If you’re looking for a big, luxurious electric sedan, you’re certainly not starved for choice. From the brash BMW i7 to the sleek Lucid Air to the baroque Genesis G80 Electrified, it seems like there really is an electric luxury sedan for everyone. However, what if none of those options quite appeal to you, and you used to own a Saab 9000? The Volvo ES90 is finally here, and it looks a bit weirder than we initially imagined. Part of this is because it isn’t a full-on sedan, but instead a five-door liftback that promises enormous electric range.
Volvo claims that the ES90 isn’t a sedan, a hatchback, or an SUV, but instead that it “carves out a new space for itself by eliminating the compromises between those three segments.” Remember when BMW tried this with the 5 Series GT and it didn’t really work? Thankfully, the world’s progressed since then, so the market might be more receptive toward a big, tall hatchback.
Under the skin, the ES90 rides on the SPA2 architecture found under the EX90 electric three-row crossover, and it’s offered with a variety of 800-volt nominal powertrain options. There’s a single-motor rear-wheel-drive setup with an 88 kWh battery pack and 329 horsepower, a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup with a 106 kWh battery pack and 442 hp, and a performance dual-motor all-wheel-drive version with a whopping 670 horses. Volvo says the small battery pack can charge at 300 kW, while the big one takes it all the way to 350 kW, so it should max out Electrify America’s best chargers.
The dual-motor long-range arrangement should be good for 435 miles of range on the optimistic WLTP cycle, but that’s not the really interesting part here. The 670-horsepower Performance trim makes the ES90 the most powerful production Volvo ever made, yet it’s not the quickest. Due in part to how this big liftback can weigh up to 5,787 pounds, even its most powerful variant is slightly slower to 60 mph than the hopped-up version of the little EX30 crossover. Newton and his laws, am I right?
Moving inside the Volvo ES90, the interior keeps up Volvo’s current theme of being ultra-minimalist. There’s a portrait-style 14.5-inch touchscreen in the center, a nine-inch digital gauge cluster, some window switches, some speakers, and that’s about it. However, usability seems better than in the EX30 because Volvo’s included some modicum of physical controls. A horizontally mounted crystal scroll wheel seems like it would control volume, and it’s flanked by hard metallic buttons to skip tracks. Speaking of audio, this liftback’s available with a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system which should offer pretty rich sound, given Volvo’s history with the British nameplate. Consider it an option box worth ticking.
Otherwise, the cabin of the ES90 looks to be made of nice stuff, with plenty of textiles, leathers, wood and metals. Those gorgeous grilles on the Bowers & Wilkins speakers are almost enough to make you overlook how it seems that Volvo put the glovebox release and the hazard warning lamp switch in the touchscreen. Oh, and the brightwork on the steering wheel looks fantastic until you realize cold climates exist and some of the brightwork sits where your hands would be. Still, at least we have normal air vents that aren’t controlled via touchscreen, and the column-mounted shifter is simply a bright idea, freeing up space for better console storage.
What about other tech? Well, in addition to the Lidar unit on the roof and more computing power than Mir, the Volvo ES90 is available with either a UV-protected panoramic glass roof or a fancy electrochromic roof you can frost at the touch of a button. What’s more, Volvo claims the ES90’s climate control can scrub out 95 percent of PM2.5 particulates and 99.9 percent of pollen from the air around you, and this car will even watch out for cyclists when parked streetside. How nice.
Alright, I guess we need to talk about the looks now. Compared to the plug-in hybrid S90 sedan, the ES90 doesn’t follow the age-old maxim of longer, lower, wider. Actually, Volvo’s gone shorter and taller, with the ES90 measuring in 3.5 inches trimmer stem-to-stern and four inches taller than its gasoline-burning counterpart, all while riding on a 1.6-inch longer wheelbase. It’s an increase in dimensions that seems manageable, but somehow Volvo seems to have put all of the extra height between the sill and the beltline, resulting in a somewhat tall appearance. It’s not proper ugly, it’s just a little Polestar 2-y, and the S90 set such a high bar that living up to those standards might actually be impossible. Actually, my biggest concern is rear visibility. With such tall rear seats and the sloping rear window, the view out the back of the Volvo ES90 doesn’t look great.
While it might not look as elegant as a Lucid Air, the liftback layout of the ES90 is useful, and the car itself seems worlds apart from a Mercedes-Benz EQS on style, simply because it doesn’t look like a Dodge Intrepid. If the range translates well from WLTP-speak to EPA figures, and Volvo keeps a reasonably lid on pricing, the ES90 should do well when it arrives in America next year. After all, everyone mocked the original Porsche Panamera when it came out, but now it doesn’t look so gawky, does it?
Top graphic image: Volvo
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Exterior looks great, would prefer an EV90 Wagon instead, but the liftback is nice. Might consider replacing my S60 T8 with one in a few years… but I already have an EQS 450+ as well, and well this is very similar with a much worse interior.
I guess $70k for the sp2 platform compared to $200k for the lotus is a bargain. But looking at their competition not so much. Design looks very Volvo though. Hopefully Geely tries to compete in the $30k market soon like they are in Australia. Getting kinda sick looking at overpriced Volvos and polestars.
