Lexus LS vs Volvo V90

What's the difference?

Surprisingly, for people who would rather be driven than drive themselves, there are quite a few options available in the large luxury sedan market.

While on the whole sedans have fallen from favour, this niche corner of the market continues to let the three-box design thrive.

The options here have changed a bit in the last few years, though, so how does the Lexus flagship, the LS fit into the picture? I drove one around for a week to find out.

Volvo has been riding a massive wave of success in the Australian new car market, recording (at the time of writing) 20 consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth. An even more impressive achievement given the overall market has been heading in the opposite direction.

Any worm dunker worth their salt will tell you to fish where the fish are, and Volvo has embraced the world's SUV fascination, with the XC40, XC60, and XC90 offering charismatic design and intelligent engineering across three SUV size categories.

But, there's something about Volvo and wagons (and Golden Retrievers). For more than 60 years wagons have been part of the Swedish brand's DNA, and the latest expression is the V90 Cross Country.

In other markets the car is sold in 'civilian' V90 guise. That is, a front-wheel drive only version of the full-size S90 sedan (also not sold here). But we cop the V90 Cross Country, a higher riding, all-wheel drive, five-seater.

Could its more car-like drive characteristics tempt you away from the SUV pack?