VOLVO EX90

New seven-seat SUV will soon join XC90 in showrooms as a technological trailblazer for Volvo's all-electric future

- MARK TISSHAW

New 90-series Volvo SUVs tend to live long and notable lives. The first-generation XC90 was still remarkably popular despite being the oldest car on sale in the UK by the time the second-generation model arrived in 2014 and ushered in new everything for Volvo under Geely ownership.

Platform, engines, styling: the Mk2 XC90 set the tone for the Volvos that would follow and go on to create the Swedish brand's most successful era yet.

Like the original XC90 before it, today's model feels like it could go on for some time yet.

And it will, but it will no longer be the only seven-seat SUV in Volvo's range. The EX90 is an all-new electric car and, like its range-mate, ushers in a whole host of new technology and features that will follow in all Volvos over the coming years as the firm continues apace with its ambition to offer only electric cars by 2030. For now, the EX90 and XC90 will dovetail, but if the XC90 is where Volvo is at, the EX90 is where it's going.

In keeping with statement 90-series Volvo SUVs, the EX90 doesn't arrive simply as an electric version of the XC90. It gets a new bespoke architecture for EVs called the SPA2, which has lots of latest EV technology such as a 111kWh (total) battery in the floor, but it's the computing power of this platform that its maker is most proud of- and indeed this will be a future battleground beyond the traditional oily bits.

You will be hearing the phrase 'software-defined vehicle' more and more over the coming years, and the EX90 is one such car. Cut through the jargon and we're talking about a car with future-proofed hardware that can allow software to be updated more meaningfully and more frequently throughout its life in a more stable and reliable way (see box, p27).