Volvo EX90 T5 Ultra AWD First Drive Review

Volvo has found a relatively untapped space for itself in the luxury segment and joins a small group that will offer a three-row luxury SUV with all the trappings of the Volvo brand but in a BEV guise to appeal to a new generation of luxury buyers. It has a lot riding on its massive shoulders as it is Volvo’s new flagship SUV, offering a preview of what will come to its smaller vehicles over the next few years. The Swedish automaker is betting big on battery electric cars, and this is one big card that it is playing while betting on its future globally.

The EX90 is familiar yet new all at the same time. The silhouette is familiar, yet when you look at all the new design elements, it looks like a completely new car. Upfront, the familiar squared-off face is dominated by a massive Volvo logo and new rectangular headlamps with individual lighting elements that run in a very nice sequence when you turn on and turn off the vehicle.

Move over to the side, and you can see the massive 5.03-metre length of the vehicle, the thing that gives it its presence. The wheels are diamond cut, and while premium look a tad bit conservative for something that’s this large. At the rear, you can see the signature Volvo C-shaped tail lamps with the connected light bar and large Volvo logo.

If you are someone who likes clean spaces, then this EX90 will be right up your alley. It comes with minimal buttons thanks to everything being built into the touchscreen infotainment system. The dashboard is a mixture of beige and silver with grey on the upper section and chrome black inserts on the steering and door pads. Everything looks and feels very nice to touch thanks to high-quality materials used all around.

The second row is equally impressive in terms of design. You only get the car with a captain seat layout, and like the front row, everything looks and feels high quality as one would expect in this price category and segment. As we have said in the space section, the six-seat layout has provided ample space for both occupants, and thanks to the combination of colours and large glass roof, it always feels airy and spacious inside.

The EX90s feature list is pretty comprehensive, covering most of what one would expect in this part of the market in terms of both comfort and usability. Here are some of the major highlights.

Four-zone climate control

Glass roof with opaque function

Digital Key Plus

Level 2 ADAS

360 camera package with autopark function

25-speaker Bowers and Wilkins music system with Abbey Road sound package

Air suspension

Full LED light package

However, while this is comprehensive when you look at the components of each feature, it is lacking certain crucial elements in terms of the rear seat package. Missing from the list, especially when looking at the competition, are things like powered and ventilated seats, sun blinds, rear seat massage function, rear screens or BYOD mounts and a boss mode for the front left seat. What’s more, while the glass roof adds that dollop of airiness for such a large cabin, it doesn’t get a curtain or cover as standard, and you will have to add that on as an accessory.

Let’s start with the second row, as this is one of the main areas that will be the focus of those looking to buy the car. Given its dimensions, the amount of space on offer is quite generous and because you only get the second row with captain seats, both the rear occupants get their individual spaces with more than enough headroom, legroom and shoulder room on offer.

This is further enhanced by the large glass area and glass roof along with the beige upholstery. However, the rear seat package is lacking certain comfort features which we shall get to in the next section. The second-row seats slide forward, but there is more than enough space between the two seats to access row three.

Row three is a tight affair with minimal shoulder room and knee room and almost non-existent headroom due to the intrusion of the radar module towards the rear glass area. But as always, it is a third row and is the difference between having the ability to carry two more people and taking an alternate mode of transport; think of the EX90 as a 4+2 rather than an outright six-seat model.

Where space is not an issue at all is at the helm. As the driver and front passenger, you get your individual zones thanks to the massive centre console. The nonexistent nature of physical buttons and interior colour scheme makes the space feel even larger than it actually is, but that comes at a price in terms of maintenance and ease of use for various functions for the vehicle.

It gets all the usual storage options like a front glovebox with cooled function, seat back pockets and 1.0-litre bottle holders in all four doors. The boot with the third row up is 377 litres with the third row up and just over 2000-litres with third row folded down.

