Los Angeles, California. mobile.bg team from the venue.
The new flagship of the Swedes has been talked about for a long time, but for various reasons, mostly related to safety technologies and software in general, the EX90 model has been delayed by almost a year. However, now the serial version is already a fact. The Swedes chose Los Angeles for the first dynamic tests of the model, and a mobile.bg team was at the event. Our first impressions are of a large, extremely high-tech and at the same time practical car that will continue to develop "in the air" even when you have already bought it. But what is actually so innovative about this car, we will tell you now. Surprisingly or not, our concrete impressions after the extensive test drive we did on the roads of California are mostly positive.
For those of you who are hearing about this model for the first time, we will briefly say that it is a large seven-seater SUV over five meters long, with electric four-wheel drive and a particularly attractive appearance. This car is completely different from the flashy ultra-luxury cars of the German premium trio, but at the same time exudes excellence and is a shining example of the so-called. quiet luxury. In addition, the EX90 has a power of 517 horsepower and a mind-blowing torque of 910 Nm. But despite all the novelties, above all it is Volvo!
Exterior and interior
When we first saw it, the new Volvo EX90 had its rear facing our team, and at first glance we have to admit that it looks to us like a refreshed version of the Volvo XC90. After all, this car has the same wheelbase, but is slightly wider and longer. When we looked at it from the front, however, the difference between the two Swedish flagships is obvious: the EX90 does not have a radiator grill between the headlights, which have a familiar "Thor's Hammer" and there's an impressive bulge above the windshield that houses a lidar sensor. But more on that later. Overall, the exterior proportions are excellent, with only the front end design being a bit controversial in our opinion, but that's still a matter of taste.
The salon of the new Swedish flagship, however, is the thing that particularly impressed us, and here we are already talking about real, refined taste. The extremely high-quality materials and assembly create a unique feeling of coziness and at the same time luxury, which is perfectly combined with many new technologies. In other words, the inside of the EX90 looks very different from the XC90, but it still looks a lot like a Volvo. The small screen in front of the driver is mounted on the steering column, where it can be moved with the adjustment of the steering wheel and is extremely simple, yet informative. The information in front of the driver is supplemented by a head-up display projecting the data selected by the driver onto the windshield. However, the center screen is the complete opposite of the word simple. It is huge at 14.5 inches and oriented in portrait style. "Powers" is from Google, but also supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The odd shifter is to the right of the steering wheel, but more impressively, the only physical control anywhere on the dashboard is the one for the audio system. And the latter is the work of some of the best in the industry. It is about the company Bowers & Wilkins, which has created a truly unique Dolby Atmos system made specifically for Volvo's new flagship. Or in other words, if you decide to buy an EX90, it is mandatory that your car be equipped with this system. Wherever you are in this seven-seat car, you will be able to enjoy ultra-realistic 3D surround sound from the 25 speakers.
When it comes to the seven seats in the salon, we will say that four of them are like armchairs in a presidential suite. The middle of the second row and the two rearmost are like all other cars from the premium segment. In the third row, the legroom is not large and tall passengers will feel discomfort, but it is ideal for children there. The rest of the armchairs (we call them that for a reason) are super ergonomic and comfortable. The third row folds and sinks completely into the floor, and the second can be adjusted in all directions, including fore-aft. All this makes the luggage space extremely practical and huge.
In conclusion, regarding the visual and tactile sensations of the new Volvo EX90, we can define the car in a few words - a strong emphasis on the well-known Scandinavian minimalism and a pronounced feeling of quiet luxury. We repeat this term because the car feels exactly like that, following the world trend of ultra-exclusive but not flashy collections for the high-end clientele. This is exactly what the new Volvo EX90 looks like (especially from the inside).
Engine and driving characteristics
This section is extremely interesting to us, and for that we will start a little further. We already mentioned that the EX90 has almost no physical buttons - just one large controller on the center console and a few buttons (including for hazards) on the ceiling. Everything else is controlled via the main 14.5-inch touchscreen located vertically in the dashboard. When we say everything else, we mean literally everything. This includes adjusting the steering wheel, the side mirrors, and even opening the glove box(!), located in front of the front passenger.
