This post was originally published on Autocar
Big-battery model yields a range of 434 miles
Circa-£70k fastback is positioned as brand’s technological flagship and has trick on-board computers
The all-new ES90 is the first electric Volvo that’s not an SUV – and the slippery hatchback has a range well in excess of 400 miles.
The Swedish brand is positioning the five-metre-long ES90 as its technological flagship, thanks to a series of advanced features and mighty computing power that will allow it to be extensively updated and refreshed over the air with new, additional features during its lifetime.
While it’s ostensibly a saloon in profile, Volvo says design trickery allows it to combine the raised driving position and ground clearance of an SUV (the latter being 4cm lower than the EX90) with a fastback body; it’s actually a five-door, with a rear hatchback.
The styling follows that of the EX90 – including the large, visible lidar sensor in the roof – and it is the most aerodynamic Volvo in history. Its drag coefficient is 0.25.
The ES90 is the second Volvo to be launched on the SPA2 electric architecture after the related EX90 SUV. While some global left-hand-drive markets will get the model from later this summer, UK buyers will have to wait approximately a year for deliveries of right-hand-drive ES90s, when it will be priced from around £70,000 for an entry-level Plus trim model and rise to just below £90,000 for a top-spec Ultra.
Three powertrain options are offered alongside two battery sizes, which have improved energy management software and hardware to enable longer ranges.
There is a standard 328bhp, 354lb ft rear-wheel-drive Single Motor model; a 443bhp, 494lb ft all-wheel-drive Twin Motor; and a 671bhp, 642lb ft Twin Motor Performance version. The 0-62mph times of this trio are 6.9sec, 5.6sec and 4.0sec respectively and the top speed of all three models is capped at 112mph.
The battery options are 88kWh (usable) and a 102kWh unit for a headline range of 434 miles. The predicted range of the smaller-battery model is 404 miles. The single-motor version comes with the smaller battery and the twin-motor versions with the larger one.
Volvo has also equipped the ES90 with 350kW rapid charging that enables 186 miles of range to be added in 10 minutes with the larger battery. To get from 10% battery capacity to 80% takes 20 minutes in this model. In order to charge at faster speeds for longer than the 400V EX90 (which has a maximum charging output of 250kW), the ES90 gets an 800V electric architecture.
The ES90 follows the EX90 in being fitted with Volvo’s Superset tech stack, which has been made more powerful still in its second application and given an additional Nvidia Orin processor. Rather than having a series of individual ECUs to operate different components and functions, the ES90 uses twin central Nvidia Orin processors that can handle more than 500 trillion operations per second.
This centralised approach, known as a software-defined vehicle, allows for faster and more efficient updates over time thanks to the blending of hardware and software modules.
The ES90 features the same dual-chamber air suspension and adaptive dampers as the EX90. Engineering boss Anders Bell said it is a “very comfortable and calm” car to drive. It is also said to have the “quietest-ever cabin” in Volvo’s history.
The ES90 is a similar size as the likes of the BMW i5, Mercedes EQE and Lucid Air, at five metres long, just under two metres wide and just over 1.5m tall. A long wheelbase of 3.1m allows for plenty of rear leg room and individually reclining rear seats – something that’s important in China, which is a big market focus for the car.
The boot capacity is 425 litres, rising to 1256 litres with the 40/20/40 split rear seats folded down. There is also a 22-litre frunk that’s designed to house charging cables.
The front cabin largely mirrors that of the EX90, with a light and airy feel and premium Scandinavian trims and materials, among them recycled options. An electronic panoramic roof also features.
Infotainment is provided via a 14.5in central touchscreen, which works alongside a 9in driver display and a standard head-up display. This system has several Google services built in, including Google Maps and Waze. Unlike with the EX90, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be offered from launch.
The ES90 is packed with passive and active safety equipment, including a lidar sensor to allow a level of automated driving. As with the EX90, this is built in as standard, even if it is not yet fully operational at launch, and is one of the hardware features that will be unlocked and enhanced with software updates over time.
Q&A: Jeremy Offer, Volvo head of global design
It has a saloon profile, but is a hatchback and has raised ground clearance. So what is it?
“It’s in a class of its own. We’ve adapted the saloon silhouette and added from a functional perspective a hatchback.
“But then working with the proportions of an electric platform, which has a higher driving position, we leveraged that and used that to our advantage, giving the car a higher stance and elevated driving position.
“When you see it in the flesh, it looks like something unique, but it is fundamentally a large saloon with these nuanced changes.”
Could we see this approach on other models?
“First, we look at it from a user perspective. This isn’t a styling exercise for us. This is about fundamentally understanding our users and our customers. Whatever’s best for that particular car that we’re focusing on will inevitably come out through the research that we do.
“We’re not a company that starts with a sketch. It’s very much about starting with those fundamental user requirements and then building on that.”
The lidar sensor is really prominent in the design. Are we wrong to say it’s not aesthetically pleasing?
“Design is a series of compromises, and it’s about creating beauty where there wasn’t anything before.
“There is a design adage: if you can’t hide it, make a feature of it, and that is very much true of these early iterations of lidar. But the fundamental requirements of lidar being able to see the road, it needs to be high up. These are challenges that we as designers relish when we come to find solutions for. But, yeah, the size of it is kind of non-negotiable.”
Is this a more premium car than the Volvo S90 before it?
“There are some cues from the S90. But this is about creating a new vernacular for premium, for Volvo. What is premium when it comes to EV and what can we do that extols the virtues of a premium experience? Light, space, leveraging the flat floor, premium electric proportions.
“That’s something that’s really interesting to play with, rather than sticking with the more skeuomorphic representation of what came before. For me, there isn’t any place for that.
“People talk about premium proportions being one thing, but predominantly those proportions have been defined by the fact that it’s got a freaking great engine up front, and when you remove that, then, frankly, there is no need to compromise the interior space simply to give you premium proportions.”
Your premium rivals have even larger saloons. How can this go up against those?
“It’s about making sure that you really take care of the details and that you aren’t compromising on the customer experiences, making sure that the fit and finish and the materials that we use are as best as we can possibly make it. Our craft structures, the way the door sounds.
“It’s a huge number of sensorial moments that make up this idea in your head as to whether or not you’re in a premium car or you’re having a premium experience.
“Pay attention to the details. Don’t compromise on things like on the touch points, the steering wheel, the door handles, the buttons, the switches, the touchscreen. That’s what needs to feel premium for the customer.”