Volvo is no stranger to the automotive market, but some people still ask the question: Is Volvo considered a luxury car brand, and is it even worth buying one?
Luckily, we’re well-versed when it comes to Volvo, so we’ll be answering this question with all the accumulated knowledge we’ve gained from researching and writing about the brand.
Thus, if you’re in the market for a Volvo, you definitely don’t want to miss out on all the useful info in this guide!
Is Volvo a luxury brand?
Yes, Volvo is a luxury vehicle brand, as it makes vehicle models that are built with premium luxury features, utmost interior comfort, and only the highest of safety standards in mind.
While Volvos have a slightly cheaper price range of around $34,000 to $72,000 compared to other luxury brands, these numbers alone shouldn’t be the basis of what makes something a luxury car.
As a brand, Volvo is able to balance performance, comfort, and styling with its models, thus achieving luxury car status like that of other brands like Audi and BMW.
To give you a better idea of what exactly makes a Volvo a luxury car, we have included more information about its luxury features, safety features, performance, and price below.
Luxury Features
To be considered a luxury car brand, manufacturers need to bring their best luxury features to the table, and Volvo has managed to satisfy this requirement with its own features below.
Volvo Luxury Features:
- 9-way adjustable heated and ventilated seats (with lumbar support)
- Interior Air Quality System (IAQS)
- Heated steering wheel (3 levels of heating)
- Tailor-stitched leather seats
- Interior soft leather material
- Interior driftwood material
- Interior Orrefors crystal glass material
- Customizable ambient LED lighting
- Sidestep illumination
- Integrated sun curtain
- Bowers and Wilkins 18-speaker premium sound system
When it comes to luxury, you cannot go wrong with adding tons of interior comfort, which is why Volvo decided to include heated and ventilated seats for the occupants.
Such seats also have 9-way adjustment and even lumbar supports for extra comfort for your back, things that you don’t really get as standard with non-luxury cars.
Volvo also makes use of its own IAQS (Interior Air Quality System), which is an innovative way of reducing odor and pollution by separating gases and any foreign particles inside the cabin.
Every Volvo model comes standard with tailor-stitched premium leather seats and a heated steering wheel with three levels of heating adjustability.
Volvo also loves to make use of unique and high-quality materials for its interior trims. These include soft leather, driftwood, and even crystal glass from a popular Swedish glassmaker called Orrefors.
To further add to the overall luxurious feel of its vehicles, Volvo adds customizable ambient LED lighting, illuminated sidesteps, and sun curtains that are integrated into the windows themselves.
Of course, a luxurious Volvo interior wouldn’t be complete without an 18-speaker premium sound system by Bowers and Wilkins so you can listen to your favorite tunes as you’re driving along.
Safety Features
Part of what makes Volvo a luxury car brand is not just because of how comfortable its vehicles are, but also due to how safe and secure they are.
In fact, Volvo is quite known for its impressive autonomous emergency braking system, as demonstrated in the video below.
Apart from the braking system, we have listed tons of safety features that you can typically find on a Volvo.
Volvo Safety Features:
- Traction and stability control (includes corner traction control, spin control, and engine drag control)
- Vehicle deceleration control (ABS/Antilock Brake System, emergency brake assist, electronic brake distribution)
- Driver alert control (includes lane-keeping aid)
- Driver awareness (cross-traffic alert with auto brake, blind spot information system, and rear collision warning and mitigation)
- Side impact protection system (SIPS)
- SIPS airbags (front seats)
- 360-degree surround view camera (includes parking assists)
- City safety with steering support (includes pedestrian detection, cyclist detection, large animal detection, and frontal collision warning with full auto brake)
- Speed limiter
Volvo equips its vehicles with many safety systems, each system having its own set of related features.
For instance, Volvo’s “Vehicle Deceleration Control” actually consists of three different brake-related safety features, namely the ABS, electronic brake distribution, and emergency brake assist.
You can also say the same for its “City Safety” feature, which can detect pedestrians, cyclists, and large animals as you’re driving along.
It also comes with steering support and a frontal collision warning feature that automatically applies full brake pressure when needed.
Looking at the plethora of features above, it’s very clear that as a luxury brand, Volvo does not skimp out on the safety aspect of its vehicles.
Performance
A luxury car brand is not complete without the performance to show for it, and while Volvo isn’t primarily focused on being the fastest, it still makes vehicles with pretty respectable performance figures.
The table we’ve provided below will give you a good idea of what kind of performance you can expect out of each Volvo model and trim produced today.
Based on the table above, Volvos make an average of 233 hp and have an average 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) time of 7.3 seconds.
While these figures aren’t exactly as impressive as those of other luxury car brands, the fastest Volvo from the table (XC90 T8) still makes 455 hp and takes only 5.4 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h).
Furthermore, this doesn’t even consider the fact that Volvo also owns “Polestar”, a company that currently makes performance-oriented electric vehicles (EVs) and used to make performance upgrades for some Volvo models.
One good example of the fusion of Volvo and Polestar’s performance is the 2012 Volvo S60 Polestar Concept, a 508-hp sports sedan that can go from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in just 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of over 190 mph (300 km/h).
Price
A lot of luxury cars, even some entry-level ones, are priced over $40,000 on average, which makes Volvo’s $34,000 to $72,000 price range still within what’s considered a luxury price tag.
