Police forces in Sweden are to become the first across the globe to take delivery of the Volvo V90 estate for emergency vehicle use.

The Swedish police will take delivery of its first V90 police cars early next year.

The V90 was selected after the car recently achieved the highest rating ever in the Swedish police’s driving test. In Sweden the police car is judged as a workplace. This means any car has to meet strict demands in areas such as performance, comfort, quality and ergonomics in order to qualify as a police car.

The Swedish police car test focuses on five areas: a brake test, an obstacle course, evasive action tests with and without braking, and high-speed emergency driving.

The overall score for the V90 was 9.2 out of 10; the highest rating ever achieved by any car.

The final test protocol on the V90 prepared by Swedish police test drivers concluded that “overall, it is difficult to find any faults at all. Chassis, steering, suspension, traction control and powertrain all show exemplary performance. Quick lane changes at high speeds feel almost deceptively easy, the car does what it is told to do and shakes off lateral forces without any protest.”

The Swedish police will take delivery of the V90 from next year but other markets are also being targeted by Volvo. Using the Special Products department, the carmaker can transform a standard V90 into a police car in about a week.