Sometimes you can really smell the fun of driving. It’s been a damn long time since the smell of hot brake pads was in the air after a drive. Since I no longer have a sports car with a high-revving naturally aspirated engine in the garage and no longer drive at full throttle on the highway, I’ve only had the opportunity to do so once in many years. And that was in a Volvo Amazon as part of last year’s Silvretta Classic. No wonder: the rally car tuned to 110 hp was from the sixties of the last century and the descent of the Silvretta-Hochalpen-Straße is generally regarded as an endurance test for any braking system.
And the classic car from Volvo Klassik still had drum brakes. At the time, I never thought I’d have that distinctive smell in my nose again. Especially not again in a vehicle from the Swedish brand known less for hot rides than for driving safety and comfort. Even less in a hybrid SUV and certainly not in the largest and heaviest in the range. But least of all could I ever have imagined it after stopping on an uphill section(!). But it happened and made a lasting impression on me.
As a lover of coupés and convertibles, a 4.95 m long SUV weighing around two and a half tons would have been pretty much the last vehicle I would have personally chosen for a trip to the Alps. But what don’t you do for your job? After all, there was a good reason to get behind the wheel of the family transporter blessed with 455 hp / 335 kW system power.
Focus not on engine performance, but on music performance
The Swedes have given the Volvo XC90 T8 AWD PHEV a sophisticated sound system from Bowers & Wilkins. It therefore comes from the manufacturer that complements the work of the sound technicians in Gothenburg, Sweden, so well that two vehicles from this cooperation top the STEREO GUIDE leaderboard.
However, the electric Volvo EX90 and the likewise electric Polestar 3 rely on Dolby Atmos, while the Volvo XC 90 competes without immersive sound. That doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. For one thing, the entire budget benefits a smaller number of loudspeakers and amplifier channels. For another, the range of Dolby Atmos albums is still limited. In the case of the Volvo XC90, this means 19 loudspeakers and 1,410 watts of system power. This puts the heavy Swede with its premium audio system from Bowers & Wilkins in the top league of what is available ex works in terms of sound.
Even though I prefer compact cars in terms of driving dynamics, it has to be said that the electric SUV comes very close to the ideal of a music room on wheels. As always, the design of the vehicle cabin, which can be configured with five or seven seats, is tastefully designed and implemented with high-quality materials such as real wood. Thanks to woke vegans, who have always had a certain affinity with Volvo, there are not only seat covers and trim made of nappa leather. However, many users will probably not be able to distinguish the sustainably produced vegan leather substitute in my test car from real leather. After all, even in the automotive sector, many upholstery products labeled as leather are no longer pure dyed animal skins, but split leather products. But that’s another topic.
The running gear is a great air number
I certainly felt very comfortable in the Volvo XC90 T8 AWD PHEV, whose air suspension gives a real floating feeling. In combination with the high weight, it does something to the driver, provided he or she has a sensitive pop meter. For me, this led to a completely different driving rhythm than with a hard roadster. The effect can best be described as a kind of particularly relaxed riding flow that plays with the high mass and tries to keep it in a balanced flow. You avoid hard braking or accelerating and take momentum with you into the bend, which you ride through with a slight sideways lean in a uniform radius as if on a magnetic track.
There is something enormously relaxing about it; I would best describe the feeling as a kind of flying carpet. The fact that, in spite of everything, the winding mountain roads obviously produce some pretty good speeds is best reflected at the end when we stop for a short photo break on the picturesque mountain pass. Apart from the smell, the perfectly dimensioned and controllable braking system, as always in today’s Volvos, didn’t show any signs of its exertions.
Volvo relies on Android
In terms of operation, Volvo relies on a deeper integration of Google services on an Android user interface. For example, the navigation on the 11.2 cm central display uses Google Maps and Google Assistant is available for voice commands. This made me laugh, but it cost me a lot of time: when testing the voice control, I said “Cancel” to cancel the action. The address of a nearby demolition company then popped up. As an eternal Mac and iPhone user, I was a bit taken by surprise during the drive and ended up making sure that the Volvo XC90 was smuggled into the route programmed by the Swedish press team. However, I only realized this when I found myself in front of a construction company.
Bowers & Wilkins Premium Sound in the Volvo XC90
But these were only experiences that I would describe as bycatch. The real reason was to evaluate the premium audio system that Bowers & Wilkins and Volvo developed together and tailored specifically to the XC90. And just a glance at the key technical data shows that this is not a standard “upgrade package”, but a self-contained, very elaborately designed car hi-fi system that clearly claims to be one of the top automotive audio solutions.
