2024 Volvo EX90

The XC90 has long held the title of Volvo's SUV flagship, but a usurper is set to rise: the new fully electric 2024 Volvo EX90. It embodies the XC90's general principles of safety, space and Scandinavian luxury but adds a new all-electric powertrain to the mix. While the XC90 will be sold alongside it for the foreseeable future, the EX90 sets the tone for what we can expect from Volvo in the coming years.

With three rows of seats and a targeted range of over 300 miles, the EX90 will take on a growing list of competitors, including the well-established Tesla Model X and more recent additions such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and Rivian R1S.

The Volvo EX90 will be on sale here in the States toward the beginning of next year, and Volvo says it will come well equipped at under $80,000. We assume that means it will start around $78,000 and have a number of standard niceties but save a few swanky options like a Bowers & Wilkins stereo system for upper-tier models. When it does finally enter production, the EX90 will be built at Volvo's plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, making it (potentially) eligible for government tax credits.

At launch, the Volvo EX90 will come exclusively with two motors and all-wheel drive. The entry-level version called Twin Motor produces 402 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque. The Twin Motor Performance offers a more stout 496 hp and 671 lb-ft if you'd like a little more oomph. Best-case scenario is a Volvo-touted 0 to 60 mph time of 4.7 seconds, while the Twin Motor gets the job done 1 second slower.

Powering the EX90 is a large battery with a total capacity of 111 kWh and usable capacity of 107 kWh. With a pack this big, Volvo hopes to achieve 300 miles of range, likely with the smallest wheels available. Utilizing a peak charge rate of 250 kW, the EX90 can juice up quite quickly. Expect charging from 10% to 80% capacity to take roughly 30 minutes. Charging at home using a Level 2 charger will naturally take a bit longer — expect to wait roughly 11 hours to charge from zero to 80%. All of these figures will be put to the test when we drive the EX90 early next year.

Volvo has a long history of designing sharp interiors, and the EX90 carries that mantle brilliantly into the future. Like the XC90 and other models in the lineup, the new SUV's cabin is subtle but beautifully designed in a way that only the Swedes know how to nail. Volvo kept the interior free of any animal products, opting instead for materials like wool and Nordico, a synthetic leather-like material, for the seats. The overall design is less shouty than a Mercedes but feels just as premium.

With our limited time in and around the EX90 thus far, we have only a few concerns. Volvo's decision to make the roof one massive piece of glass is great for sightseeing on a road trip but could be a real pain in hot weather. And with no power shade option available, you better hope that the UV-protective tint does its job at keeping heat out. Secondly, the buttonless center stack looks fantastic but also means that changing the air conditioning or activating a seat heater requires digging into screen menus, much like in our Rivian R1T and Tesla Model Y long-term test vehicles. Spoiler alert: We like buttons.

When it comes to interior space, the EX90 is very similar to the XC90. The EX90 has one big advantage in that it offers better headroom in all three rows; otherwise legroom and cargo space are bang-on with the XC90. It's easy to imagine Volvo doing this intentionally, as many of its prospective customers may indeed be trading in an XC90 to go all-electric. And when they do so, the interior space should feel right to them.

A big point of distinction between the XC and the EX is the completely overhauled tech suite, which makes the electric SUV feel much fresher than its combustion-powered sibling. The EX90 will come with a 14.5-inch center screen that runs an adapted version of Google's Android software. It's a similar system to the ones found in current Volvos, and while we're happy with its functionality, we found that on occasion the Volvo couldn't keep up with the operating system's demands. The EX90's system, though, promises to be "lightning-fast," with much heftier hardware and more powerful computer chips. It also offers the ability to use wireless Apple CarPlay, so if you're not an Android fan, you can always bypass the default UI.

On brand for a Volvo, safety is first and foremost. The EX90 has an array of cameras, radar and lidar sensors — all of which come standard on the vehicle. Together, the systems create a "real-time, 360-degree view of the world" that the automaker says will help keep drivers and passengers out of trouble while out on the road. As a result, Volvo says the EX90 is the safest car the company has ever made.

The standard safety hardware also means that the Volvo EX90 is the first Volvo that's hardware-ready for "unsupervised" driving in the future. Mercedes will enjoy first mover status when it launches its Drive Pilot suite — the first Level 3 autonomous driving system in the U.S. — later this year in Nevada. But Volvo won't be far behind, launching its own Level 3 system in California alongside, or soon after, the EX90's launch in the U.S. market next year.

Designwise, it looks like Volvo's fully electric era is off to a hot start, but what matters to us is how the whole thing comes together. We'll find out more as soon as we drive the EX90, so stay tuned.