Seats, rain-sensing wipers, boot floor height, lights, suspension tuning, navigation and audio are also controlled from this display. This seems strange at first glance, but the whole system is extremely intuitive and you get used to it quickly. The disadvantage of this solution is that due to the lack of physical buttons, the driver distracts his attention from the road situation, which in our opinion is a minus, but it is a trend in all new cars. And one more thing - the EX90 can use your smartphone as a digital key - although you also get a physical one.
This high-tech car relies on the help of some of the most famous manufacturers of electronic components and software, and because of this, it is almost flawless. Nvidia, Google, Qualcomm and Luminar are among the sub-vendors providing the EX90's suite of security and technical features. Nvidia's ORIN computing platform, which the company released this year, performs 254 trillion operations per second to help the EX90 manage everything from safety to infotainment and battery management.
Qualcomm is responsible for interior technology, while Luminar's lidar system takes care of the car's exterior adaptive and safety systems. However, the lidar in question, located above the windshield, which we mentioned above, does not yet perform all its functions. In other words, driving is not fully autonomous. At the moment, it will collect data, and when the Swedes are completely sure of the absolute safety of autonomous driving of this vehicle, they will activate the whole system, and this will happen remotely, over the air. With all these intuitive electronics, systems, features and cutting-edge technology, it's safe to say that this is one of the most high-tech cars we've tested.
And as for the standard handling of the car, the first thing that impressed us is that, despite the considerable mass of 2,787 kilograms, it feels light and dynamic. The steering is direct, the ride extremely soft, and the car is generally predictable. Even more surprising to us was the flexibility of the suspension, given the 22-inch "shod" with low-profile tires that our test car was equipped with.
Dynamics are abundant, but they are not felt because of the low overall center of gravity (provided by the battery, which is located in the floor) and because of the pneumatic suspension, which, in addition to regulating the clearance, gives elegance to the movement. And the dynamic in question is carried out by two electric motors, which are already available on our market in two versions, Twin Motor and Twin Motor Performance.
The first has a power of 408 horses, and the second - with 517 hp. We tested the more powerful variant, which promises a mileage of over 600 kilometers outside the city and 758 in urban driving. The factory figures for electricity consumption are 20.8 kWh/100 km in extra-urban and 15-9 kWh/100 km in the city. After our test drive, most of which was on the freeways around Los Angeles, the trip computer read 22 kWh/100 km, which is excellent for such a large and heavy car driven mostly at highway speeds.
The 111-kilowatt-hour battery is charged from a home outlet in ten hours, and in just half an hour at a direct current fast charging station. But this is the smallest advantage of the new, most luxurious Volvo. The silence in the cabin while driving is palpable, and we say this with the full knowledge that electric cars are quiet. But this one is on a whole other level.
Conclusion and prices
Overall, we're impressed with the new Volvo EX90, even if we're not avowed fans of EVs in general. Naturally, this car, like any other, has its drawbacks, but in this case Volvo has surpassed itself and the minuses we found can be defined as minor. Such are, for example, the unrealistic image in the driver's side mirror, the lack of physical buttons, the opening of the front and rear side windows with the same buttons, and depending on preferences, you have to choose with another button which windows should be lowered or raised. And finally the strange "muzzle" we mentioned.
As for the prices, they are not low. And they can't be. The price of the new Volvo EX90 in our country starts at BGN 213,180, and given additional equipment and performance, it can go up quite a bit more. Against the background of its direct competitors, however, it is in the "golden middle". In fact, there are only two direct competitors of Volvo EX90 in our country - Kia EV9 and Mercedes EQS SUV. The first one is not bad at all, but it is inferior in terms of premium appearance, especially in the salon, but it is cheaper. Mercedes, on the other hand, offers quite ostentatious luxury, however, it lags behind in terms of technology, and its price is higher. The Volvo, in its top Performance version, is cheaper than the EQS SUV, and the difference in favor of the Swedes may increase, as we heard (unofficially) that a single-engine version is also being developed, which will further reduce the price of this most powerful, most technological and most luxurious Volvo.