The XC90 swallows more cargo than its competitors, and it comes with features that allow quick, easy tailoring for cargo, gear or people. The XC90 is not the sportiest vehicle among luxury-class SUVs, but it handles well on city streets and highways. It rides very comfortably and it's easy to park. With tow ratings ranging starting at 3,970 pounds, it'll tow light boat trailers, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, and other toys. 

The standard six cylinder engine is up to all the demands of daily driving and delivers the best value, in our view. It produces 235 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, and it gets an EPA-estimated 15/21 City/Highway. 

The upgrade 311-hp V8 adds a bit of excitement for those who put a premium on quick acceleration. The V8 also ups the tow rating to 4,960 pounds. The 4.4-liter V8 was developed to Volvo specifications by Yamaha, the Japanese motorcycle builder and auto engine specialist. The XC90 V8 generates 311 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, with standard all-wheel drive and speed-sensitive power steering. 

For 2010, the XC90 V8 model offers an Executive Package, with special soft leather seating surfaces, massage and ventilation for the front seats, heated seats all around, and some unique appearance items. The XC90 was launched as a 2003 model and Volvo freshened its appearance for 2007. The sporty R-Design models joined the lineup for 2009. The 3.2 R-Design continues with minor changes in the 2010 lineup, but the R-Design package is no longer available on the V8. 

The fulltime all-wheel-drive system works smoothly in the daily grind without any penalty in EPA fuel economy, and it's truly welcome when the weather gets foul or the road surface gets rough. Yet buyers who don't really need all-wheel-drive capability can choose an XC90 with front-wheel drive. 

Volvo's reputation for safety engineering is deserved. Maybe more than anyone, Volvo devotes impressive resources and manpower to improve occupant protection. The XC90 offers the full array of active and passive safety features, including a Roll Stability Control system designed to keep the XC90 from rolling over, and a rollover protection system intended to shield occupants in the extremely unlikely event that a rollover actually occurs. Less obvious are features like a roof structure fashioned from high-strength steel, or a lower front crossmember engineered to inflict less damage on small vehicles if an accident occurs. It may be the safest SUV on the road; it's certainly one we'd feel reassured seeing our loved ones drive. 

Volvo's blind-spot monitoring system, or BLIS, uses cameras to search a large area on either side of the vehicle, and warns the driver if there might be an approaching vehicle not visible in the XC90's mirrors. It's optional, but we think it's a great safety feature.