Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo, calls the arrival of the all-electric EX90 the “start of a new era” for the company—which is precisely the sort of hyperbole you’d expect from the head of a carmaker at the launch of its new flagship model.

But this is not the first all-electric modern Volvo; that was the XC40 Recharge revealed in 2019. Indeed, Volvo's first ever EV was the 1976 box on wheels that was the Elbil, which was partially financed by Swedish telecommunications company Televerket. A dozen six-volt batteries powered the Elbil for a range of just 31 miles.

No, the “new era” Rowan is likely referring to is that this is the first top-of-the-range Volvo that comes only in electric form. The eggs are most definitely all in the EV basket here. Some might say this is unfortunate timing in the US and Europe just as brands such as Ford backpedal on full EVs, rushing to the perceived safety of hybrids.

Still, even though the EX90 will be built in China (Volvo's parent company is Chinese group Geely), all European and American EX90s will dodge China import tariffs, as they’ll be made in Volvo’s new plant in Charleston, South Carolina. This China connection will serve the brand well in the tech stakes, however, as its in this country where EV sales have reached a tipping point: Half of all new cars sold there can now be powered by batteries. Make no mistake, electrification of autos will happen, and right now China is way ahead.

Style and Safety

First impressions of the EX90 are overwhelmingly positive. The design lineage is there, but a reductive approach has resulted in a clean, sharp exterior, with the sides and rear being particularly attractive. It looks smaller than the 5-meter-long car it is. The sleek lines also mean the EX90 is much more aerodynamic than it looks, with a low drag coefficient of 0.29. If the approach was to make it seem as if Volvo was edging upward to a more premium customer, then this EV certainly succeeds in that regard. Nothing seems less than completely considered.

There is a glaring issue with the exterior, however: the lidar hump at the top of the windscreen. Volvo knows this is a problem, and I know this for two reasons. First, if you look at the raft of official press images of the car you'll see many shots of the EX90 for nearly every angle possible expect in profile. I did find one profile shot, but the car is so far in the background that the hump is tiny, which is no doubt intentional. Up close it does indeed look like an unlit taxi sign. Second, I asked a Volvo designer at the brand-hosted launch if the team had problems dealing with the hump as we stared at it jutting out of the roofline, and they reluctantly confirmed they did.

Still, that lidar does boost the car's already formidable safety. The company claims this is the safest Volvo ever, as the sensor array is able to build a complete picture of the world around the car, picking out even small objects hundreds of meters away, be it night or day.

Even though this tech makes the EX90 capable of autonomous highway driving, Volvo is not switching this capability on yet, and Thomas Broberg, senior technical adviser for safety at Volvo, won't say when it will. “It’s more about what the car shouldn’t do rather than what it will do,” Broberg tells me. He adds that Volvo needs more time to test its Level 3 self-driving tech, but then confesses the company has been testing this system, or versions of it, for years now. Early next year the EX90 will allow supervised driving 2.5, apparently, but until then all drivers will be just collecting data for Volvo.

One final important point on the lidar hump. At the launch, I chatted with the representative from Luminar, the company that makes this unsightly self-driving component. He tells me the next generation of the tech is half the size and that Luminar is working on fitting it into a windshield rather than letting it sit proud on top. This sounds much better, and you can expect to see it in cars as soon as 2026 or 2027. Sadly, Volvo would not confirm whether it was going to upgrade the EX90 to this coming lump-free lidar. Let’s hope so.

Lux Interior

Speaking of radar, there's one inside the EX90, too. It's to stop children or dogs being left inside by mistake, as well as all the driver monitoring and assistance systems you’d expect from a Volvo. This is a very good thing, because such is the plush nature of the EX90 interior (the convincing Nordico “leather” trim is in fact made from secondhand plastic and sustainable pine oil), you would not want to leave unsupervised pets and kids to ruin the optional middle-row captain's seats or the cavernous trunk, which has a very handy “Will It Fit?” pictorial chart, including a washing machine, chairs, skis, and a fridge, that lets you see what stuff can be crammed into the acres of rear space.

Volvo was the first to be clever enough to stop focusing on its own user interface and instead hand such responsibility to Google, so androids software thankfully runs on the 14.5-inch central display. That touchscreen is lightning fast and easy to use when you're not moving. But as Volvo has decided to kill all buttons of any kind in favor of putting everything in touchscreen control, including the glove box and wing mirrors, this means you are forced to take your eyes of the road while driving to do certain things. This is not ideal, and some manufacturers have spotted this and are returning to the wonderful world of physical switchgear for certain, obvious functions. Not Volvo, though.

Apple CarPlay is supported as well as androids Auto, of course. But what of the newfangled AI-powered chatbots being integrated into cars, again as some other makers (Peugeot, Volkswagen, Citroen) have already done? Apparently we should look to March next year for news on Gemini in androids Auto, and it could well be in the Volvo first. And on the subject of smarts, it's good to see Volvo making your smartphones the car key, something nowhere near enough auto brands have jumped on.

Range and Ride

Volvo claims the EX90 has a range of 374 miles for both 510 hp (Twin Motor Performance) and 402 hp versions. In my car, over a 137-mile stretch, I got 2.9 mi/kWh, but remember that is in perfect Californian conditions—expect much less in the cold and wet. From a full charge start, at the 150-mile mark I was at 56 percent, so more than 300 miles total is certainly possible.

You charge at up to 250 kW for a 10 to 80 percent top-up in 30 minutes, which is fast considering the EX90 has a 400-volt architecture, rather than 800 volts—but since this is a flagship model, I'd still have preferred 800. And surprisingly there's no vehicle-to-load capability, so you can't power devices from the car's CATL battery. I asked about this glaring omission, and Volvo said it was being “added in future models,” which, for the faithful EX90 early adopters, will be hard to swallow.

The Twin Motor Performance is a second faster to 62 mph at 4.9 seconds, and top speed in both is a limited 112 mph. But considering what you'll be doing in the EX90 (ferrying children, urban trips, highways) you likely won't need the 510 hp option. Save your money.

No matter which you choose, the ride is luxurious—soft, yet controlled. It is very quiet, and this only adds to the premium feel. If you push the car, you do feel its 6,144 pounds in cornering, but this is an SUV that is not meant to be thrown around. The throttle sensitivity and control at low speeds is exceptional. The steering is precise as well, giving you confidence in cornering. If you've tried BMW’s iX, this is a good comparison here.

The driving assist with lane keep and cruise works fine but can also oddly be a little jerky—especially considering that lidar lump on the roof should be spotting what's going on way in advance of “happenings” reaching where you are on the road.

Verdict

There's a great deal that Volvo has got right here, with an exceptionally quiet ride, a plush interior, lots of integrated tech, and an exterior design that is somehow low drag and stylish while remaining familiar and new at the same time. The SUV is, as it should be, spacious with a huge trunk, and aimed at families transporting children. (See the clever built-in child booster seat which other brands should wholesale copy.)

The fails are much less numerous. It's hard to overlook the lidar lump, especially when you find out that a smaller version of the tech is incoming and competitors have managed to integrate such functionality in different ways that are aesthetically more pleasing. The lack of any buttons on the dash at all is frustrating, the lack of an LLM at launch is odd considering Volvo is so partnered with Google, and the lack of vehicle-to-load capability is just confusing, as if Volvo ran out of time on the project in some way or another.

These gripes aside, this does feel like the start of a new era for Volvo. And if it carries on this way it should be a successful one.