Volvo EX90 first drive: not fully baked

Volvo’s flagship electric SUV, the EX90, has been a long time coming. And even though it’s hitting the road a full year behind schedule, some of the standout technology and features will still be in a “learning” phase. Volvo is promising some innovative features, but the tech still feels a bit like a minimally viable product. 

We spent a few hours around the Newport Coast in California in an early version of the Volvo EX90. Our tester was a Twin Motor Performance version with a Sand Dune exterior. 

The EPA says that the EX90 will get up to 310 miles of range from the 111 kWh battery pack. The Twin Motor Performance version puts out 510-horsepower and 671 lb. ft. of torque,  while the lower trim will make 402-hp and 568 lb. ft. of torque. 

Volvo says that both should charge from 10 to 80 percent on a 250 kW DC Fast charger in about 30 minutes. While the EX90 is supposed to come with bidirectional charging, the system won’t work until a later date via a software update. 

On the Road

Volvo leaned hard into Swedish minimalism with its design both inside and out. Its understated interior is incredibly relaxing. A single 9-inch driver’s information screen sits behind the steering wheel and can be changed to show speed, range, and mapping information. You also get a very clear heads-up display that can be similarly customized. 

Volvo runs its infotainment system on Google’s Android Automotive platform. That means you can simply ask Google to change your settings for many things, like mapping, radio features, and even temperature controls. 

The vehicle has almost no physical buttons–just one large scroll wheel on the center console and a few buttons (including hazards) on the headliner. Everything else is frustratingly controlled through the main 14.5-inch touchscreen set vertically into the dash. Like Tesla, this includes adjustment for the steering wheel, side-view mirrors, seats, rain-sensing wipers, glove box opening, trunk height, lights, suspension setup, mapping, audio, and more. 

While the system worked fine, it’s a pain if you just need to adjust something simple, like wiper sensitivity or performance settings, because it’s at least a few menus deep. Volvo assumes that these features will be set-it-and-forget-it for owners. The EX90 can use your smartphone as the digital key — though you get a physical fob, too. 

Unfortunately, the digital key we tried was buggy at best. While Volvo said they were working closely with Apple to perfect the tech (and integrate CarPlay, which won’t be available until later via software update, either), the version we tried was unreliable. More than once, we had to open up the Wallet app, find the EX90 virtual key card, and place it on the wireless charging pad to get the car to recognize that the key was in the vehicle. Multiple people at the drive event had to do the same; some even had to have Volvo’s support staff plug in a laptop to get the car to recognize the key. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.

Volvo also took a page out of Rivian’s playbook with the EX90’s advanced adaptive cruise control features, called Pilot Assist. Instead of buttons to activate the feature on the steering wheel, you have to pull the drive select lever on the right side down toward drive and hold it for a moment when Pilot Assist is available (a grayed-out steering wheel symbol appears in the driver’s information screen). Once it’s on, you can use the lane-change assistant to switch lanes. Though the process is a bit slow, it’s better and more predictable than many of the lane-changing assistant features on other vehicles. 

On the road, the big SUV (it’s a little larger than Volvo’s XC90) doesn’t feel ungainly. The cabin is notably quiet and comfortable. With the muted colorways and minimal distractions, it’s surprisingly calm. It doesn’t feel rolly or jarring on broken pavement when you put the air suspension into the default comfort mode. While there’s a sportier ride available, it’s hard to predict whether owners will have the patience to dig through the five layers on the infotainment screen to get there. In Performance mode, everything gets slightly more amped up, but this is no canyon carver. 

The EX90 also gets new interior sensors, including a radar system that senses everything from the driver’s eye movement to whether you’ve left a child or pet in the car unattended. On the drive, while trying to dig through menus to find the drive settings, I had to look at the infotainment screen, and within a few short moments, the vehicle chimed, letting me know I was distracted. The system is a bit sensitive but not intrusive, and for drivers who stupidly prefer to scroll on their phones rather than pay attention to the traffic ahead of them, like most LA drivers, the EX90 could be a needed wake-up call. 

Not Ready for Prime Time

A number of well-known suppliers, including Nvidia, Google, Qualcomm, and Luminar, comprise the EX90’s suite of safety and tech features. Nvidia’s ORIN compute platform, which the company rolled out just 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 the interior tech, while Luminar’s lidar is responsible for the external adaptive and safety features of the vehicle. Everything has to seamlessly communicate with one another, which is one of the major reasons that the EX90 has been so delayed in getting to market. 

That strange-looking lump at the top of the windshield is Luminar’s new Halo lidar, and along with the Polestar 3, the EX90 is among the first vehicles to get it. Unfortunately, it’s not functional because it’s still in learning mode, the company says, gathering data about real-world scenarios before being “turned on.” When it’s available, Volvo has said the lidar will help enable hands-free highway driving — and then inevitably “unsupervised” Level 3 automation. 

Both Luminar and Volvo say they are focused on making sure that the systems are foolproof and safe before unleashing them on the public. As to when that will be, Volvo won’t say, citing various regulatory and safety approvals in countries where the vehicle will be sold. They note that the technology will be rolled out gradually and only available on certain divided highways under limited conditions, much like GM’s Super Cruise system. There are some reports that some of the advanced driving features will start to be available in early 2025. 

Despite a few tech hiccups, and some TBD features, Volvo’s EX90 is driving the ball forward. As a minimum viable product, the EX90 is still pretty good. Future updates and bug fixes will make it the luxury vehicle that Volvo hopes it will be, with all the promised bells and whistles.