19 speakers, 1,400 watts and Dirac: the technical setup
The Volvo XC90 features one of the most powerful Bowers & Wilkins sound systems that the British company has realized together with Volvo for a production vehicle. At its heart is a 12-channel Class D amplifier from Harman with a total output of 1,410 watts, which drives a total of 19 loudspeakers. The chassis do not come from a random automotive construction kit, but are based on proven technologies from Bowers & Wilkins’ classic hi-fi loudspeaker construction. These include 2.5 cm aluminum tweeters with Nautilus technology and three midrange drivers with 10 cm cones plus four more with 8 cm cones made from the composite material Continuum. We are therefore talking about materials and design principles that are otherwise familiar from the high-end series of the traditional British manufacturer.
Ventilated subwoofer and vehicle structure as sound body
The loudspeaker distribution in the interior follows a clear objective: to distribute sound as evenly as possible to all seats without favoring the driver or front passenger acoustically. In addition to seven tweeters and seven mid-range speakers, four large 17 cm woofers are used, supplemented by a subwoofer with a diaphragm diameter of 25 centimetres, which is a rare exception in automotive engineering. Instead of being a separate housing in the trunk, it is firmly integrated into the body structure and ventilated. As a result, it can move significantly more air than conventional solutions and theoretically reproduce frequencies down to 20 Hertz – a value that not only sounds ambitious in the vehicle interior, but also needs to be mastered in terms of design.
Tweeter-on-top and Continuum chassis: technology from the high-end range
The tweeter for the center channel, which is positioned centrally on the dashboard and uses the tweeter-on-top technology developed by Bowers & Wilkins, plays a special role. This arrangement improves the ratio of direct sound to reflections, as the high frequencies do not hit the windshield first, but reach the listener more directly. This solution promises a more open high-frequency reproduction, a more stable stage image and a more precise localization of voices and instruments, especially in the acoustically difficult environment of a vehicle.
Volvo relies on software from Dirac Research for digital signal processing in the XC90. The Swedes take care of delay correction, phase balancing and fine-tuning the interaction of all speakers. In addition, various sound profiles can be selected to simulate different listening environments – from the recording studio to the concert hall in Gothenburg, the home of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Unlike immersive systems with Dolby Atmos, the Volvo XC90 deliberately sticks to a classic channel-based approach. The entire budget is therefore invested in speaker quality, amplifier power and signal processing rather than in additional height channels.
Three different sound systems for the XC90 series
The Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system is the highest of the three available audio features in the Volvo XC90 for a comparatively moderate surcharge of €4,450. (It is not available for the basic “Core” version). Below this, Volvo has positioned a high-performance system with twelve loudspeakers as well as a simple standard solution for the “Core” model; above this (from “Plus” upwards), the “Premium Sound by Harman Kardon” audio system is available as standard equipment. This gradation alone makes it clear that the top system is not a marketing gimmick, but an independent equipment feature for customers who do not see music in the car as background noise.
The subsequent listening test shows how this considerable technical effort affects the driving experience, whether the promised precision and spatiality is maintained even on winding mountain roads and with different music material – and whether the lack of Dolby Atmos is actually a disadvantage or even pays off in terms of sound.
Sound test: Bowers & Wilkins in the Volvo XC90
After just a few kilometers, it becomes clear that the Bowers & Wilkins sound system in the Volvo XC90 not only wants to shine with impressive performance data, but above all with control, naturalness and a remarkably stable spatial reproduction. What is particularly striking is how naturally the sound is integrated into everyday driving – regardless of whether you are gliding along relaxed country roads or driving through winding mountain passages.
The entire audio system is operated via the new infotainment interface, which Volvo is now also retrofitting to many older models. As mentioned at the beginning, Google plays a central role here – both for navigation and the voice assistant. The interface appears tidy, logically structured and for the most part pleasantly intuitive. Fortunately, this also applies to the sound settings, which can be found in the general vehicle settings and are easily accessible.
Volvo offers several levels of influence here. If you like it simple, use the reduced equalizer with just three controls for bass, mids and treble. If you want to go deeper, you can use a full equalizer with several frequency bands and adjust the sound much more finely. On the plus side, both variants can be completely deactivated – a useful option, as the basic tuning of the system is so balanced that additional interventions are not absolutely necessary. As so often, the same applies here: Too much control work can make things worse rather than better.
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Extensive sound settings
Much more exciting than the classic equalizer are the two other menus, which are largely responsible for the character of the playback. In the focus menu, the acoustic stage can be specifically aligned – for example to the driver, to all occupants, to the front seats only or to the rear. This function really comes into its own in single-driver mode. Voices and solo instruments detach themselves exceptionally cleanly from the loudspeakers and stand vividly in front of the listener, stable in their position and surprisingly independent of frequency or volume. Very few systems in the automotive sector achieve this level of precision in reproduction.
