Electric EX90 is Volvo’s new flagship SUV

Thankfully, what is known and loved about the former XC90 – now EX90 – remains. That faithful old silhouette, contemporary yet reserved design and seven proper seats. Indeed, Volvo opens its release describing the EX90 first and foremost as “a true seven-seater,” before adding “all-electric SUV”.

Looks-wise, as above, it’s largely as you’d expect. A sturdy shape is dressed in relevant Volvo garb, with the T-shaped ‘hammer’ lights taking on a pixel-like aesthetic. There are plenty of allusions to electrification too, with the grille-less face (which it suits surprisingly well) and aero wheels. The rear lights have been re-jigged a bit into two-piece items and there are now flush door handles. Other than that? It’s reassuringly familiar and oh-so cool in that quintessentially Scandinavian way.

It’s the electric bit that brings the biggest change for Volvo’s flagship, with news on the last XC90 being relatively quiet, barring a few updates, since its launch in 2015. So what are the important numbers for the EX90? Range is up to a WLTP-certified 373 miles, with charging of the 111kWh battery from 10-80 per cent taking just 30 minutes at the maximum rate. The EX90 also features bi-directional charging, meaning you can power your home with your car for a period of time. Though the hardware is there, the feature itself is coming in the future.

This initial version will have two motors, offering a combined 517PS (380kW) in what is described as a performance version. As standard, it’ll have 408PS (300kW). Indeed, that meatier version is by far the most powerful member yet in the XC90 family lineage.

Though very much shaped like the car that came before, the EX90 is claimed to use a brand-new chassis, with the whole car containing around 15 per cent recycled steel, 25 per cent recycled aluminium and up to 48kg of recycled plastics. That’s a record 15 per cent of plastic in the car that’s recycled.

What these cars have always been, and what this EX90 has to be, is safe and at the forefront of technology. On that front, Volvo have gone the extra mile. Famously, it’s the first car ever to feature in-car radar for occupant monitoring, meaning forgetting your kids or your pets in the car should be a thing of the past. A range of sensors including radar, lidar and cameras work together to fortify the EX90’s incredibly advanced driver assistance systems, able to see small objects hundreds of metres ahead. Driver attention is closely monitored and with its equipment level on delivery, the EX90 should be ready for unsupervised autonomous driving in the future.

On the inside, Nvidia Drive AI platforms powered by Snapdragon processing power run the EX90’s core car systems, from battery management to infotainment. The EX90’s digital interfaces should prove to be some of the highest-definition and most responsive too, with Unreal Engine-powered 3D graphics developed by none other than Epic Games. Yes, the bods behind Fortnite have developed the EX90’s digital interfaces.

That’s just as well too, given the EX90 comes with a properly monstrous 14.5-inch Google-powered vertical centre screen, with Google app and service capability. Don’t worry, Apple CarPlay compatibility is there too. On top of all that, it’s XC90 business as usual. That’s to say, beautifully (and responsibly/sustainably) furnished, spacious, logical and again, reassuringly Scandinavian.

So what about pricing and availability? No word yet, though Volvo is usually pretty consistent in not showing cars too long before they’re set to go on sale. We expect EX90s to be with buyers by the end of next year, though at what price is a bit more of a grey area. Clearly the pivot to electrification comes at no small cost, so the already sturdily-priced XC90 might yet get a bump in cost in its EX90 transition.