First Drive: Volvo’s EX90 aims to be the electric SUV for all occasions

What is it?

Volvo is a brand with a strong focus on electrification. While legislation may be softening, the Swedish manufacturer still puts a lot of emphasis on battery-powered models while continuing to offer a series of hybrid options as well.

It’s why we’ve now got this car – the EX90. Effectively an electric version of the hugely popular XC90, the EX90 has seven-seater practicality to go alongside Volvo’s latest technology. We’ve been driving it in the UK to see what it has to offer.

What’s new?

The EX90 is designed to be a practical, family-focused SUV which just happens to be electric. In typical Volvo fashion, that means a solid but premium-feeling interior and a host of safety assistance systems designed to keep things as secure as possible.

Underneath, the EX90 actually uses a similar platform to the XC90, and it’s also one that you’ll find underneath cars like the Polestar 3. Its design aims to maximise interior and luggage space while still ensuring a comfortable driving experience.

What’s under the bonnet?

For the time being, the EX90 is only available in dual-motor setups. While we expect a single-motor version to arrive in due course, buyers have just standard dual-motor and upgraded Performance models to choose from, the former of which we’re driving here. With 402bhp and 770Nm of torque, it’s still more than powerful enough to get this heavyweight SUV up to speed in good time. Volvo claims a 0-60mph time of just 5.2 seconds, in fact.

In terms of range, the Swedish brand claims up to 374.7 miles, though during our winter test drive, we were seeing a total of 300 miles at 100 per cent battery charge. However, a decent maximum charge speed of 250kW means you should be able to complete a 10 to 80 per cent charge in around 30 minutes.

What’s it like to drive?

The ‘standard’ XC90 has always been praised for its comfortable driving experience and in many areas, it’s the same story with the EX90. At speed, it’s wonderfully quiet and refined, while the performance that you get from the dual electric motors means you’re never caught lacking for overtaking grunt. It’s a big car, too, but thankfully, there are plenty of cameras to help out when parking. However, if you want to simply dip the side mirrors in order to see a kerb, it’s a real pain; there are no physical controls, so you need to go through a series of menus in order to do this. The same goes for the steering wheel adjustment. A physical button will always win in this area.

At slower speeds, the EX90 does start to show its weight, with potholes and other imperfections leading this model to feel a little unbalanced. The large alloy wheels fitted to the EX90 won’t help in this area, mind you.

How does it look?

The EX90 is a car which is instantly recognisable as a Volvo. With its slim headlights and upright, blocky look, it’s a model which will no doubt prove familiar to most despite being a new addition to the Volvo range. The high-performance headlights do look particularly good and feature a ‘shutter’ function which opens and closes – it’s quite cool to see it in action when you unlock the car.

You’ve also got integrated door handles which sit flush with the bodywork when the car is locked or in motion. It helps to improve aerodynamics and gives a cleaner look to the car overall. Wondering what the taxi-style board is above the windscreen? That houses many of the EX90’s key sensors and safety detection equipment.

What’s it like inside?

Like other Volvos before it, the EX90 has a classically Scandinavian feeling inside with clean lines and a generally minimalist feeling. As with the smaller EX30, the EX90’s interior is largely devoid of buttons and this is something which feels quite ‘un-Volvo’; even the most minor of functions requires a trip into the main screen, which makes adjusting certain elements more distracting than it needs to be. That said, the screen does work well and is packed with functions. There are acres of headroom and legroom, mind you, and even those in the very rear of the car get a decent amount of space overall.

In such a large car, it’ll come as no surprise that boot space is excellent. Even with all rows in place, the EX90 offers a hatchback-rivalling 310 litres, which rises to 655 litres with the rear seats folded flat. Lower middle and rear rows and you get a total of 1,915 litres, which is very usable indeed. You also get a 34-litre frunk, so there’s a handy place to store the charging cables – though you can also use the boot’s underfloor area for these too if you’d like.

What’s the spec like?

Here’s the kicker with the EX90 – the price. Things start at £80,160 for a standard single-motor model in Plus trim. Want a twin motor car? That’ll come in at between £87,060 for a Plus, or a whopping £97,460 for a twin motor Performance version in Ultra trim. It’s quite an expensive proposition as a result, though you get loads of kit included; Plus models, for instance, benefit from a full Bose sound system, four-zone climate control and a heated steering wheel, among other features.

The large 14.5-inch infotainment system comes equipped on all models, too, and it’s packed with features as well as full Google features, such as Maps installed as standard. However, it would be nice to have a few physical controls, as it’s so feature-rich that accessing even simple functions feels a touch tricky.

Verdict

The EX90 feels like a genuine step up in the electric car world. Against rivals, it stands out for its refinement and high-quality feeling. It also has that inherent ‘Volvo-ness’ through its clean, well-made interior and practical design. A high price and tricky in-car usability put an edge on things, however.

It does have a whole lot of rivals, mind you, including Volvo’s own XC90, which is available with plug-in hybrid engines for a lower cost, but as an example of what EVs can do, the EX90 is impressive.