THE award-winning Volvo XC90 was a trailblazer when it arrived 20 years ago and it remains one of the best large SUVs around.

The brand's flagship may now be the all-electric EX90 but the hybrid model will remain relevant for some time yet.

The stylish seven-seater XC90 T8 hybrid, or Recharge, is the most expensive, cleanest, most frugal and quickest car of the XC90 range.

It now boasts a total power output of 449bhp and, despite weighing in at more than 2.2 tonnes, cracks the 0-62mph sprint in a ridiculously quick 5.4 seconds - that's faster than the new Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport.

All XC90s come with a super-smooth shifting eight-speed automatic gearbox.

There's effortless performance throughout the rev range and it's a wonderfully comfortable, quiet and refined motorway muncher. However, it's also enjoyable to pootle around the countryside or around town in. I always found myself smiling when I was behind the wheel.

It will officially manage up to 42 miles in all-electric mode and Volvo claims it returns 217mpg though this is highly unlikely in the real world unless fully charged at all times. I managed a more reasonable 32.4mpg.

There's three driving modes - Pure, Hybrid and Power. Choose Pure mode to use only electric, select Braking on the gear selector for stronger regenerative braking on downhill runs, or even a lower gear for increased engine braking.

However, you'll probably spend most of the time in Hybrid for improved economy. By all means enjoy the Power mode but it will make your electric charge - and petrol - disappear quite quickly.

Most bumps and potholes are dealt with well by the standard non-adjustable suspension - the top-spec Ultimate model has air suspension - and the steering delivers the precision you need to follow your chosen line through corners.

Body control is good and there's also oodles of grip from the 20-inch tyres and all-wheel drive.

With a mix of smart materials across the dashboard and around the centre console, the Volvo XC90's is one of the finest interiors out there, with exemplary fit and finish and brilliantly comfortable seats. With electric adjustment for the driver's seat, including adjustable lumbar support, finding a comfortable driving position shouldn't be hard.

A new-ish addition is a Google-powered Android operating system, which brings Google Maps, Google Assistant voice control and a host of apps that run fast on the native Android operating system.

Dashboard buttons are kept to a minimum with most features operated from the tablet-style nine-inch touchscreen, including, unfortunately, the climate control. Thankfully, the Google voice control system is pretty good at understanding simple commands, such as changing the temperature.

Every model also comes equipped with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera - handy due to its size. A 360-degree bird's eye view camera is standard on the Plus model.

LED headlights are standard, with automatic high beam assist. Choose the Plus or Ultimate trim and the headlights are upgraded to Active Bending Headlights with Adaptive Shadow Technology that can automatically shape their light pattern to illuminate as much of the road ahead as possible, without dazzling other drivers. You can almost see around corners!

Of course, all XC90s come with seven seats as standard. Up front, there's enough head and leg room to keep even the tallest of adults happy. There's also plenty of shoulder room.

Three adults can easily sit across the middle row, in comfort, though you might have to play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets the narrower middle seat. The three seats in the middle row can be slid forwards and backwards independently to improve rear leg room for anyone sitting behind, or to maximise boot space when you don't need to use the third row. Middle-row passengers can also adjust the angle of their seatback.

Seats six and seven are suitable for children and smaller adults will be comfy back there for short trips.

The boot size is impressive. Even with all seven seats in use, there's 356 litres of space. In five-seat form, it's 640-litres, which increases to 1,856 with all the seats folded down.

Standard equipment for the Plus includes four-zone climate control with an advanced air-quality system, air-conditioning for the third-row seats, hands-free tailgate operation, leather-faced upholstery, a heated windscreen and steering wheel, a panoramic sunroof, ambient interior lighting, and a 13-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.

There's also a comprehensive suite of safety and driver-assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assistance, a traffic-sign recognition system, six airbags, traction control and ISOFIX child-seat mounts on the outer of the two middle-row seats. Blind spot monitoring is also fitted.

Versatile, practical, comfortable and a joy to drive, the XC90 will be missed when it eventually retires.

£76,530

449bhp, 1,969cc, four-cylinder petrol-electric engine driving all four wheels via an automatic transmission

112mph

5.4 seconds

217mpg

44

30g/km

8%

3yrs/60,000 miles

4.5