2025 Volvo EX90 Twin Performance Seven-Day Test: Serene and spacious, but where’s the Swedish soul?
Volvo knows how to make a large SUV.
For the successful yet safety-conscious, a hulking XC90 or this new – electric – EX90 pegs you as a less flashy prestige seven-seat SUV shopper.
But is it worth chucking your dollars at this sumptuous new electric Swede?
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Bones are good. It’s built on a dedicated electric vehicle platform, so the space compromises of a combustion version are absent.
Luxury and features are abundant, there are twin electric motors and all-wheel-drive, while a mega 107kWh (usable) battery brings reassuring range of 570km.
Performance? Despite a kerb weight of over 2700kg, 100km/h is up in 5.9 seconds in the entry-level EX90 Twin Motor Plus, while our range-topping Twin Performance Ultra cracks the job in 4.9 seconds.
But they’re not cheap. Costing $124,990 and $134,990 respectively before on-roads, these EX90s aren’t for the budget conscious.
Our family of four lived the good life for a week, covering over 1000km of school runs, weekend break and work duties in our big Volvo… the flagship Ultra, of course.
Day 1: Minimalist luxe
Maybe it’s my forty-something dad-ness, but I bloody love Volvo’s XC90.
Especially the original one from the turn of the millennium. It looked robust, roomy, stylish and unique. An antidote to the ubiquitous Range Rovers, X5s and GLs clogging up our streets.
This EX90 doesn’t blow my skirt up in the same way. It’s too pretty. Sleek. Futuristic. It’d look as out of place on a muddy farm track as would a Morgan three-wheeler.
With its 22-inch rims and sculpted body with no plastic cladding to be found, there’s no mistaking this is for urban exploring and not bouldering. Although it’ll tow your yacht and trailer up to 2200kg.
I collect the EX90 with 96 percent charge and estimated range of 460km. Hang on. That’s already way under the quoted 570km – 614km range. Seems the previous driver may have been exploiting the performance a bit.
I’m handed a credit card key, plus Volvo’s iPhone with the car’s app pre-installed. I can unlock the car with the phone. Lovely stuff, although it takes longer than just using a smart key.
I soon learn if you walk away, the car self-locks. Then on your return, it detects the key (or phone app) and pops the door handles.
The interior’s no doubt plush and smart, but it’s just a bit plain in its minimalism.
There’s a massive screen, of course. 11.2-inches, portrait size, and a skinny second screen hovering behind the steering wheel.
There are just no buttons. Everything ‘s through the damn screen. That means adjusting mirrors, steering wheel, heated seat and all the climate control through the big iPad in the middle.
Some may love this, others – myself included – are getting a bit over it all. Prodding a screen gets tiresome. There’s more personality to a cabin with a well laid out set of switches and buttons. Volvo was brilliant at this in the 1980s.
It’s a wonderfully light cabin with white leather upholstery and giant panoramic glass roof, and my first drive is 130km of motorway to get home.
Good grief this thing is a smoothie. Barely any noise gets into the cabin, it’s effortlessly smooth and the torque on tap is exceptional. There’s a chunky 910Nm to go with the 380kW. Incredible.
EVs aren’t at their most economical at 110km/h, and so it proves. The big Volvo consumes 26.7kWh/100km on this trip; a good chunk over the quoted 20.8-22.0kWh/100km.
Day 2: Kids take over
The kids are up early, and on the driveway exploring the new EX90.
As expected, they’ve discovered the Google Play function in the screen, and downloaded Dune Buggy Racer and some other game involving kittens. I hope Volvo Australia doesn’t mind.
As a result, of course the kids love this thing. They’re sat there before school, in heated leather chairs, playing games in surround sound.
My daughter gets bored, clambers into the boot and starts pressing the electric button to raise and lower the individual chairs in the third row. I don’t know how much this saps from the battery, but she’s a happy little Vegemite playing here so I leave her to the exploring.
Off on the school run and it’s clear how big this EX90 is. At 5037mm long, it trumps a Toyota LandCruiser 300, so parking isn’t easy at the clogged school gates.
But the drive is sublime. You feel totally cocooned from the sounds of the street – it’s up there with the quietest, most refined luxury vehicles I’ve ever tested.
There’s a button for one pedal driving, through the screen of course. It works well in the city, but the quite strong regen spoils the serenity. I leave it off unless I’m stuck in traffic.
There’s also a Performance button. I turn this on too, and acceleration becomes almost comically quick for such a big brute. To be honest, this EX90’s rapid enough without it, so this also ultimately gets left off.
Day 3: On a charge
We’ve got a big weekend trip coming up, so it’s home charging time. The auto tailgate reveals a mighty boot space, and under the floor is clever storage for the charge cable. There’s a pretty small under-bonnet frunk too.
The Volvo’s got about 50 per cent battery charge, and the screen informs that home charging with a domestic socket will take 24+ hours to reach 100 per cent. The perils of such a massive battery.
Charging starts at 5.20pm with 49 per cent battery and 250km range. By next morning, 7.40am (14 hours later), I’ve added 150km range and the battery’s now at 70 per cent.
