Our new long-termer has arrived – and it’s an ICE! John Challen reports back.

Our new V90 Cross Country comes with a raft of safety and infotainment tech on board as standard

P11d: £51,660 MPG/CO2: 41.5-44.8mpg / 165-179g/km Test mpg: 36.5mpg

For the first time in nearly a year I’m running a combustion-engined vehicle – and it feels a bit strange. It seems crazy to say that, but such is the pace of change in the industry and how used people can get used to EVs. The shift to diesel has also meant I’ve had to visit fuel stations again, which hit home how much prices have gone up!

The new arrival is another wagon for the Fleet World fleet – a Volvo V90 Cross Country, no less. We’ve been impressed with numerous Swedish models of late, in terms of their quality interiors, the way they drive and the level of kit onboard. The new arrival is no exception to that affection, with a raft of safety and infotainment tech on board as standard.

Our car comes with tinted windows, a spare wheel and jack and metallic paint, but that’s pretty much all you’d need as all other essentials can be found onboard. For example, every V90 gets goodies such as the 9-inch portrait centre console, which is very clear and works almost seamlessly with Google Maps.

There’s also Google’s Automotive Services Suite, however that is where the only chink in the V90 CC’s armour has been found. When using voice control to phone Mrs Challen, a simple “Call Kara” commend means the system not only searches Google, instead of my phonebook, but also assumes it’s the (I guess) more common Cara. It takes a bit of effort to get right, in which time I could’ve used the on-screen menu!