The carmaker Volvo has renewed its large SUV and is fully committed to electromobility. And lots of digital technology that supports and protects people and cars. However, this has its price. If you are still interested: The EX90, which Volvo is now showing for the first time, is available from mid-2024.
Volvo, the Swedish-Chinese car manufacturer, is completely reinventing itself and will only sell electric vehicles from 2030. For this uncompromising electrification strategy, at least one new all-electric vehicle has been presented every year since 2021. C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge made the start, now the EX90 is shown for the first time, a massive luxury SUV, over five meters long and with space for up to seven passengers.
Customers interested in buying can not only buy these three vehicles directly from the dealer, there is a button next to the online configuration – and the E-Volvo is bought with one click. The new electric flagship can also be ordered now, but will not be delivered until the first half of 2024 at the earliest, i.e. in around one and a half years. The second big Volvo, the XC90 Hybrid, can still be ordered and delivered, and it should remain so for the time being, as long as customers ask.
The local zero-emissions target in around seven years applies not only to the electric cars manufactured, but also to the two EX90 production plants in Ridgeville (US state of South Carolina) and in Chengdu (China). Both plants are to produce climate-neutrally from mid-2023, in good time when the assembly lines for the EX90 start up in autumn 2023.
“Form follows function” is also the design philosophy of the Gothenburgers. The design is indeed a very modern interpretation of the Scandinavian design style. With the pleasing rear end and the associated LED rear light design, the Swedes probably looked to England, here you can see features of the current Range Rover. The large front hood and the four no less impressive and almost no-frills side doors mainly determine the aesthetics of this spacious family SUV. “The Volvo EX90 is a statement of where we are and where we’re going,” said Jim Rowan, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.
When it comes to safety, too, the latest Volvo should provide such a reassuring feeling of trust as the legendary Swedish steel did in the 1970s. Sensor technology inside and outside is used here and forms an invisible protective shield around the vehicle. If necessary, the system reacts to dangers in milliseconds and, ideally, prevents serious accidents. This combination of cameras, radar and lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is called Nvidia Drive. The lidar sensor has been integrated into the roof line and monitors the road whether it is daylight or pitch black. The speeds don’t matter here either, monitoring is just as reliable on the play street at walking pace as it is at higher motorway speeds, although Volvo has been electronically limiting the propulsion at 180 km/h for some time.
The all-round surveillance in a Volvo – the manufacturer has belonged to the Chinese Geely car group since 2010 – does not stop at the occupants, especially the driver. The driver monitoring system used in the interior monitors the person behind the wheel with special sensors and cameras and recognizes when the driver is not concentrating, tired or distracted. Then an immediate visual and audible warning is given. If the driver does not react because he may have fallen asleep or passed out, the Volvo EX90 will automatically take command and stop on the right-hand side of the road and alert help via the integrated telephone. This makes the EX90 the first Volvo that is hardware-ready for the unattended autonomous driving of the future.
Even more technology of tomorrow can be found in the interior. On the screens you will find razor-sharp and photo-realistic real-time graphic representations, also in the polychrome head-up display. A 14.5-inch touchscreen dominates the cockpit design, here the Google services, such as the Google Maps navigation service and the Google Assistant speech recognition, fulfill almost all of the driver’s wishes. The technical basis here is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform. Apps can also be downloaded from the Play Store. Music streaming is also possible at the Bowers
As standard, the smartphone takes care of opening and closing the 2.8-tonner. “Phone Key” technology is the magic word for the vehicle key replacement, it is also possible to start the e-car system. The Volvo EX90 then recognizes the driver and the previously individually saved driving profile is automatically downloaded as soon as the driver sits down. The vehicle key can therefore no longer be left lying around or lost, as it stays in the drawer at home.
Charging can also be done via smartphone. With the Volvo Cars app, you can find hundreds of thousands of public charging stations worldwide, availability is displayed in real time and the charging process is also controlled via smartphone and then paid for directly by debit.
Even leather does not necessarily have to ensure a luxurious and elegant interior. Volvo uses “Nordico”, a natural artificial product made from vinyl, recycled PET bottles and leftover wine corks. There is a choice of three colours, light grey, anthracite and cardamom, and even the sports steering wheel is 100 percent leather-free. Recycling is also a priority for the outer skin, even the aluminum sheets find their second life cycle here.
Two all-wheel drive versions, each with an electric motor on each axle, are available at launch. The output is 300 kW/408 hp or 380 kW/517 hp and the maximum torque is 770 Newton meters or 910 Newton meters. The range with fully charged batteries according to WLTP is up to 600 kilometers for the weaker version and up to 590 kilometers for the performance version. With the fast charging function, the 111 kWh lithium-ion high-voltage battery with prismatic cells (weighing 650 kilograms) is charged from 10 to 80 percent within half an hour.
Bidirectional smart charging is also possible for the first time at Volvo. This turns the super SUV into a rolling energy store for electrical devices, be it an espresso machine, an e-bike or even your own home. Other e-cars can also be charged in this way by the EX90. In Germany, however, this function can only be activated if the legislator cooperates.
Technical specifications
The engine
