The Volvo EX90 is the Swedish brand's new flagship seven-seater SUV and is set to arrive in Ireland from July ahead of first customer deliveries. And it comes with quite the price tag, with the high-spec 'Ultra' trim starting from €117,910 (excluding delivery and related charges ).
The fully-electric Volvo EX90 will initially be available in two, twin-motor all-wheel drive versions powered by a 111kWh battery and two permanent magnet electric motors with either 408hp or 517hp.
The performance version has a 0–100 km/h sprint of just 4.9 seconds, impressive for an SUV weighing almost three tonnes. This version starts from €122,910.
The EX90 is said to be capable of a range of up to 600 kilometres (WLTP ) and can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes. The battery can be recharged at speeds of up to 250kW on DC power and 11kW on AC power. A software update could lead to an upgrade of 22kW AC power.
In the future, Volvo plans to make bi-directional charging available as standard in the EX90, whereby owners can use the car's battery as an extra energy supply, for example to power a home, other electric devices or another electric Volvo car. Again, this will come via over-the-air software updates.
Inside, a 14.5-inch infotainment centre screen comes with Google built in. Google apps and services including hands-free help from Google Assistant, Google Maps navigation and more apps on Google Play are all built in. The Volvo EX90 is also be compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay.
The EX90 also comes with phone key technology as standard. A smartphone serves as the car key and automatically unlocks the car and starts a personal welcoming sequence as the driver approaches. A personal profile will also be loaded automatically as they enter the car.
As with any Volvo car, safety is at its core. Volvo claims the standard safety in the new EX90 is higher than any Volvo car before it, adding that it gets "smarter and safer over time, as it learns from new data and receives updates".
State-of-the art sensors like cameras, radars and lidar are connected to the car’s high-performance core computers, where technology from American firm Nvidia runs Volvo Cars’ in-house software to create a real-time, 360-degree view of the world.
The EX90 has special sensors and cameras that understand when the driver is distracted, drowsy or otherwise inattentive, "beyond what has been possible in a Volvo car to date". In the event the driver falls asleep or takes ill while behind the wheel, the Volvo EX90 is designed to safely stop and call for help.
According to Volvo, the EX90 contains approximately 15 per cent of recycled steel, 25 per cent of recycled aluminium as well as 48kg of recycled plastics and bio-based materials, which corresponds to around 15 per cent of the total plastic used in the car – the highest level of any Volvo car to date.
The new Volvo EX90 brings the number of fully electric models in the Volvo Car Ireland product portfolio to four, joining the EX30, and Volvo XC40 and C40 recently renamed to the EX40 and EC40 respectfully.
