Volvo is often seen as the sensible choice, strong on safety and practicality. For some that can seem a little dull, but then so is everyday life.
And if you need to haul your family about, excitement and unexpected adventure are not things you seek out on the school run.
When these Swedes launched the seven-seat XC90 SUV back in 2002, it quickly became the standard-bearer for practical premium motoring. Others followed the formula, but no one quite matched its ability.
Now comes the company’s all-electric take on the seven-seat SUV format, its new EX90. And again, it seems to be setting the standard. The big selling points here are safety and comfort. It’s hard to argue against those priorities when the car is designed with families in mind.
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First to comfort, and that comes in the form of both practicality and on-road character.
This is a big car. Measuring in at more than 5m in length and over 2.1m wide, it’s got a sizeable footprint on the road, though it’s height is lower than you might expect for such a big SUV.
It certainly delivers enough space inside for seven functional seats, including a third row that’s useable for teens and even most adults.
Volvo’s focus on family practicality is apparent in the seating set-up: not just seven seats but anchors for four Isofix child seats, plus an in-built booster seat that can be flipped out of the middle seat in the second row. And even with all seven seats in use, you get 360 litres of bootspace – that’s only a few litres shy of what you get in a VW Golf.
Yet it’s on the road where the EX90 shows its true character. And that’s all about comfort. This Volvo doesn’t so much drive as wafts. It’s a trait we normally associate with Range Rovers, but the Swedes have cracked the British brand’s code, delivering a Volvo with impressively serene composure and an incredibly quiet cabin.
Our test drive colleague measured the cabin noise while we drove and recorded a level of 52 decibels. That’s church quiet.
That serenity may seem at odds with the performance figures, for as with most EVs, the power output for this 2.5-tonne car is ludicrous. It can get from 0-100km/h in a ridiculously fast 5.9 seconds, and the “Performance” version is a second quicker.
That’s monstrous acceleration given this car’s size. But the power rules have been rewritten in this age of electric.
Cast your mind back a decade and the idea of a seven-seat family SUV putting out either 408hp or 517hp in a “Performance” version would have seemed preposterous for any brand outside Lamborghini. That such a vehicle would carry a Volvo badge would rightly have been greeted with outright derision.
Yet this is the way of the new world, where supercar performance comes clad in seven-seat family functionality.
Thankfully, while the EX90 is capable of such performance feats, everything about it suggests there is no such rush.
With active suspension as standard, you are cushioned from poor road surfaces while always feeling in control, but there is enough bodyroll in the bends to remind you that this is not a performance car, and your passengers don’t want to review their breakfasts. So, you sit back and let the Volvo glide along.
That sense of ease is bolstered by a myriad of safety features and driving aids. Safety has long been Volvo’s calling card. It has a well-established history of innovation in this space, but now, instead of physical attributes such as seatbelts, the real breakthroughs are less evident to the motoring eye: sensors and software.
In the EX90, while it features Volvo’s impressive Pilot Assist system, which helps steer the car, it’s also fitted with a Lidar with eight cameras, five radars and 12 ultrasonic sensors, all ready to prepare the car for future autonomous driving applications. When will that be rolled out? Volvo engineers will not commit; but indications are that they expect it to feature in some markets – when legislation is passed – as early as the next three years.
In some ways, the autonomous driving systems available in the car at launch are entry grade, and will only get better with over-the-air updates and applications that will put each car’s hardware safety features in full use in the coming years. As one engineer told us, unlike cars of old (and like a good wine), the EX90 will improve with age.
In terms of range, this Volvo claims up to 614km (in both regular and Performance variant), though that of course depends on your driving style and conditions. In all likelihood, you should hit 500km and in city driving Volvo reckon you could reach a whopping 817km. We achieved a very credible 20kWh/100km during a drive of more than 200km that mixed winding mountain roads with motorway driving.
The 111kW battery pack can take a DC charge of up to 250kW, and engineers claim at that rate – on the superfast chargers – it can get from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes.
Of course, the biggest issue will be price. The EX90 lands in Ireland this autumn costing either €117,910 for the 408hp version or €122,910 for the Performance 517hp version. Frankly, you’d be a fool to spend the extra €4,000 on the extra power: this is a seven-seat family car, so your supercar aspirations should have been buried by now. Better to spend a fraction of that money on treats from the options list.
But for many aspiring buyers, the fact you have a family that needs seven seats means you can’t splash €120,000 on a new car. That quandary is one that Volvo, and every other carmaker, has yet to crack, or show any interest in solving. If someone can provide the solution, and deliver it in an EV format, then we’ll be singing their praises.
For now, the simple truth is that the EX90 – if you can afford it – makes sense.
Lowdown: Volvo EX90 Performance
Power: Two electric motors (front and rear) putting out 517bhp and 910Nm of torque. Power comes from a 111kWh battery pack
0-100km/h: 4.9 seconds
kWh/100km: 21.1 (WLTP)
Range: 602km
Price: €122,910 as tested (starting from €117,910)
Verdict: The sensible seven-seater EV choice