How dare you besmirch the Intrepid by comparing it to the EQS! 😛
I feel like I am one of the only people who likes the EQS styling. It gives me vibes of the aero cars from the 20s/30s Mercedes and Auto Union were making to chase speed records.
German engineering function over form.
With that said they are far better looking in person than in photos.
All sedans should be liftbacks now, this more good evidence.
This thing is cool looking. I LOVE the rear.
The outside is not bad, and I think it may look really good in person.
But the interior is a disaster. The out of date oversize floating screens and lack of simple analog controls for commonly used features feels like the worst of 2010.
Well, as I already own a Polestar 2, and have wondered if it was possible to make the gorgeous headlights from an EX30 fit somehow, I technically can’t really complain about the looks of the ES90, judged purely subjectively from pictures/videos. It’s probably a bit on the larger side for my taste up close.
More objectively, the Polestar 2 production model was shown 6 years ago, and although most Volvos on the roads manage to look pretty contemporary even into their early teens, I think this car will struggle to be confused for a brand new car for that long. On the other hand it will make my current car look more like a modern car for several years to come I guess.
I think the proportions (again on photos/video) are better than the current S/V90 which just looks too wide and low compared to the near perfect looking outgoing V60.
What I’m mostly worried about is if it feels like you’re sitting on the car and not in it. I had a chance to test a Polestar 4 last year and that really made me miss the footwells they decided to make in the battery pack for the Polestar 2.
I prefer sitting closer to the actual floor of the car unless I’m driving an actual SUV. So that’s a general skateboard platform problem which I guess almost everyone who didn’t buy a EV on the same platform as I did will have to get used to.
Unfortunately, like the Polestar 3, It is too heavy. The curb weight of my compact liftback sedan based on a CUV platform which was available with every type of drivetrain apart from hydrogen, is already several hundred pounds more than I’d prefer, so a car barely larger with several more years of development , on a bespoke EV platform shouldn’t have to weigh several hundred pounds more.
I do. Still think 5/6 GT is ugly af, but, it is in fact a 7 series, not a 5, so you can get some options not available in 5. Ignore the ugliness and you will find a really nice car.
Now this Volvo, is not that ugly, also not beaultiful. Maybe a waste, because it would render a really beautiful sedan.
Maybe Adrian can fix that.
Interior is nice, minimalism done right, imho. But I still don’t like this trend of these huge vertical screens. Bring the buttons back!
Another expensive EV sedan. Just what the market was clamoring for.
I’m so sick of the lazy stick and iPad on the dash interior. It looks so bad.
Is there a need to describe EVs here with their company-claimed ranges? None of the EVs ever realistically get that kind of range in normal driving over a year, which would be the optimal expected range, taking in seasonal hot and cold changes and all the types of driving that one would do.
People knock the EQS for its looks, but the shape really does make it get the ranges they claim and more. The official range numbers for the 450+ I have is 350 miles. I’ve managed to surpass that and get nearly 400 miles out of it in the spring and fall, with the numbers falling around 300-320ish in the winter
The design reminds me more of the Toyota Crown, but it’s not as awkward-looking as that car. Still somewhat awkward, though.
I dig the Crown (as it’s different) and I love the Signia (wouldn’t that look good with a lowering kit?)
I’d be all over this if it were a very squared off wagon! That being said, the V90 does it better.
Agreed. Not sure what stops them from providing more cargo space, which seems to be something Volvo owners want.
We need more liftbacks. Fewer mailslots.
I’m a bit of a Volvo fanboy and tend to grade them on a curve but this thing is a goddamn disaster. Did they throw their designers an image of the Toyota Crown and tell them “make it look Swedish and give it a Tesla interior because dear god almighty we’re so goddamn horny for Tesla all the time uggghhhh we can’t take it mmmm give me five minutes alone with my giant screen”? I actually like the idea of a big luxury hatch but I’m perplexed as to how they borked these proportions so badly.
The Audi A7 is right there. It got this perfect years ago. Just copy and paste that silhouette and Volvo-ify it. Or copy the 8 series but make it a liftback like it was always meant to be. You can make 5 door sedans look very, very good but you can’t stray too far from the formula or they become awkward red headed stepchildren. Looking at you, first gen Panamera…
Instead we get this kind of crossover, kind of sedan war crime that’s going to look 10 years old overnight. Oh and GIVE US SOME FUCKING BUTTONS!!!! No one wants this shit. You’re not Tesla, you’ll never be Tesla, and the people that want Teslas will simply buy Teslas…although I guess they may get some conquest customers who are fed up with Musk. Anyway I see no handle on the glove box so I assume you open it through the infotainment like other Volvo EVs.
I LOVE complicated, technology dependent solutions to problems that have never existed. In fact who even needs automotive designers or engineers anymore? Just grab a gaggle of Silicon Valley tech bros, load them up with cocaine, read them random Elon tweets while blasting EDM music, and just roll with whatever they do. Because that’s what the people want-rolling computers loaded with the most bleeding edge technology possible that definitely won’t have issues ever because praised be our tech overlords!
