Volvo EX90 review, first drive: Calm and confident electric luxury

With the EX90, Volvo has taken a different approach to the flagship electric SUV, blending understated Scandinavian design with a more ambitious interpretation of luxury, technology and comfort.There are no points for guessing what Volvo engineers and designers took as the benchmark for its flagship electric SUV. The EX90 is a lot of things, it is the brand’s first purpose-built battery electric vehicle, it is the first time Volvo has made an EV above the EX40 class. And this is also the first time that a Volvo has felt genuinely impressive, not draping its class in boring suede but rather donning a hint of the luxury class, and if the EX90 is the kind of car that Volvo is going to serve up going ahead, the German dominance may just take a hit. The EX90 features a blanked-off nose, pixelated DRLs, sharp bonnet creases and aerodynamic lines for a sleek, modern look. Calling the EX90 the electric sibling to the XC90 is inaccurate, because both of these cars are based on entirely different platforms, but it's no one’s fault if they identify the EX90 as the latter when seen from afar. This measures 90mm longer and and 30mm wider than the XC90, but isn’t as tall but the difference in size isn’t perceptible as both cars have the same wheelbase at 2,985mm. The front houses a blanked off nose, with the Volvo logo in the middle, flanked by Thor’s hammer LED DRLs that have a pixel design and the top and bottom half actually split open, to reveal the headlamps that have been placed behind – one of the coolest details of any modern car. It has creases on the bonnet, along with aero lines along the sides, and is very clearly more aerodynamic than its ICE counterpart. The EX90’s side profile is clean and understated with a prominent shoulder line, rising glasshouse and minimal cladding. Now if you do happen to spot this car overseas, you’d notice a blob on the top of the windshield, that is the LiDAR module for ADAS, but considering India’s blurry norms on commercial use of LiDAR, the cars here don’t get it. The EX90 doesn’t really show off much, but the very cool ORVMs that have a bezelless, hub-mounted design are very classy. The rear is perhaps the biggest identifier for the EX90, its got vertically stacked LED beside the rear window, like the EC40, and C-shaped LED taillamps, similar to the EX30, the new Volvo is definitely a looker, and one that brings in a fresh wave of modernity and style along with it. The rear defines the EX90 with vertically stacked LEDs and C-shaped taillamps, giving Volvo’s electric SUV a modern, stylish and distinctive look. Get inside, but there’s a catch, this full-size luxury EV comes with just a key card as its sole locking/unlocking source, so to get inside one has to tap the driver’s side door handle with the card, wait for it to pop out and the car is unlocked, but there were attempts when this didn’t register properly, and just seems like a solution to a problem that didn’t exist, and Volvo just went ahead and created one. Once inside though, the cabin is a class act from Volvo – a departure from their understated norms and really hitting the mark as its rivals do, albeit in a very different manner. The intricately designed metallic covered tweeter sits on top of the dash, a decision of design and modern minimalist aesthetics that immediately tells you what Volvo is aiming for with the interiors. The dashboard is split by hidden aircon vents and a full-width hollow gap, with a large 14.5-inch screen controlling almost everything. The dash is split into two by the hidden aircon vents and its extended hollow gap that runs the width. The large 14.5-inch screen controls almost everything, but functions like steering, ORVMs, massage, seat support and headlamps are unnecessarily buried. Some of these are vital functions in a car and making these so complicated are, again, an example of creating solutions to problems that didn’t exist. But as far as the experience with the display is concerned, it is great, and very simple to use for the most part. The central console has a floating design, with a wireless smartphone charger, a bejeweled dial for the volume control with cupholders above and plenty of storage below. The steering too is new, with backlit switches, and one of the coolest bits of this car – the 9-inch driver’s display mounted on the steering column itself, which means no matter how the steering is adjusted, the driver can see the display without any issues, and is a far neater execution of a clean design than removing the driver’s panel altogether in favour of an HUD. The rest of the cabin continues to exhibit class and luxury, the seats are powered, with lumbar and bolstering, and come with heating, ventilation and massage functions that are controlled via a neat squircle knob, with a central button. The quality of plastics and the upholstery is top-class, and sustainably sourced. The seats themselves have a very cool modern design, which brings us perhaps the biggest selling point of the EX90, the 6-seater configuration with individual captain seats in the second row. Now these seats are supremely comfortable, and the space considering the flat floor is great, but there’s a catch – in this flagship electric Swedish SUV, there is no form of powered adjustment at all, its regular manual slide and recline for these seats. One does get very good armrests with pop-out cupholders though. The glass roof makes the experience even better, but it doesn’t come with a powered shade, instead it adjusts the opacity, cool but needs better sunblocking for our climate. A special mention to the 25-speaker 1,610W Bowers & Wilkins audio system that has Dolty ATMOS and gets incredibly vivid audio modes, in fact Volvo has fit microphones in each row of the EX90, so that passengers in the third row of the SUV, and the driver can hear it clearly as the audio is relayed through the speakers, thoughtful. The EX90 gets two electric motors producing 456bhp and 670Nm, enabling a rapid 0-100kmph sprint in just 5.5 seconds. Now Volvos have never been spectacular to drive, especially the modern crop, and the electrics even more so with their dead-ish character. The EX90 challenges that narrative, this car comes with two electric motors on each axle, giving it 456bhp and 670Nm of torque, that translates to a very impressive 5.5 sec sprint from 0 to 100kmph, and this comes with all the urgency that we have seen in electric cars. The SUV comes with air suspension, along with adaptive dampers, as well as power and steering modes, and even in the normal of settings, the EX90 is a pretty fun SUV, because the steering is pretty accurate, and makes the large SUV change direction very easily. The ride quality is what got me though, it is supple even on really demanding surfaces, and while the SUV does dance around at low speeds when tackling terrain, one doesn’t really get thrown around, it's all like a soft cushion, and at speeds, the ride gets even better, and it feels like a very nicely curated blend of ride comfort and grip confidence that the EX90 provides on a variety of surfaces. The Volvo EX90 blends luxury, technology and safety beautifully, offering a premium, comfortable and well-equipped experience, while delivering strong performance, confident handling and excellent ride quality. Volvo doesn’t present luxury in the manner that its rivals do, it isn’t outright opulent or a tech-showcase, but the EX90 feels like a finely curated blend of luxury, technology and safety that is not so easily managed by a lot of other vehicles. While there are minor complaints as to the way the screen has taken over for buttons and switches, the EX90 is a perfectly targeted electric SUV, that brings the best of what EVs have to offer, in a package that looks great, feels more than premium to the touch whether it be the quality, the aesthetics or the comfort features. And from a driver’s standpoint, the EX90 is more than ample, it's got the punch, and it handles well for its size and presents a ride comfort that can go toe-to-toe with the best in business.Subscribe to Auto Today Magazine - EndsPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 12:00 IST