Volvo XC90 review

All premium SUVs are expensive these days: you can’t get a VW Touareg for less than £56k, and this is a notably better family SUV than that. But you don’t need much more than a base B5 to get the best from your XC90 ownership experience.

Even the base Core model is well stocked: all cars come with LED lights, power tailgate, nine-inch touchscreen, rear camera, front and rear parking sensors, sat nav, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and start, a 10-speaker sound system, four USB sockets, wireless phone charging and heated front seats. Oh, and much safety tech. Of course.

Core retails from around £62,000, but you'll have to throw a lot more cash into the mix to unlock things like a heated steering wheel, active headlights, ambient lighting, Nappa leather, head-up display and so on.

The Recharge model is expensive by comparison, with the cheapest starting at more than £72,000. That’s a lot, but when you think a plug-in BMW X5 starts from £68k and the Audi Q7 hybrid has fallen victim to the chip supply crisis, it’s worth it. It’s the car you’ll want to tell your friends and neighbours about, not the one you hide from view when they call by.

Predicted residuals are decent; about 53 per cent after three years and 30,000 miles, and that means that contract hire is tempting. Volvo offers deals from £634 a month through its Care by Volvo subscription service (think PCH with roadside assistance thrown in), but shop around and you might save a few pennies.