All hail Volvo EX90, King of the SUVs

While Volvo has decided to delay its full electrification strategy by a few years, its electric-only models are certainly a strong case in favour of new energy. 

The EX90 is a statement. 

It's big, but nimble. It's heavy, but fast. It's high tech, but intuitive.

In the words of Mary Poppins: "It's practically perfect in every way."

Now, sure, you may have doubts about South Africa's electric and charging infrastructure. And while some Volvos like the EX30, XC40 Recharge, and C40 have decent enough real-world range, the EX90 gave me range anxiety. 

It's a big enough vehicle for you to want to tour in, but when I took delivery on a full charge, I was greeted with a touch over 400km of range. 

Brute Force

This, of course, being the top specced Twin Performance model, which erupts 380kW of power and 910Nm of torque, you're going to want to drive exuberantly, and lugging that 2.8 tonnes is not going to do your driving range any favours.

That is, of course, before you activate Performance Mode - which ratchets up the power to 500kW.

Quick? You betcha. 

And if you're ever experienced the immediate force of unbridled electric power, which gives you peak power and torque instantaneously, you'll understand how it can leave your insides pinned to your spine, with a Joker-like grin plastered across your tear-strained face. 

But enough about the brute force. 

Comfort

The EX90 is incredibly luxurious. Some lesser models lower down Volvo's price range have suffered somewhat from a bit of cost-cutting in recent years, which has meant the interiors have become a little noisy and scratchy; maybe a little less sound deadening here and there, a little lower quality of recycled plastics and other materials used to appoint the interior panels and touch points. 

But no expense seems to have been spared in the EX90. It suffers from no such cost-cutting. 

Its wood-panelled dash lights up from behind. The synthetic leather (I think they call it "vegan leather", but whatever) feels hardy and supple simultaneously. The doors latch by themselves. The air suspension provides the smoothest possible drive.

Even the delivery of the power is smooth. 

Often, in electrically powered vehicles, because of the immediacy of the torque, they can feel jerky until you get used to the throttle, and even in the long-term EX30 I had on test, that took weeks. 

In the EX90, your untrained foot won't give you any such jolts, so there's far less noticeable inertia, which could lead to motion sickness. 

Even in the back seats, where there is ample leg-, head- and foot room, it's luxurious and comfortable. To borrow a line from Sniff Petrol's 'Not an Advertisement' for the Jaguar XJ: "It makes sitting in your living room feel a bit shit."

Ease of use

Like Volvo's XC40 Recharge, you don't need to switch the EX90 on. You simply get in, put it in drive, and go. The key fob is comically small, without any buttons (in keeping with the rest of the car's minimalist theme). In fact, it's so small, there's a space on the phone charging pad for you to plop the key fob down to charge it too, because its battery life may not last that long. 

Will you get locked out? Nah, probably not - if the battery is too flat in the key fob for the proximity locking mechanism to activate or deactivate, you can simply touch the fob to the handle, or use your phone's NFC linked to the Volvo app. You can also pre-condition the vehicle using the app as well. 

Volvo has learnt lessons from its EX30 - which took minimalism to the absolute extreme, removing almost all buttons from the cabin and having everything housed in the massive touchscreen. 

Yes, there is a volume knob! And actual, large knob to control volume and skip through songs. There are touchscreen shortcuts which are still accessible even when Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are in use, so you won't need to exit in order to open the glovebox. 

And thanks to its split-level centre console, like the EX30, the EX90 has plenty of storage space inside and underneath the centre armrest. 

Practicality

This being the Big Daddy Volvo, it is, of course, a seven-seater, and unlike similar models from Isuzu, Toyota, Land Rover, and Audi, there's still a decent-sized boot with the third row of seats up.

Even I, an adult man of average height (178cm), can sit comfortably in the third row, albeit not for road-trip distances. 

And to get those seats up is a cinch. Buttons in the boot and on the pillar of the rear door aperture open and fold away the third row of seats with ease. And if you struggle, as a less-than-average man, to lift heavy things into the boot, buttons will help you lower the suspension so you have a sedan-like load lip height.

There is packing space aplenty, with additional storage in the front trunk/boot (frunk? froot?) for extra stuff you may not be able to fit in the cavernous boot. 

Safety and Sound

There's a premium Bowers & Wilkins audio system with 25 speakers, including speakers in the headrests for optimal aural pleasure, and no fewer than eight external cameras, with a pretty advanced LIDAR mounted above the windscreen for optimal safety. 

Volvo heard I like frameless rearview mirrors, so they gave the heated, foldable exterior wing mirrors the frameless treatment too. The door handles retreat flush with the doors, which have an automatic soft-latching function too. And if you can't be arsed to open the boot, that's automatic too. 

While the roof doesn't open, the full length solid glass roof lets more than enough light in, and keeps harsh heat and sound out. 

In fact, you feel so cut off from the outside world thanks to the EX90's NVH mitigation, I had trouble hearing the hooter from the inside. 

The EX90 will set you back two million, six hundred and fifty thousand of your finest Randelas, but it's all so very worth it. It's a sanctuary on wheels, you'll even look forward to sitting in traffic.

It's the pinnacle of Swedish luxury, with tasteful nods to its origins like the tiny, unobtrusive Swedish flag sticking out of the passenger seat, or the Swedish flag tastefully embossed in the dark chrome dash surround.  

All hail the Volvo EX90; first of its name, King of the SUVs.

IOL Motoring