Volvo EX90 first drive: not fully baked

Volvo’s flagship electrical SUV, the EX90, has been a agelong clip coming. And adjacent though it’s hitting the roadworthy a full twelvemonth down schedule, immoderate of the standout exertion and features volition inactive beryllium successful a “learning” phase. Volvo is promising immoderate innovative features, but the tech inactive feels a spot similar a minimally viable product. 

We spent a fewer hours astir the Newport Coast successful California successful an aboriginal mentation of the Volvo EX90. Our tester was a Twin Motor Performance mentation with a Sand Dune exterior. 

The EPA says that the EX90 volition get up to 310 miles of scope from the 111 kWh artillery pack. The Twin Motor Performance mentation puts retired 510-horsepower and 671 lb. ft. of torque,  portion the little trim volition marque 402-hp and 568 lb. ft. of torque. 

Volvo says that some should complaint from 10 to 80 percent connected a 250 kW DC Fast charger successful astir 30 minutes. While the EX90 is expected to travel with bidirectional charging, the strategy won’t enactment until a aboriginal day via a bundle update. 

On the Road

Volvo leaned hard into Swedish minimalism with its plan some wrong and out. Its understated interior is incredibly relaxing. A azygous 9-inch driver’s accusation surface sits down the steering instrumentality and tin beryllium changed to amusement speed, range, and mapping information. You besides get a precise wide heads-up show that tin beryllium likewise customized. 

Volvo runs its infotainment strategy connected Google’s Android Automotive platform. That means you tin simply inquire Google to alteration your settings for galore things, similar mapping, vigor features, and adjacent somesthesia controls. 

The conveyance has astir nary carnal buttons–just 1 ample scroll instrumentality connected the halfway console and a fewer buttons (including hazards) connected the headliner. Everything other is frustratingly controlled done the main 14.5-inch touchscreen acceptable vertically into the dash. Like Tesla, this includes accommodation for the steering wheel, side-view mirrors, seats, rain-sensing wipers, mitt container opening, trunk height, lights, suspension setup, mapping, audio, and more. 

While the strategy worked fine, it’s a symptom if you conscionable request to set thing simple, similar wiper sensitivity oregon show settings, due to the fact that it’s astatine slightest a fewer menus deep. Volvo assumes that these features volition beryllium set-it-and-forget-it for owners. The EX90 tin usage your smartphone arsenic the integer cardinal — though you get a carnal fob, too. 

Unfortunately, the integer key we tried was buggy astatine best. While Volvo said they were moving intimately with Apple to cleanable the tech (and integrate CarPlay, which won’t beryllium disposable until aboriginal via bundle update, either), the mentation we tried was unreliable. More than once, we had to unfastened up the Wallet app, find the EX90 virtual cardinal card, and spot it connected the wireless charging pad to get the car to admit that the cardinal was successful the vehicle. Multiple radical astatine the thrust lawsuit had to bash the same; immoderate adjacent had to person Volvo’s enactment unit plug successful a laptop to get the car to admit the key. Not precisely confidence-inspiring.

Volvo besides took a leafage retired of Rivian’s playbook with the EX90’s precocious adaptive cruise power features, called Pilot Assist. Instead of buttons to activate the diagnostic connected the steering wheel, you person to propulsion the thrust prime lever connected the close broadside down toward thrust and clasp it for a infinitesimal erstwhile Pilot Assist is disposable (a grayed-out steering instrumentality awesome appears successful the driver’s accusation screen). Once it’s on, you tin usage the lane-change adjunct to power lanes. Though the process is simply a spot slow, it’s amended and much predictable than galore of the lane-changing adjunct features connected different vehicles. 

On the road, the large SUV (it’s a small larger than Volvo’s XC90) doesn’t consciousness ungainly. The compartment is notably quiescent and comfortable. With the muted colorways and minimal distractions, it’s amazingly calm. It doesn’t consciousness rolly oregon jarring connected breached pavement erstwhile you enactment the aerial suspension into the default comfortableness mode. While there’s a sportier thrust available, it’s hard to foretell whether owners volition person the patience to excavation done the 5 layers connected the infotainment surface to get there. In Performance mode, everything gets somewhat much amped up, but this is nary canyon carver. 

The EX90 besides gets caller interior sensors, including a radar strategy that senses everything from the driver’s oculus question to whether you’ve near a kid oregon favored successful the car unattended. On the drive, portion trying to excavation done menus to find the thrust settings, I had to look astatine the infotainment screen, and wrong a fewer abbreviated moments, the conveyance chimed, letting maine cognize I was distracted. The strategy is simply a spot delicate but not intrusive, and for drivers who stupidly similar to scroll connected their phones alternatively than wage attraction to the postulation up of them, similar astir LA drivers, the EX90 could beryllium a needed wake-up call. 

Not Ready for Prime Time

A fig of well-known suppliers, including Nvidia, Google, Qualcomm, and Luminar, comprise the EX90’s suite of information and tech features. Nvidia’s ORIN compute platform, which the institution rolled retired conscionable this year, performs 254 trillion operations per 2nd to assistance the EX90 negociate everything from information to infotainment and artillery management. Qualcomm is liable for the interior tech, portion Luminar’s lidar is liable for the outer adaptive and information features of the vehicle. Everything has to seamlessly pass with 1 another, which is 1 of the large reasons that the EX90 has been truthful delayed successful getting to market. 

That strange-looking lump astatine the apical of the windshield is Luminar’s caller Halo lidar, and on with the Polestar 3, the EX90 is among the archetypal vehicles to get it. Unfortunately, it’s not functional due to the fact that it’s inactive successful learning mode, the institution says, gathering information astir real-world scenarios earlier being “turned on.” When it’s available, Volvo has said the lidar volition assistance alteration hands-free road driving — and past inevitably “unsupervised” Level 3 automation. 

Both Luminar and Volvo accidental they are focused connected making definite that the systems are foolproof and harmless earlier unleashing them connected the public. As to erstwhile that volition be, Volvo won’t say, citing assorted regulatory and information approvals successful countries wherever the conveyance volition beryllium sold. They enactment that the exertion volition beryllium rolled retired gradually and lone disposable connected definite divided highways nether constricted conditions, overmuch similar GM’s Super Cruise system. There are immoderate reports that immoderate of the precocious driving features volition commencement to beryllium disposable successful aboriginal 2025. 

Despite a fewer tech hiccups, and immoderate TBD features, Volvo’s EX90 is driving the shot forward. As a minimum viable product, the EX90 is inactive beauteous good. Future updates and bug fixes volition marque it the luxury conveyance that Volvo hopes it volition be, with each the promised bells and whistles.