One of the big sells of the EX90 is a massive 14.5-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen infotainment system. In fact, Volvo was one of the first to offer a portrait-oriented screen globally, sensing the opportunity to switch easily between a mobile device and the car screen. The OS is brand new and, on paper at least, has been simplified to make it easy to access all the functions available for the vehicle. It’s been paired to a 25-speaker Bowers and Wilkins sound system and also gets a special sound mode software tuned and designed by the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

But where the system is quick and easy to use, it is also crammed chock full of the car’s functions. In fact, there are no physical buttons at all, and everything is built into the screen, including adjusting the mirrors and controlling the four-zone climate control system. This is a very advanced nation road system thought process and comes with its own set of problems when looking at Indian road conditions.

Thankfully, the 9.0-inch digital instrument cluster is controlled by buttons on the steering wheel and is not very complicated to use. The information is clearly laid out, quick to access, and it can even show you navigation and audio controls. The minimal exterior adds well to the overall ambience and matches the design theme of the vehicle.

The safety package on the EX90, as one would expect, is pretty comprehensive, and this list includes

Eight airbags

Level 2 ADAS

360 camera with parking assist

Stability programme

Volvo E-call

While the numbers for the EX90 suggest sports-car performance, you also have to remember it weighs 2.68 tonnes. So the numbers are more about lugging this mass along without straining the powertrain, and that’s something Volvo seems to have got quite well.

On the go, the EX90 is smooth, effortless and will glide along in relative comfort for everyday use. Even in the most conservative of the drive modes, you are not short of performance, and it comes in regulated doses to ensure that you are not thrown back in your seat too hard when the car gets launched. There are multiple drive modes, and they alter the response of the throttle as well as the response and weight of the steering wheel.

One of the big selling points is the range. The claimed numbers are massive and initial impressions show that the EX90 will offer good numbers. At the end of our test drive that included a mix of big open highways, small city roads and one village road, the MID indicated a range of 80 per cent and 450kms which, if you go by the 625km MIDC figure, is 72 per cent and 62.2 per cent when looking at the 724km ICAT figure.

The EX90 gets an air suspension as part of the deal, and that will be one of the game-changers for the car when it is put up against the competition. Volvo has got a pretty good hold on ride quality for a vehicle this big, and a lot of the time you are able to glide along even on broken roads without the car being displaced too much. This is further aided by the massive 200mm-plus ground clearance. But there is an underlying firmness thanks to the massive wheels and low-profile tyres, which is fine for city roads, but on the more rutted stuff you need to be careful of not cutting the tyres or scratching those diamond-cut alloy wheels. Something this large and this heavy was never built to go around corners hard, and thus you are better off planning your move, especially if the going gets windy and you are moving upwards. All of the EX90's driving tricks have been aimed at comfort rather than outright handling.

The NVH insulation is fantastic, with little to no sound filtering into the cabin even when the going gets really rough. In fact, this is one of the reasons Volvo has been able to offer the Abbey Road sound package, as you are able to actually appreciate the subtleties that come with such a system.

The EX90 is a solid package for the market it wants to enter. It is big on presence, range, performance, technology and interior space. However, the rear seat package is average, the third row makes this a 4+2 rather than an outright six-seat model, and you can only have it as one fully-loaded offering. What’s more, Volvo will not have a solo ride in the segment when it launches the SUV. Mercedes-Benz has the EQS SUV, and it offers a very similar package. We are talking about similarly sized vehicles offering three rows of seating, big range, AWD and massive screens with a lot of functions built into them.

The Mercedes SUV offers more range and torque, more features in its rear seat package and in the larger scheme of things has a bigger sales and service network as compared to Volvo. Mercedes also offers the EQS SUV in both five-seat and seven-seat guise while the EX90 is only offered in a six-seat avatar. If Volvo needs to make inroads with the EX90, it will have to price it lower than the EQS to be competitive. We expect Volvo to price the car around Rs 1.00-Rs 1.30 crore (ex-showroom).

Photography: Kapil Angane