2025 Volvo EX90 Review: Unfinished Potential

Volvo may no longer be aiming to have the brand’s entire fleet fully electric by 2030, but that doesn’t mean the manufacturer is walking away from EVs as a whole. In fact, quite the opposite. Volvo still estimates 90-100% of the brand’s vehicles will have some electrification by 2030, including several all-electric models. Models like the all-new 2025 Volvo EX90.

The 2025 Volvo EX90 is right-sized for the intended market, measuring 198.3-inches (5,037 mm) in length, 77.3-inches wide (1,964 mm), and 68.8-inches (1,747 mm) tall. It is instantly recognizable as a Volvo family member, with styling cues like the Thor’s hammer daytime running lights, that physically open within the headlight housing to reveal the low beams at night.

Painted in Vapour Grey exterior paint, the overall design of the big SUV is subdued, but still features unique details like the taillight design that starts on the rear-flanks, then continues almost within the rear window up to the roof. The aero wheel covers are also top notch. 

Two powertrains are available in the EX90, both twin motors driving all-four wheels. Naturally, we had to have the more powerful option, which our Ultra trim level included, that’s simply called the performance version. It unleashes a combined 510 hp and 671 lb-ft of torque. That’s a good bit of power, enough to propel the portly 6,048 lbs (2,748 kg) SUV from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, or 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds for our Canadian readers.

With a single speed transmission, top speed is capped at 112 mph (180 km/h), which is fine as this isn’t a sporty SUV, despite its power. Don’t get us wrong, the EX90 is incredibly quick from a stop and even around town oozes oomph. At freeway speeds, thrust is still more than adequate, but the power does begin to taper off.

Drive it more sedately, or how the vehicle is meant to be driven, and power delivery is smooth, as should be expected with electric motors. A nice feature is ability to turn one pedal driving on or off fully independently of any other drive settings.

Supplying juice for the two electric motors is a 111-kWh battery, with 107-kWh usable storage. It’s good for up to 310 miles (483 km) on a single charge. When depleted, the battery can charge at speeds up to 250 kW and the EX90 houses an 11-kW on-board charger.

Our tester, being the Ultra trim, came with the air suspension, active chassis, and upgraded 22-inch wheels. The latter comes wrapped in staggered tires, 265 mm wide in the front and 295 mm wide in the rear. Despite the impressive power and acceleration figures as well as the wide tires and active suspension, as stated above, this is a more comfort orientated SUV than a performance one.

It operates like a traditional SUV, with great noise isolation partially due to the 0.29 drag coefficiency. The suspension is less about tackling corners than luxury refinement, never getting upset or producing harsh vibrations over bumps, although it’s not the absolute smoothest. Even if this large AWD SUV isn’t a sporty special, the wide rear tires do give it a nice stance.

For those that need to take more than six or seven people along for the journey, the EX90 is capable of towing 4,850 lbs (2,200 kg)

With the Volvo EX90 emphasizing luxury and refinement, comfort is an important aspect as well. Up front, there’s plenty of space with 44.2-inches (1,075 mm) of headroom and 40.9-inches (1,039 mm) of legroom. The massage, ventilated, heated, dual power front seats can be adjusted to accommodate a lot of different body types, and we found them comfortable during long drives.

The second row is spacious with 41.6-inches (1,056 mm) of headroom and 36.5-inches (926 mm) of legroom. Our tester is a seven-seater which meant we had the three-person bench in the middle row. It was fine for two people with the fold-down center armrest. In the back, the third row has a two-seat bench that is meant for smaller folks, with only 35.8-inches (909 mm) of headroom and 31.9-inches (811 mm) of legroom.

Comfort isn’t just about seat surfaces and cabin space though, other convenience features on our 2025 Volvo EX90 Ultra include power operated soft close doors, four-zone climate control with a heat pump, and power folding third row seats that can be folded and opened back up via buttons in the cargo area.

While on the topic of cargo, carrying capacity is pegged at 13.6 cu ft (365 L) with all the seats up and there’s a nice vertical storage area thanks to the EX90’s boxy shape. Fold both sets of seats down and cargo capacity grows to 75.4 cu ft (1,915 L). Oh, and for a wee bit more storage, there’s a 1.6 cu ft (37 L) front trunk under the hood.

As expected from a modern luxury electric SUV, the EX90 is stuffed full of technology and features; for better or worse. But let’s start with the positive. Including in our EX90 Ultra are rain sensing wipers, a big 14.5-inch center display, 360° camera with 3D view, headlamp cleaners, pilot assist, head-up display, power adjustable steering column, heated steering wheel, wireless phone charger, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and much more. Also added to our tester is the Bowers & Wilkins Premium Sound system that costs $3,200 extra in the United States.

Volvos are famous for safety and the EX90 comes with everything. Run-off road mitigation, collision avoidance and mitigation, pedestrian and cyclist steering avoidance, rear cross traffic alert with low-speed auto brake, intersection autobrake, road sign information, blind spot information system, etc. The cornerstone of the vehicle’s safety suite is the LiDAR mounted above the windshield that monitors everything going on around the Volvo.

As alluded to a few times, our week of testing wasn’t completely trouble free. On our second last day, the digital gauge cluster no longer showed how much battery charge or range was left. Both were just slash lines. We had around 70% of battery charge, good for about 200 miles, but the vehicle did not show it. After a full day, the system reset itself and started to show both battery percentage and range once again.

On another day, we parked the vehicle with the radio set low, locked it up, and were standing about 10 feet away, when the EX90 suddenly turned itself back on with the audio system blasting music at full volume. We’re still not sure how it randomly came back to life that way.

There are other little annoyances as well, such as having to go through some menu screens to have the vehicle play SXM radio every time we turn the EX90 on, or the turn signals that didn’t always click off after moderate turns, and of course the Tesla-like in the vehicle controls. The later feel overly complex, delivering not a great UX. Having to change mirrors through the center screen is too much. Maybe we’re old, but we’d rather have the simplicity of a few more physical buttons.

The Volvo EX90 is poised to be a solid offering in the burgeoning luxury, three-row EV SUV market. It has all the right bits, a clean design, oodles of technology, and a refined driving experience. But it’s not quite there yet. A few wrinkles need to be ironed out, and once they are, we look forward to sampling another EX90 down the road.

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