Volvo EX90 interior, design and features review

02 November 2024

When people think of a Volvo car, chances are they either picture a big wagon or a big SUV, namely the iconic XC90 - a luxury family hauler that came to be in the early 2000s.

As Volvo announced it's shifting its entire lineup toward electrification, people across the globe began clamoring for an electric version of the XC90. Now, Volvo has delivered - meet the EX90.

What is it?

The Volvo EX90 is a large 5-door SUV that can seat seven people. It's 5 meters long, wide, tall, and weighs 2.8 tons unladen. It also has a long 0.11752 inches wheelbase.

It's a bit longer than its ICE-powered counterpart, though that car is wider and taller, and weighs less.

You can get the Volvo EX90 with 5 seats and a 665 l trunk, a 6 seater with captain chair style seats in the second row, and two seats in the third row that can be lowered for the same 665 l amount of space, or be used (then you get 310 l). Finally you can have the full-on 7 seater with 3 seats in the second row.

Who is it for?

The Volvo EX90 is for families. If you regularly go on trips with a lot of luggage, three, four, or five people, and even a few animals, this car will fit you all without breaking a sweat.

The EX90 is also a premium SUV, meaning that despite sitting higher on the road than your typical large wagon or saloon and facing more wind noise it's still quiet inside. The refined ride excellent build quality are apparent as well. And it can go off-road, especially in its dual-motor configuration, though it's not really it's strongest area.

Give me the technical stuff

Volvo EX90 at a glance:

• Dimensions: 198.3 inches x 77.3 inches x 68.7 inches, 117.5 inches wheelbase.
• Drivetrains available: 101 kWh - RWD 205 kW (279 hp), 361 lb-ft; 107 kWh - AWD 300 kW (408 hp), 568 lb-ft ; 107 kWh - AWD 380 kW (510 hp), 671 lb-ft
• Charging: 250 kW CCS, 0-80% in 30 min.
• Range: 360 miles (101 kWh); 367 miles (101 kWh), WLTP
• Weight: up to 7,430 lb
• Trunk: EU: 665 l, 34 l frunk

What's great about it?

It's a bit of a cliche at this point to say that a Volvo car is sexy, but it's true with the EX90. This is a very well-designed thing from any angle.

The design is very Nordic with nothing excessive - it's clear and understated. We love the Thor Hammer headlights and in this Ultra trim, you get an even prettier body with a black glass roof, 22-inch wheels, and black anthracite accents on the lower part of the car.

Being a huge SUV doesn't mean it isn't pretty from the back as well.

You can configure the Volvo EX90 with air suspension, which makes it both comfortable on the road and more surefooted in the twists.

Inside you'll either love a new Volvo or hate it. Volvo's are cool and minimalist inside. We tend to go with the loving feeling.

The seats are a lovely leather-free fabric that's extremely comfortable. This is the Tailored Wool option ($1,300 more than the rest) but you can go with a synthetic leatherette if you prefer (we would - it looks great and is cheaper).

There are hardly any buttons anywhere in the Volvo EX90 cabin. You control nearly everything from the 14.5-inch infotainment screen. There's another, smaller display for the driver.

The infotainment on the EX90 is zippy and intuitive. And having nothing but a screen to control various functions leaves you with a very clean place to be - an enjoyable look for sure.

A move to the top 'Ultra' trim gives you Bose sound system with 17 premium speakers. But audiophiles might want to go further to the Bowers & Wilkins High Fidelity sound system with 25 speakers (including some in the headrest).

There's ample room in the back of the Volvo EX90, as you'd expect. The seats are designed to provide support to just about every part of you that touches it.

The third-row seats are not your typical child-only affair. They're big enough to house an adult as well, though they'd be our third choice, naturally.

What's neat is that the seats are motorized and you can bring them up or nudge them to the trunk's floor with a press of a button in the trunk itself. And, third-row passengers get a USB-C port each.

The Volvo EX90 comes with a big 23.5 ft³ trunk (with the third-row seats folded flat), but you also have a 1.2 ft³ frunk. There's also a lot of underfloor room in the back.

And, if you go with air suspension, you get a button in the trunk to lower the car to make it easier to load a heavy item (or let an older pet to get inside on its own).

The Volvo EX90 offers the best mirrors we've seen on a car - they're frameless, which just means they look nicer, but they also have two cameras on their underside, which the car uses to check its sides while in motion.

Finally, there's a big Lidar module just above the windshield, which the EX90 will use to scan the road in front of you for potential obstacles. The car will be able to slow down and stop to avoid hitting something and will rely on the Lidar for self-driving. How very Volvo! However, keep in mind that many of these features aren't available at launch.

What's not that good?

There's not much to complain about with the Volvo EX90. However, the sunroof, while great for creating the presence of space, lacks any way to shade itself, so you may need to get used to the summer heat.

Being minimalist inside has its benefits, but without buttons, you'd be stuck roaming into the infotainment screen's menus to find your fog lights for instance.

Perhaps above all this is not a cheap vehicle and you can certainly find better value elsewhere. The Kia EV9, for one, is substantially cheaper, while not necessarily being a worse vehicle.

Which version to get?

You have a choice of a rear-wheel drive EX90 that has 205 kW (279 hp) single motor and can go from 0 to 62 mph in 8.4 seconds. A move to the dual-motor variant brings all-wheel drive and 300 kW (408 hp) of power that bring the 0 mph dash down to 5.9 s. Finally, the Performance model ups the dual-motor power to 380 kW (510 hp) and makes the 0 mph in 4.9 s.

All models have a 104 kWh battery with around 360 miles of WLTP range.

The single-motor Volvo EX90 starts from $96,500, the twin-motor is $100,400, and a move to the Ultra is $113,500. Those are the trims, each comes with an option to upgrade the drivetrain.

We would get the middle 'Plus trim' and add a few extras like the the winter package with heated seats and steering wheel, the adaptive air suspension ($3,000), and maybe even the Bowers & Wilkins stereo, if you can swing it ($3,380).