7:30 am, September 7, 2024
It’s now been two years since Volvo unveiled its most expensive car ever – the EX90 – and for the vast majority of that time, details have been somewhat scant.
Now however, with the EV set to arrive on UK roads, our man James Baggott has been getting up close and personal with the £100,000 SUV.
Here are the ten things he thinks you need to know about the Volvo EX90…
Incredible stereo
The EX90 has one of the best in-car audio systems we’ve ever tried. Featuring 25-speakers, it offers Dolby Atmos surround sound and ‘reference quality’ playback. It’s simply incredible and took four years to design.In fact, B&W engineers started work on it at the same time the designers put the first pen strokes on paper.
That screen
A 14.5-inch screen dominates the cabin. Everything, from turning on the rear fog light to opening the glove box can be done with buttons on the screen. It has Google Assistant built-in which works very well and with 5G connectivity will be updated over the air. Spotify, Google Maps and more are all built-in.
No key
The EX90 doesn’t come with a key. Instead, you can use your phone to unlock the car. It senses you approach and unlocks the doors and, when you get inside, you can simply put it into drive to move off. There’s not even a start or stop button. For smart phone avoiders, a card does the same job.
Bi-directional charging
If your home and charger can deal with it, you can use the EX90 as storage for electricity. With bi-directional charging you can top up the battery when power is cheap and feed it back into your home when it’s expensive. This is especially useful if you’ve got solar panels and need somewhere to store excess electricity produced. A special charger is required for it to work, though.
Smart charging
The Volvo EX90 is born smart, to make you better and get better with you.#VolvoEX90 #SafetyInMind pic.twitter.com/q91h9c37KV
— Volvo Cars (@volvocars) November 17, 2022
The EX90 supports Plug & Charge which allows owners to plug into public chargers and the car deals with payment. The car starts charging automatically and it means owners don’t have to fumble around with smartphone apps or cards. Not all public chargers are on the network, but more are being added by Volvo all the time.
Twin motors
The Volvo has two motors – one in the front axle and one in the rear. Together these offer 510bhp and allow the Performance version to hit 60mph in under five seconds. That’s impressive for a car weighing more than two tonnes. With a 111kWh battery, it has a range of 373 miles.
Sustainable
The EX90 is made with 15% recycled steel, 25% recycled aluminium and has 48kg of recycled plastics. Seats are made from a mix of old bottles and bio-materials from sustainable Swedish forests. Nordico, a leather-like material that’s vegan friendly, replaces cow hide or owners can opt for a wool trim.
Data hungry
The EX90 uses an Nvidia Orin chip that processes huge amounts of data – in fact it’s dealing with some 254 trillion operations every second. With eight cameras collecting data at 30 frames per second, the chip is analysing a whopping 24m pixels every second as it looks for people and hazards ahead.
New colours
A new colour palette has been deployed for the EX90 including Sand Dune and Napier Grey. The former is a bold choice that wouldn’t look out of place on the streets of Dubai.
Smart car
A variety of sensors – including that rather unsightly bump on the roof (the lidar) – help make the EX90 one of the safest cars Volvo has ever made. Sensors inside and out keep an eye on the road and occupants inside to ensure the car reacts when the driver may have been a little too slow. If you fall asleep, or are taken ill at the wheel, the car will automatically bring itself to a safe stop.