A faster charging home wallbox is a must for this EX90, to utilise the 11kW AC on board charging.
Meanwhile, I’ve found a couple of decent fast corners to chuck the Volvo into. It feels lighter than its bulk, and roadholding impresses. There’s a bit of lean, but make no mistake, there’s solid composure from this massive EV.
The steering feels too light however, with feedback in absence. It may be quick in a straight line and decent in turns, but this EX90’s crying out for a bit of driving personality, much like many big EVs.
Day 4: Road trip
The boot, as expected, swallows our weekend bags with ease, but an hour into our road trip there’s a problem. Wife and daughter, who are sitting in the middle row, complain of motion sickness, and I’ve noted it is feeling a bit bouncy over some road humps.
This is normal in softly sprung luxury cars, but after a bit of prodding through the screen, adjust the EX90’s air suspension to firm. The ride becomes a dash more jarring, but there’s fewer complaints about nausea.
We top up the battery at an Evie 350kW ultra fast charging station. We figure we’ll add an extra 200km range in no time, but despite the charger’s promised speed, and the EX90 able to take 250kW maximum DC charging, the readout stubbornly sits on 135kW charge speed.
We spend 15 minutes longer here than we had planned. This charging infrastructure is baffling in its inconsistency – our Volvo should go from 10 to 80 percent full in 35mins, but that’s not been our experience.
On this night drive, I find a few areas to pick on. The reversing camera’s resolution isn’t the best – in the dark it’s too grainy – and the steering wheel’s buttons don’t illuminate, so you’re at a loss at what to prod.
I asked the Volvo voice assistant to light them up, but she proved no use. I tried looking for a setting in menus and sub menus through the screen, but no dice.
The radar cruise control is superb on the highway, but gets grabby when changing lanes. It really wants you to ride in the centre of the road.
Much of this gets forgiven when we throw our favourite road trip playlist through the Bowers & Wilkins 25-speaker 1610W sound system. There are speakers in the headrests, and it’s a proper concert-like experience.
Day 5: Out back
No EV charger at our hotel’s car park. Damn. These should be mandatory these days – we now must factor in another public charger stop on our way home.
Before that, I try the third row of seats. The three middle row chairs can all independently be slid forward and backwards on runners, freeing up decent leg room for the two rearmost seats.
As a six footer my head’s just on the ceiling in the third row; leg room’s tolerable and the seats themselves are decently padded. A cup holder, USB-C port and air vent for seats six and seven is excellent, but the glass roof stops before reaching these occupants.
Our daughter decides she’ll now occupy one of these seats to have her own space, and folds down the chair in front for a leg rest. It’s a massive, practical cabin and bloody good as a family hauler we all agree.
Day 6: Little luxuries
Our long drive home has us utilising the luxe. Kudos to the cabin’s white carpeted storage area under the centre console, which proves ideal to chuck wallets, phones, keys and snacks.
A refrigerated bin would be nice however, and I’m bemused how you must go through the screen just to open the large glove box.
The seats are massaging, heated and ventilated, and are without doubt a masterstroke. They’re blissfully comfy on long drives. And when stuck at a charge point. Range anxiety has set in, and our only public charging options are 50kW “slow” fast chargers.
We end up spending 50 minutes at one to guarantee we’ve enough juice to get us home with no more stops. I’ll be honest, after a busy weekend, I was longing for a petrol or diesel and to be on my way.
Next time, better planning. Find a hotel with an AC charger, and book it in advance so we’ll hopefully get a full charge overnight.
Not far from home, a disturbing message pops up on the dash screen. “Stop safely, Critical propulsion fault” it says, with a red warning triangle and the orange turtle of doom showing we’re in limp mode.
After a mild panic and the traditional fix-it job (turn it off and on again), the message goes away. It doesn’t come up again, but is a concern.
Day 7: Luxury retreat
After 1300km our average consumption is 21.0kWh/100km, which is close enough to quoted. Economy is markedly better in town than on the highway, however.
The EX90 has proved a gorgeous big family unit, dripping with style, luxury, performance features and space. If you’ve got the money, it’s a spoil-yourself seven-seat EV.
It just feels a bit cold in its minimalism, and by being very much an urban large SUV in look and presentation. Volvo’s XC90 somehow has a bit more personality with its more workmanlike, go-anywhere vibe.
Too much control through the EX90’s centre screen may feel extra premium, but it proves more complex and frustrating than it need be – just a few more buttons would make a big difference.
It’s a car I’d love to own, but a car I can’t quite fall in love with.
Volvo EX90 Ultra specifications
Price: From $134,990
Basics: EV, 7 seats, 5 doors, SUV, AWD
Range: 570kms
Battery capacity: 111Wh (107kWh useable)
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 20.8-22.0kWh/100km (21.0kWh/100km as tested)
Powertrain: Electric
Motors: 1 front, 1 rear
Combined outputs: 380kW/910Nm
AC charging: 11kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 250kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 4.9s
