Unless you’re shacked up in Sweden, it’s unlikely that you have ever sat in an executive Volvo saloon. Like large French cars, nobody in Britain has bought a Scandinavian cruiser in years.

We’ve had big Volvos in the past of course, but the lumbering S80 was so outdated you wondered who the hell was buying them.

Well, now they have a new saloon and the S90 is a massive step into the future. It’s very much aimed at German car buyers, as Volvo basks in the success of the XC90 SUV, which has attracted a whole new army of premium market buyers to the brand.

Massive inside, beautifully appointment and loaded with an extraordinary amount of technology, the S90 ticks a lot of boxes. We’re driving it for a week to see if it’s as good in the real world as it is on paper…