price of over £32,000. You can check it out in the metal at the Geneva motor show from 3 March, but for now, here are a few more saucy snaps.