1998 Volvo S90 v 2026 Volvo ES90: does Swedish comfort and luxury survive nearly three decades of change?
Car changing is a big deal
Volvo’s latest electric cars come packed full of technology, but do they live up to the relaxing luxury the brand has become known for over the years? Darren Cassey puts his Volvo ES90 up against its great, great grandparent to find out.
Think of Volvo, and the first thing you’ll think of is ultra-safe, boxy estate cars. The ultimate family cars. I do, at least – but then I have prominent grey hairs in what I unconvincingly call a ‘beard’.
If you’re rather more blessed by youth you might instead think of Volvo as that luxurious car maker that oozes class and sophistication, but this is not a new look for the Swedish brand.
Back in the ‘90s you could buy the delightfully retro machine pictured on the right here. The Volvo S90 Executive wasn’t actually built by Volvo – a coachbuilder would take a regular S90 and stretch it out to near limo-like proportions – but after spending the day driving it back to back with my long-term ES90, its all-electric spiritual successor, it’s fascinating to see just how similar these cars are.
Almost three decades spans the gap between the two, but they share a common ethos. Comfort, technology and the luxury of space.
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Let’s start with the exterior, and although the S90 clearly echoes the sharp angles of the era, it’s a bit softer than the design-by-set-square aesthetics of ‘80s Volvos. In the intervening years Volvo has turned the softness up to 11, with the ES90 getting some lovely curves. It looks a bit awkward and plump from the back, but I think it’s a really handsome thing from the front.
Jump in the driver’s seat and the similarities begin and end with the sumptuously comfy seats. The S90 is a proper throwback, with swathes of wood veneer and a prominent tape deck complete with charming retro LCD display. There are dials for things that need dials, satisfyingly chunky buttons behind the steering wheel and a simple set of analogue instruments ahead of you.
It’s a stark contrast to the Volvo ES90’s interior. It’s a symptom of all modern cars, but removing all the useful buttons and switches and hiding them behind touchscreens and confusing menus is a constant source of frustration. We complain about it all the time, but the S90 rams home what we’ve lost the first time you reach for a delightfully tactile dial that’s intuitively placed.
Okay, I’m not saying Volvo – or other manufacturers for that matter – should ditch the screens and go full S90 in 2026. It doesn’t take long for me to miss having Spotify at my fingertips and my Google Maps navigation placed usefully behind the steering wheel. But it’s good to see some brands moving to a more practical compromise.
Volkswagen, for example, has ditched its infuriating touch-sensitive steering wheel controls for proper buttons on its latest models, and increasingly cars are going back to physical climate controls.
Where the two cabins align is in the back seats. Both have so much legroom you can really stretch out, though the floor of the ES90 is a bit too close to the seat cushion, making it less preferable for taking your mates on a road trip. Blame the massive battery hidden beneath.
To drive? Again, it’s a case of being obviously decades apart but with a hint of family connection, like opening an old photo album and realising your great-grandad is to blame for your hairline.
The difference is obvious in where the power comes from. The S90 gets a 2.9-litre engine that growls at low speeds and thrums at high speed, every revolution subtly vibrating through the car making it feel alive.
The ES90’s electric motor is smooth and utterly silent. An EV is inherently luxurious in this way, but even by those standards the big Volvo takes refinement to extremes. It cocoons you from the outside world and soaks up any and all bumps that stand in its way, so regardless of how far you’re travelling you get to your destination feeling fresh. This is where that hint of a link to the S90 remains, as that car, too, is a lovely, comfortable thing to waft around in.
What’s perhaps more interesting than all of this, though, is to consider how we’ll look back on cars like the ES90 in another 30 years.
Sure, the LCD displays, chunky switches and wood veneer of the interior give away the S90’s age. But it’s neat details such as the headlight wipers and multi-CD changer in the boot that invoke nostalgia of childhood holidays, road-tripping to Cornwall with my family, or my dad’s various company cars.
What will my son look back on fondly? That’s hard to pinpoint. As car batteries are more optimised and more efficient, you won’t need today’s massive units shoehorned in beneath the car floor, compromising cabin space. I’m sure the ES90’s high floor will be looked back on in the same way laboured, lethargic four-speed automatic gearboxes are seen now: a sign of how far we’ve come.
But what will be the “I wish we still had that!” feature of the 2050s? Perhaps my son will reminisce about watching the sun flicker through the trees as he looks up through the panoramic sunroof. Though I don’t see those going out of fashion. Will Android Auto connectivity be reminisced about in the same way the multi-CD changer is? I doubt it.
The truth is that we don’t know what we’ve got ‘til it’s gone, so it’s impossible to predict what we’ll look back on fondly. I’ll set a reminder for September 2056 to follow up on this. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be in the S90 listening to my teenage CD collection and reminiscing about a time when £1/litre for petrol was nothing but a bad nightmare, and the concept of ChatGPT was pure science fiction.
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