Volvo V90 estate – Reliability & safety

Volvo V90 reliability

Volvo’s reputation for reliability isn’t as impressive as brands like Toyota, Mazda or Lexus, but its 13th-place finish in the 2023 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey was well ahead of the German competition. In the reliability category, Volvo came seventh out of 32 brands, showing that ownership has been generally trouble-free.

Safety

Safety is a big part of Volvo's traditional appeal. The V90's crash safety rating is equally impressive, too – tests carried out by independent crash safety experts Euro NCAP resulted in the V90 being awarded the full five star rating, with an excellent 95% score for adult occupant protection, and a solid 80% for child occupant protection in an impact.

Naturally, you get the legally required stuff like ISOFIX child-seat mounting points, electronic stability control, tyre-pressure monitoring, anti-lock brakes and a multitude of airbags, but this being a Volvo, there’s more, too. Volvo's standard-fit electronic safety systems were given a superb 93% rating by Euro NCAP in the safety assistance category.

The V90 features a City Safety system, which includes automatic emergency braking with sensors that can detect pedestrians, cyclists and even large animals such as moose, deer and horses, then stop the car before a collision occurs.

There’s also the semi-autonomous Pilot Assist system, which combines the active cruise control and lane-keeping assistance systems, as well as various other lasers, radars and cameras, to allow the car to very nearly drive itself on a motorway. And you can specify cloud-based systems that allow multiple cars to communicate to warn drivers of slippery roads or hazard warning lights ahead.

It’s important to point out that the Volvo V90 was tested by Euro NCAP in 2017. The testing and scoring procedure for Euro NCAP ratings changes from year to year, so the Volvo’s score is not directly comparable to a car tested in 2024.