Took delivery a couple weeks ago, 2025.5 Ultra T8 with BW and Air suspension. US-spec, software 3.4.5.
This is our 4th XC90 after:
2016 T6 Inscription US-spec
2016 T8 Inscription EU-spec
2022.5 T8 Recharge Inscription US-spec (Sensus)
We also have a EU EX90 Ultra Perf with Pilot Package, BW and Air suspension on the way for this summer.
Rather than covering all the differences everyone is already aware of, I wanted to dive into the smaller changes that I had not previously read about.
IMPROVEMENTS
- Ability to always start in “Pure”. Huge quality of life improvement for me, as I had to swipe and select Pure I got in the car.
- No cap on charging port, just open the door and plug-in. Again, huge for me, as it was mighty annoying to have to remove/reposition the cap every single time.
- Split cameras 360/backup on same screen. Simple but big improvement vs having to hit the 360 button every time I reverse – an annoyance that was originally introduced to our US 2016 with a software update, whereas the EU 2016 stuck to “whatever you had selected when you last reversed”.
- Automated battery management. Jury still out on how well it really works, but at least it’s an attempt: when you enter your destination into AAOS, the car attempt to manage EV vs ICE more intelligently (vs 2022.5 where you have to do so manually, aka constantly fiddle with “hold” and “pure” to avoid burning through the battery when on the highway only to then use the ICE when in town).
- Display resolution on not only the (larger) center screen but also the dash cluster is immensely improved, felt like moving to the “Retina display” back in the day.
- The layout of the center console is back to useful. Between the 2016 and the 2022.5 they had added an entirely pointless wireless charging mat (more like a cooktop for your phone…) that left only the two cupholders, so dumb. Now there’s a nice slot to hold the phone by the cupholder, and an area in front where loose items can go (it also has a cooktop, but I won’t use that any more than I did on the 2022.5).
- Cornering lights, not sure how necessary really, but notable
- Soundproofing. Noticeably quieter cabin, though some of it may be due to more compliant suspension with air vs non-air in the past
- Heated/ventilated seats with differentiated buttons for 1/2/3/off rather than having to cycle, so much more convenient
- Shifter “clicks” are much improved / give more “tactile” feedback
- Rear wiper has spray in the arm rather than on top of window, much cleaner
- One Pedal driving that allows the car to come to complete stop, albeit is not as well calibrated than Tesla where I never have to use the brake pedal. In the XC90 I still sometimes do because the deceleration that happens upon releasing the “gas” pedal is not sufficient/as aggressive as Tesla’s
- I know people love to hate on AAOS, but at least on the larger screen I find it a big step up vs Sensus in terms of UX and functionality. I recognize some settings are no longer there to customize, but I have yet to find one that I miss. Maybe the ability to only dip the right mirror when reversing – AAOS only lets you do both or none. No big deal, stuck with none.
NOT IMPROVED OR DOWNGRADED
- While some may prefer the design of the new dash (I’m indifferent), there is no question that the materials uses are less premium. The fabric insert is where leather used to be, which I suspect is a cost-cutting measure. Certainly that fabric is not premium feeling. The leather dash also looks to me to be of either a much cheaper kind, or fake leather altogether, with less stitching and generally feeling less luxurious.
- Continued downgrade of door cards/armrest material. Was Nappa on our 2016s, when to regular leather on the 2022.5, now somehow even less premium than that
- Connectivity issues: the car is randomly shown “offline” in the app, or won’t load an app while driving (for instance Waze) because it claims to be offline even though 4 full bars of LTE are shown. Connectivity typically comes back after 10 minutes. This never happened with Sensus.
- Pilot Assist had seen a massive improvement between 2016 and 2022.5. It is exactly the same between 2022.5 and 2025.5, no improvement whatsoever. Very lacking vs competition at this point, including much cheaper price points like a Kia Telluride whose 2022 equivalent system was much better at handling curvy roads or generally staying in charge vs requiring driver corrections/input
- No way to show media selection in dash, only center screen
- No hardware wheel for brightness of displays/lighting
- Still the dumb button to unlock the fuel-cap from inside. 2016 did not have that and to this day I forget to press the button before getting out of the car about every other fill-up. I so don’t get the point…
- No easy way to add a clean phone mount. Had used ProClip in all other cars, ordered their solution for this one too. It’s on its way but it looks rather massive/ugly this time (hugs the top of the screen), I’m sure because there just isn’t any other way
- WORST OF ALL: I never worried about wireless CarPlay not being included because I have all along been using a CarlinkIt. Sure it’s a little slower to connect than other cars that have wireless CarPlay natively, but it otherwise worked and so was a good enough workaround. I fully/naively expected my latest CarlinkIt 5.0 to “just work”, but it does not. It powers on (pink logo) but then does nothing, the car simply does not see it. That’s a BIG deal for me, as I find having to plug the phone in and out every time to be a major annoyance. My setup is an Apple MagSafe charging puck, so my “move” coming in the car is really just “slapping” the phone on the mount with one hand. Having to fish a cable with the other hand and plug in may seem like a completely trivial thing, and I admit it is, but it’s again one of those small quality of life that do count when they compound over hundreds of drives. I hope eventually someone figures out a wireless adapter that works with the 2025.5…
Generally, very happy with the car, especially with the addition of BW and Air Suspension. The former is the best car sound system I have ever heard, truly a grand listening experience. The latter completely transforms the ride of the car – it still isn’t great, but it’s nowhere near as jarring as it was on conventional springs.