[ĐÁNH GIÁ XE] Volvo XC90 Ultra 2026: The SUV made me feel a bit... sleepy until facing the road to the top of Phoenix

If I only drive the Volvo XC90 in Hanoi or on flat highways, I’m afraid this review will end quite quickly. It’s even a bit boring.

It’s not because the XC90 is bad. On the contrary, it is too good at what a luxury family SUV needs to do.

Everything happened so easily. The steering wheel is light. The driving assistance system operates discreetly. Smooth gearbox. The engine accelerates enough without creating a feeling of excitement. Pneumatic suspension filters out small bumps on the road surface. The cabin is so quiet that sometimes I had to look at the speedometer to know how much I was doing.

But that’s what makes the XC90 a pretty difficult car to write about.

It doesn’t have the sportiness of a BMW. There’s none of the flashiness of Mercedes-Benz. Also don’t try to impress with giant screens or elaborate interior lighting effects.

The XC90 resembles a middle-aged man wearing a gray sweater. Polite, kind, trustworthy, but not the type that makes the whole room turn their heads.

From Hanoi to the foot of Phoenix Mountain, the Swedish SUV embodies exactly that character.

On the highway, the air suspension system works almost silently. Bridge joints, plastic patches or speed bumps are neatly handled.

There is no excessive floating feeling like some large SUVs using air suspension. The XC90 still retains the necessary solidity, while most vibrations are extinguished after just one bounce.

Soundproofing is also a big plus. Tire sound echoing into the cabin is well controlled. Wind noise almost disappears at cruising speed range. When the Bowers & Wilkins sound system is turned on, the space inside the car resembles a miniature music room rather than the cabin of a nearly 5-meter SUV.

This is one of the few car audio systems that makes me actively reduce conversations and just want to sit and listen to some more music.

The XC90 interior also carries the true Scandinavian spirit. Minimalist. Clean. Exquisite.

But if you’re a fan of flashy details, large curved screens or colorful interior lighting effects, the XC90 may disappoint you.

It’s beautiful in a mature way. A beauty that doesn’t try to impress. And that’s why it sometimes becomes a bit bland. Until I turned off the asphalt.

From the foot of the mountain to the top of Phuong Hoang is only about 2 km. It sounds insignificant. But that was the distance that made me understand the XC90 more than the previous 100 km combined.

The road begins with rocky sections. Then gradually turns into steep slopes that make it almost impossible for the driver to see the road ahead. There are times when there is only sky in front of me.

The road surface is full of rocks, potholes, potholes, and deep grooves created by rainwater. On one side is a mountainside. On one side is an open space to the valley below.

The higher you go, the narrower the road becomes. There are sections where the vehicle must pass through small bridges just large enough for two tire tracks to fit on. Looking from the outside, the feeling of a few centimeters of deviation can make the driver sweat. But strangely I don’t feel that way.

The Volvo XC90 has an Off-road mode and I must confess that I had forgotten about it. Throughout the climbing journey, the car remained in Standard mode. Do not actively raise the chassis. Do not activate any special modes. Simply put in D and move on.

Yet that SUV weighing more than 2 tons still slowly moved forward: Calmly, slowly and steadfastly… as if all the difficulties I imagined existed only in my head.

I looked at the center screen. The 360-degree camera displays images so sharp that you can almost clearly see every stone under the wheel.

On narrow bridges that only fit two wheels, the feeling of driving the XC90 is more like playing a simulation game than driving a large SUV in real life.

Everything becomes surprisingly intuitive. I just put the wheel in the correct position shown on the screen and the Volvo continued to move forward.

In the cockpit, the atmosphere began to change. The chatter in the car gradually disappeared. People started looking more forward. Occasionally glance down at the 360-degree camera screen.

I could feel the tension and anxiety of my companions when observing the road ahead, the steep slopes or the empty space on the mountainside.

The space in the car seemed to shrink. Everyone held their breath. But the strange thing is that I don’t feel worried myself. It’s not because I’m too confident in my driving ability. But because what the XC90 conveys through the steering wheel, through the car body and through the way it overcomes each obstacle makes me feel more secure than ever.

There are no sudden jerks. There are no noises that startle the driver. It doesn’t feel like the car is struggling to overcome the terrain.

Everything happens so naturally that sometimes I forget I’m driving a luxury SUV on a road that many people would have to consider before stepping on the accelerator.

Large ground clearance combined with an air suspension system continuously absorbs bumps from the road surface. The car body still retains amazing solidity. Vibrations appear and are quickly eliminated before being transmitted into the passenger compartment.

The XC90 does not bring a sense of conquest. It gives a feeling of protection. Those are two completely different concepts.

A true off-road vehicle that makes the driver excited when overcoming challenges. The XC90 makes the driver feel that challenges no longer seem so scary.

And that is perhaps the true nature of Volvo.

When Phoenix Peak appeared ahead, I stopped the car and got out. Looking back at the XC90 covered in a thin layer of dust after the mountain climbing journey, I suddenly realized why this car model has still had its own position for more than a decade.

It’s not a car for thrill seekers. It’s not a car that makes you want to go faster with every throttle. Nor is it a car that makes others turn their heads when it appears.

But it’s the car that makes you feel most secure when behind you are your family, friends and the most important people in your life.

The XC90 doesn’t excite me. But on the way to the top of Phoenix that day, it made me absolutely confident. And sometimes, with a luxury family car, that’s the biggest compliment.

Accompanying the Volvo Vietnam brand

Reporter (Otoxemay)