Here we are then, Volvo’s return to low-flying motor cars. After the EX90 SUV comes this, the brand-new Volvo ES90. It’s a large, luxury electric...sedan? Fastback? Hatchback? Rebadged Polestar 2? Let's just call it a Big Volvo that’ll give the BMW i5 and the Mercedes-Benz EQE something to think about.
Or will it? Volvo’s certainly hoping so, equipping its shiny new SPA2-platformed EV with lightning-fast 800V hardware and the choice of one electric motor, two, or two but very two, if you catch our drift.
The Single Motor is available with a 92kWh battery driving the rear wheels, while the Twin Motor and Twin Motor Performance versions with all-wheel-drive come with a slightly bigger 106kWh pack.
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And with this slightly bigger 106kWh battery, twin motors, and that standard-fit 800V architecture, Volvo says this ES90 can cover up to 700km of range. Find a fast-enough charger—one that hasn’t got a battered old diesel V60 parked in front of it—and it’ll go from 10% to 80% charge in around 20 minutes.
That’s with a 350kW hose. Heck, Volvo reckons it’ll add 300km in just 10 minutes. That’s an entire small EV’s range, in one coffee break.
Which would be a perfect time to relax in the ES90’s cabin. This being a Swedish car means sustainable materials, natural colorways, and a pared-back, relaxed design inspired by Scandi nature. This being a new-age Volvo also means a nine-inch driver display, HUD, and a giant 14.5-inch central touchscreen. There’s a surround view for...viewing the surrounds, super-fast infotainment processors, lots of Google apps, and 5G.
Looks good outside, too. It’s a chonky boy, offering a lower-slung take on Volvo’s new-era electric design language. So it's not simply an old S90 retrofitted with the EX90’s face, because Volvo has raised the ride height—can’t fully escape the SUV clutches, huh? That said, the EX90’s face fits well onto this shape, what with its flowing, raked roofline sweeping back into that rear hatch opening, C-shaped rear LEDs, and 20- to 22-in wheels.
Though while the external language majors on simplicity and a sprinkling of Norse god weaponry—hey there, Thor’s Hammer headlights—the ES90’s brain is something else entirely.
Volvo says it’s a ‘software-designed car’ based on a ‘Superset tech stack’ that consists of a single set of hardware and software modules. It’s all powered by a fancy setup from Nvidia and is claimed to deliver “over 500 trillion operations per second.” We understand this to mean “many, many operations.” All of them, in fact. All at the same time.
This extremely Big Computing Brain means the ES90 can improve its capabilities with over-the-air updates, as you’d expect—Volvo reckons it’ll deliver “better customer experience over time.”
Should be pretty good out of the box, of course, with Volvo claiming its dual-chamber air suspension and active chassis will offer “supreme ride comfort.” That its cabin is its quietest ever. That it boasts Volvo’s “highest level of standard safety”, incorporating its “most advanced sensor set inside and out”. That it’s the company’s most aerodynamic car ever designed with a drag coefficient of 0.25.
Volvo will start rolling these things out toward the end of summer in Europe. You’ll be able to spec Plus and Ultra trims, and while prices kick off at £70,000 (P5.2 million before taxes), they’ll top out at around £88,000 (P6.5 million before taxes).
A lot to think about, then. What are your first thoughts?
More photos of the Volvo ES90:
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