I think it looks great… both the interior and exterior.
I’m calling Uncle Adrian and telling on you
Dude, same here. I absolutely adore Volvos of yore and still am interested whenever they release a new model, especially a 5 door liftback. But over the past decade their idiotic insistence of cramming every function into an often slow to respond touchscreen has completely turned me off from otherwise excellent vehicles. It’s so annoying and quite frankly dangerous coming from a brand with such a hard on for safety.
We don’t even need to look at the A7 as Volvo got the silhouette right with the first gen S60, even though the car was a saloon. Its proportions still look good now the very rare time you’ll still see one in the road. The last generation of S and V cars were gorgeous, inside and out. This design is just regressive in every aspect. Based on comments I’ve seen around the Internet, it’s gone down like a lead balloon. And now I want a V90 even more.
Here’s the one thing I’ll begrudgingly give Tesla credit for. It’s normalized smaller grilles.
Granted, EVs don’t need large grilles to function, but neither do most modern cars. I rather see this than the newest BMW EV concepts, with it’s all-grille front fascia.
Dims: 196.9″L x 83.5″W (incl. mirrors) x 61″H
Portly. It really fills out those dimensions.
How odd that someone left that giant tablet just propped against the middle of the dashboard during a full on photo shoot. You would think Volvo would want people to see the buttons and radio controls they built behind it.
These will be incredibly tempting in 2030 when they’ve lost 65% of their value
2030? You’ll be able to pick one up in the 30s in two years
Let’s split hairs, because you’ve used the terms “hatchback” and “liftback” interchangeably, and they kind of are the same, but not.
In my mind, a liftback is a subset of the definition of hatchback. (I’m pretty sure the term “liftback” was coined by Toyota for a 70s Corolla hatchback – the one that was actually a Shooting Brake, but I digress).
If the majority of the hatch is more than 45 degrees from vertical, it becomes a liftback. Less than 45 degrees, it’s a hatchback. Golf=hatchback, Prius=liftback. Got it?
Then we’re disqualifying most Audi wagons as “wagons”, as well 🙂
Torch’s old “ratio of the roof coverage past the C-pillar” was always a good metric for callling something a wagon vs hatch, but you raise a good point about the glass angle here. I think a lot of wagons have gotten a little too liberal with their rear rake in the last few generations. If we don’t take a stand, the only stuff left will be those BMW and Mercedes SUV “coupes” that I still haven’t gotten used to, even though I see 5-10 every day.
I didn’t include my thoughts about “what is a station wagon” because that’s off topic, but since you asked… 🙂
A station wagon is car-based, and the volume of the cargo area must be greater than the 2nd row of seats. Also, the 2nd row of seats (and the 3rd row, if applicable) must fold dead flat – no lumps, bumps, or angles.
My platonic ideals of station wagons will include Volvo 245, Mercedes S123, Ford Country Squire, and GM B/C-body wagons.
It’s a hatchback if it’s got black plastic cladding. It’s a liftback if it’s a turbo EV.
This reeks of focus grouping to the level of Camel Committee (you know, the old “a horse designed by a committee is a camel” because a series of seemingly-perfect compromises can backfire)
We need another EV! What about Polestar? People don’t know Polestar!
Sedans are classy! Yeah, but wagons hold more! Hatcback it!
But what about the ground clearance of a crossover? Consider it done!
And can we do a traditional dashboard and gauges? Go f*ck yourself, SCREENS!
OK, that last one wasn’t a compromise.
and “make the hatchback so low that nothing fits”
Yep, this seems to be on par with a Chevy Volt for hatch space. Might as well fold that center seat flat so you can use your rearview…
This is Volvo’s way of forcing you to learn how to use the camera and other electronic aids. Seriously, though, a car like this should have automatically retracting headrests to allow super-safe reversing. That image showing two tiny openings for peering out the back is comical.
The Volvo brand is all about safety. What you can’t see, can’t hurt you. At least with the glass roof, you’ll be able to see that falling satellite coming…
Another 4 door liftback/hatchback EV. How original. Still waiting on my EV Vert.
Yes, and at a price point so otherworldly that you can likely buy 3 ioniq 6s for the same amount.
I am glad it is but there is not a lot of room in that hatch back. Like the Nova from earlier in the week or the ugly GLE suv coupe or the hideous looking X6? Volvo was once good at spacious wagons.
Based on the smooth, uninterrupted lines of the dash, I look forward to Jason’s extensive review on the ES90’s glovebox access.
This would look about 5000% better with a lower beltline, slightly taller greenhouse, and as a wagon.
Agreed, even just the first two changes
Beltline is a tough one on EVs considering the height of the packs lifting the sheetmetal with it.
But, yes, wagon.
The meme (in the clinical dictionary definition) to lift everything off the ground like 9 inches is going to feature in the retraux styling of the 2040s.
So basically it would look better as an S90, a car Volvo released a decade ago. The S90 and ES90 should’ve been combined into one car…the *checks notes* S90!
Exactly. In fact we should all just buy S90s and there’d be no more suffering.