The second central menu is dedicated to the stage and therefore the spatial expansion of the sound image. In addition to a classic surround mode, the intensity of the envelopment can be finely adjusted here – an important point, as not every recording benefits equally from additional spatiality. The separate control of intensity and envelopment allows the system to be adapted very specifically to the style of music and personal taste.
Quantum Logic for a concert hall feeling made to measure
The whole thing is complemented by various acoustic presets, which B&W implements using the QuantumLogic Surround technology developed by Harman. These include, for example, the concert hall of the Gothenburg Concert Hall or a jazz club mode. While such effects often seemed artificial or intrusive in previous generations of vehicles, the Volvo XC90 is surprisingly sophisticated in this respect. Even modern pop and rock productions retain their cohesiveness and naturalness without tipping over into reverberation or effect-heaviness. The fact that you can’t immediately identify a clear favorite between the concert hall and the jazz club speaks more for than against the implementation.
Regardless of the mode selected, the system impresses with the exemplary naturalness of voices and instruments. Vocals come across as full-bodied and credible, while acoustic instruments retain their character and texture. At the same time, the bass is at its best: deep, precise and with a noticeable kick, without ever being overpowering or dominant. The integration of the subwoofer is so successful that it cannot be localized in terms of sound – instead, the impression of a large, three-dimensional stage is created in front of the occupants of the cabin, which is available with two or three rows of seats. This is especially true if, like me, you are traveling alone and have your focus on the driver’s seat.
19 Loudspeaker vs four cylinders: who has the last word?
There are also enormous dynamic reserves. Even at higher levels, the sound remains stable, clean and stress-free. Even complex passages with powerful bass and at the same time fine detail do not disturb the system. A sound level that many listeners will not even be familiar with in this form from their living room at home.
The sound experience rewards restrained use of the accelerator pedal. The hybrid drive with its powerful torque of over 700 Nm from the 310 hp petrol engine at the front and the 145 hp electric motor at the rear axle impresses with a pleasant, even background noise. However, when you savor the powerful, smooth acceleration, for example when merging into flowing traffic or chasing curves on a mountain pass, the character changes dramatically. Then the turbocharged and supercharged 2-liter four-cylinder engine, engaged via an 8-speed automatic gearbox, joins in the action like a bully that makes its presence felt in a classical concerto by shouting pianissimo.
However, in view of the otherwise all-round successful implementation of the hybrid concept, this must surely have an educational background to temper petrol-heads like me. And thanks to my sensitive ears, the Swedes managed to do this really well. Nevertheless, I’d rather not discuss my average fuel consumption here.
Conclusion: Volvo XC90 with Bowers & Wilkins sound system
With the Bowers & Wilkins sound system in the Volvo XC90, Volvo has achieved a remarkably balanced overall concept that clearly stands out from many premium automotive solutions. Instead of relying on as many effects or immersive formats as possible, the system concentrates on classic virtues: Naturalness, precision, stable spatiality and enormous dynamic reserves. This approach pays off in everyday life as well as with demanding music material.
The reproduction of voices and instruments is particularly convincing. It comes across as credible, full-bodied and unusually free of coloration – a quality that is rarely achieved to this degree in a vehicle. The bass complements this image with depth, control and noticeable punch, without ever pushing itself to the fore. The fact that there is neither harshness nor unrest even at higher volumes is testament to the careful tuning and high power reserves of the system.
The extensive adjustment options are not an end in themselves. If you wish, you can adjust the sound very specifically to your sitting position, music style and personal taste. And just how convincingly the 19 high-end speakers work together becomes clear when you look at our car hi-fi best list, which is now headed by a trio of two Volvos and the closest relative of the all-electric EX90, the Polestar 3.
- Volvo XC90 price: from 81,400 euros
- B&W sound system price: 4,450 euros
- Further information: www.volvocars.com
STEREO GUIDE test verdict
All in all, the Bowers & Wilkins sound system in the Volvo XC90 is one of the best audio systems currently available in the automotive sector. It is aimed at listeners who see music not as an acoustic backdrop, but as an integral part of the driving experience - and who see this as an essential part of the comfort of a large, superior touring car.
Pros
- Excellent homogeneity, outstanding resolution
- Large level reserves, crisp, contoured bass
- Outstanding focus, vivid image
- Extensive sound settings
Cons
- The combustion engine does not sound as harmonious as the sound system
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Sound quality9.2
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Price/performance sound system9.8
