There’s a huge pattern in electrical SUVs today, and it most likely isn’t what you believe. It isn’t a longer variety. It’s not advanced battery building, super-fast charging or perhaps NACS plugs. No, the genuine pattern in electrical SUVs is being postponed. Porsche’s electrical Macan took its sweet time going to production, as did its brother or sister the Audi Q6 E-Tron, which was likewise postponed for months.
Volvo’s EX90 has actually experienced the very same fate. Initially slated to be on the marketplace in 2023, it, plus its business cousin the Polestar 3, are just now lastly beginning to stumble out of Volvo’s production center near Charleston, South Carolina. Volvo let me behind the wheel of a pre-production design on a test drive to see whether it was worth the wait.
Was it? Yes and no, however I’m delighted to state it’s mainly yes.
Let’s begin with what it is. As the name suggests, the EX90 is something of a battery-powered equivalent to the brand name’s XC90 SUV, the most significant in its lineup. Like the XC90, the EX90 is a three-row SUV with seating for 6 or 7, depending upon setup, a huge, upright position, and, obviously, more security functions than you can shake a stick at.
Volvo didn’t simply gut an XC90 and slap a huge battery pack in where the engine, exhaust, and fuel tank as soon as lived. This is a devoted EV platform, a brand new one, developed from the outset to be electrical. It houses a 111-kilowatt-hour battery pack (107 kWh functional) and has a set of electrical motors, one at the back and one at the front, providing four-wheel drive.
Volvo
Whether you opt for the base, the $79,995 Plus, or the more luxe $84,345 Ultra trim, you get the exact same dual-motor setup making 402 horse power and 568 foot-pounds of torque. If that’s insufficient, you can invest $5,000 more for the Twin Motor Performance alternative, which turns the wick as much as 510 hp and 671 lb-ft of torque. Both variations are ranked for as much as 310 miles of variety on the EPA test, depending upon which alternatives you choose.
Remarkably, however, the 2 designs have precisely the exact same motors and other associated hardware. What do you get with the additional $5,000 then? A various set of software application and a little white badge on the back that states “TWIN PERFORMANCE.” Invite to the future.
Interior
At 6 feet high, I might hardly squeeze into that 3rd row. There simply wasn’t anywhere for my feet or knees to go. The 2nd row was far more comfy, with lots of headroom, however I still would not call it large, with absolutely nothing like the generous legroom discovered in the 2nd row of a BMW iX and even a Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Volvo
The good news is, I invested the majority of my time in the front seats, which are outstanding.