In the table below, you can see the average price range of each specific Volvo model arranged according to the most expensive trim, which can be helpful for gauging how much you’re willing to spend on a Volvo.
Based on the table, the cheapest Volvo that you can buy is the Volvo XC40 subcompact luxury SUV at $33,800, which gives you the base T2 trim with a turbocharged1.5-liter inline-3 (I3) engine that makes 129 hp.
The most expensive Volvo in the lineup, however, is the Volvo XC90 midsize luxury SUV at $72,000, which gives you the top T8 trim that’s powered by a 2-liter twin-charged PHEV I4 engine that makes 455 hp.
This means that Volvo has quite a wide range of models and trim levels that may fit your budget, despite being a luxury car brand.
Volvo Top-of-the-line Models
If you’re in the market for a top-of-the-line Volvo model, you can consider the Volvo XC90, Volvo S90, and Volvo V90.
Volvo XC90
When it comes to getting one of the best Volvo models currently out on the market, you cannot go wrong with the XC90 midsize luxury SUV.
The 2nd-generation Volvo XC90, in particular, first went on sale in 2015 and was also the first model to be based on Volvo’s new SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) technology platform.
It can seat up to seven people in its stylistic and comfortable interior, which is decorated by “Black Ash” wood inlays for its door trims and ventilated Nappa leather seats.
To further add to the overall ride comfort, the Volvo XC90 also comes with an air suspension setup that adapts according to the terrain and road conditions.
Getting the top-of-the-line T8 trim unlocks the full performance potential of the XC90, as it gives you a twin-charged and hybrid-powered (PHEV) 2-liter I4 engine that makes 455hp.
This makes the XC90 T8 the most powerful production Volvo out in the market today.
Volvo S90
There are tons of luxury sedans out there, but one that should be in your sights is the new Volvo S90.
As Volvo’s flagship luxury sedan, the S90 offers a myriad of luxury and safety features while also having a competitive price tag.
Design-wise, the Volvo S90 is sleek, futuristic, and elegant in its exterior styling. Its interior also uses a combination of premium leather, wood, and even Orrefors crystal glass.
The S90 is also marketed as a “mild hybrid”, which means that extra energy is recovered and stored in the battery during braking. This enables the S90 to strike a balance between smooth performance and reduced emissions.
If you fancy getting the best performance for the S90, you should specifically go for the “B6” trim, which gives you a 300-hp 2-liter I4 engine equipped with a turbocharger, a supercharger, and a hybrid electric motor all at once.
Volvo V90
The Volvo V90 is the elegant S90 sedan model turned into a luxury station wagon, making it perfect for prospective buyers needing just a bit more space than the S90.
The V90 was introduced by Volvo two months after the S90 sedan’s first reveal in March of 2016 and is also offered with the same engine trims as the latter.
Choosing the B6 powertrain gives you the same 300-hp twin-charged (turbocharged and supercharged) 2-liter I4 hybrid engine from the S90.
You can expect tons of comfort and safety features on the Volvo V90, such as the Digital Services Package, an advanced air purifier, the BLIS (Blind Spot Information System), and four 360-degree parking view cameras.
However, it’s important to note that Volvo has discontinued the V90 in the US market for 2022, so you would have to resort to secondhand units from 2021 and earlier if you’re interested in buying one.
How does Volvo compare to other luxury brands?
In terms of luxury features and performance, Volvo is slightly behind other more expensive brands such as Audi and BMW. However, it still has one of the best comfort and safety features of any luxury brand.
Luxe Digital ranks Volvo in 4th place among the most popular luxury car brands online in 2022.
According to the rankings above, Volvo is able to beat so many other luxury brands that are significantly more expensive.
This suggests that despite being considered a luxury car brand, Volvo is still able to appeal to a broader market compared to other brands that make cars with six-figure price tags.
This is especially considering that it’s able to beat more established European brands such as Audi, Mercedes, and Porsche. But then again, it’s important to know what you’re exactly looking for in a luxury car.
Should you get a Volvo?
A Volvo is a great choice if you’re looking for something with elegant styling, has a lot of innovative safety features, and is very competitive in terms of pricing compared to other luxury brands.
Volvos are known for their safety, reliability, and comfort, so they offer a lot of value for money.
As far as luxury car brands are concerned, Volvo is able to compete with bigger brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz to a certain degree.
While downright performance isn’t exactly a strong point (or priority) of Volvo, it’s definitely one of the best in the world when it comes to its safety features, all while being cheaper than most popular luxury brands.
As long as you get your priorities straight, Volvo is a great all-around brand when it comes to its luxury car models.
If you fancy something a bit faster though, then you may be better off going with one of BMW’s M models, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG models, or even a Porsche model.
When did Volvo become a luxury brand?
Volvo first entered the luxury vehicle market in 1933 with its PV 654 model, which was the first luxury vehicle by the manufacturer.
The Volvo Cars company was first founded on April 14, 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden, but it wasn’t until 1933 that it made its first luxury car, the Volvo PV 654.
However, due to manufacturing delays brought about by WWII, Volvo had to wait until 1968 to re-enter the luxury market. By that time, a second luxury car was born, the Volvo PV 164 sedan.
