2025 Volvo EX90 Electric SUV Has Big Aspirations and Small Hiccups

• The 2025 Volvo EX90 is a battery-electric three-row crossover and the second model of Volvo’s EX lineup.
  

• The EX90 is available only in two-motor trim, with the base powertrain making 402 hp and the Twin Motor Performance making 510 hp.

• Volvo says the EX90 will start at $81,290 when it hits the streets later this year.

The most important machine Volvo has launched in the last 20 years is probably the second-generation XC90. This three-row crossover helped set the tone for Volvo’s recent past and helped feed Volvo dealers’ families with the commissions from moving so many of these Scandinavian utes. Following up such success is never easy, and the EX90 seems like another attempt to catch lightning in the bottle with a flagship all-electric family mover.

Kicking things off, let’s dive into the powertrain. For 2025, Volvo is only offering its three-row EX90 with two all-wheel-drive powertrains. The base Twin Motor system shoves 402 hp to the standard 20-inch wheels. Jumping up to the Twin Motor Performance bumps that to a cool 510 hp, with that bump in performance coming from a more powerful rear motor.

The standard, Twin Motor system stuffs a 160-hp motor at the rear, with the Twin Motor Performance cranking that to 268 hp. Powering both systems is 111 kWh of battery underneath the EX90. According to the EPA, this battery pack is good for around 300 miles on a single charge, with the 21-inch wheel option boasting 310 miles per charge.

Volvo didn’t offer any of its less-potent powertrain options, but it’s likely the tuning won’t be too far removed from the more powerful Twin Motor Performance. As you’d expect from an EV, this EX90 offers plenty of pep from your right foot.

There’s a hint of torque steer while launching, but other than that the EX90 is a silent, drama-free BEV. For the sake of range, Volvo added a clutch-based differential that can disconnect the rear drive motor from its wheels to squeeze even more range out of the battery pack.

With the Twin Motor Performance models, you can run the rear drive motor all the time by engaging the performance drive mode. Dynamically, this doesn’t do a lot for the EX90, as the rear motor will engage when the car senses enough throttle command or wheel slip from the front, but it’s there to give you more control over your driving experience.

There’s also a one-pedal drive mode, which is controlled through the 14.5-inch media screen, works well, and has fairly aggressive regeneration. While working with the adaptive cruise system, you’ll be met with a reasonable and sensible way of managing your EX90 through the doldrums of city traffic.

But this regenerative braking system isn’t adjustable and is either one-pedal or free-wheel, which might leave some EV shoppers scratching their heads.

There are other confusing aspects inside the EX90. While the cabin is overwhelmingly nice, with a push for sustainable material choices and elevated minimalism—as we’ve all come to expect from Volvo over the last century—there are some missteps.

The 14.5-inch touchscreen isn’t just your media control or infotainment system: It’s the lifeblood of so many integral features inside the EX90. Want to adjust your side mirrors? That’s a trip to the screen. Open your glovebox door? Welcome to the screen. It should go without saying that your climate control features, your trip computer, and just about every other essential feature you would want to see is stuffed inside of the screen.

This isn’t a fundamental problem, of course, but it could be a pain point for some prospective EX90 shoppers. There are also decisions that follow other growing trends that could be more pain points. Volvo integrated its Pilot Assist function into the column-mounted gear selector. If you’re coming out of a Tesla and into an EX90, this is a non-issue, but that’s less the case for those who are moving out of an XC90.

As for the other important parts of the interior, namely seating and space, the EX90 handles the job. The third row might be tight on headroom for taller adults, but there’s ample space for legs and hips. The second row is also spacious and comfortable.

The materials all feel premium despite the absence of leather or other traditional luxury appointments. Volvo offers a wool blend or its Nordico synthetic leather. The EX90's wood trim is also backlit and gives the EX90’s cabin a soothing ambiance at night.

There’s also a window switch system that relies on only a pair of switches to control the windows. However, controlling the other set of windows is decided by triggering a separate button—so you can’t raise, or lower, all four windows at a given time. It’s a small quirk and an approach Volkswagen pioneered with the ID.4 EV.

The biggest head scratcher is the lidar sensor mounted to the roof. It’s fascinating and will one day enable the EX90 to offer a Level 3 driver-assistance system. It will work with the radar and camera systems and should give EX90 owners a relaxing highway experience.

However, Volvo hasn’t said when it plans to give EX90 owners the software update that unlocks the more advanced driver-assistance system. For now, the EX90 will launch with a hands-on driver version of its Pilot Assist system. The company says that will be rectified by an over-the-air update once the technology is fully baked and ready for release to owners.

The Level 2 system does work well and comes with a functional automatic lane-changing feature. This system is more than adequate but is confusing when combined with a hands-on-only driver-assistance system. When a hands-off Level 2 or Level 3 system joins the EX90, customers will bask in a relaxing blanket of technology.

Dynamically, the EX90 acts like a hefty, three-row crossover. Even though the large battery is stuffed below the EX90s flat floor, you will feel the mass as you’re tooling around corners. The steering feels light and doesn’t deliver too much feedback to the driver, which is certainly a benefit to an EX90 shopper.

Body roll and brake dive are present, but, again, without a trick high-performance suspension like Audi’s electromechanical sway bar, it’s hard to fight physics. Still, the optional air suspension is soft, comfortable, and adjustable.

Outside of the faults above, there is plenty for the Volvo team to be proud of with this EX90. The cabin is incredibly quiet. Managing road noise and wind noise with BEVs is a challenge, but the EX90 lives up to the expectations.

The optional Bowers & Watkins sound system is exceptional, as is the available mix of music apps you can download native to your EX90. If you want to just use CarPlay, you can do that, too. As for launching a vehicle without Lidar capability, but with Lidar hardware, let’s hope that gets figured out sooner rather than later.

All in all, the EX90 might not be the catapult its ICE counterpart was at pushing Volvo into the future, but it’s entering a different landscape, at a different time. The highly competitive BEV world is only getting more competitive, and semi-autonomous driver-assistance systems are only becoming more important.

Once the EX90 unlocks its lidar hardware, it should be in the running with rivals from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Tesla. However, its $81,290 price tag might discourage early adopters without any slick high-tech adaptive driving software.

What do you think of the new Volvo EX90? Tell us your thoughts below.