Volvo ES90 review

The ES90 is sumptuously finished inside. It’s materially rich and luxurious in a way that’s much easier on the eye – at first read, anyway – than rival EV saloons from BMW and Mercedes. Depending on personal taste and preference, this might even be – whisper it – the best car interior in the world right now. In terms of ambience, at least. 

Six bespoke ambient light themes are available, and the interior illumination uses a non-flickering part of the natural light spectrum to reduce ocular fatigue. Very thoughtful. 

How about that raised driving position? 

You sit high, the seats are spectacularly comfortable, and the quality of the fixtures and fittings is exemplary. The birch wood inlay on the dash is lovely, and the Nordico upholstery is tactile and environmentally friendly: it uses recycled plastics and bio-material from sustainable Swedish forests. 

How easy is it master the screen?

It’s not an instant win but obviously gets easier with familiarity. Infotainment is via a central 14.5in touchscreen, although the driver gets a smaller 9in display for all the key read-outs. The set-up is manifestly similar to the EX90 and indeed Polestar 3, although there are subtle but meaningful graphic and HMI variations between each of them. A little Volvo graphic on the lower icons display is the gateway to further screens. The interior real estate is also different, with a bespoke centre console and dashboard shelf. 

Any gripes? 

Volvo has copped a lot of flak for migrating key ergonomic functions to the main touchscreen, and the lack of physical controls for the seats, mirrors and steering wheel adjustment is definitely bothersome. Volvo, remember, used to make its switchgear sufficiently chunky for users to operate its cars’ functions whilst wearing gloves. Swedish winters are long and harsh, after all. These days, it seems the company prefers to assert the tech high ground. 

How well it works depends on your principles and perspective. Most likely you’ll set everything up, save it in your profile, and never fiddle with it again. On the other hand, you might be one of those drivers who likes tweaking your driving position and mirrors on the fly. In which case you’ll find it all maddening. 

Fully connected, we presume?

The ES90 comes with built-in Google services, including Google Assistant, Maps and Waze, the Google Play store, although Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also standard. It also has 5G built in. The climate system encompasses four-zone climate control with an air purifier, B-pillar ventilation, a heated steering wheel and wiper blades. There’s also a heat pump as standard, as you’d hope from these wintry folk. 

Cars in this class are frequently used as posh private hire vehicles. The ES90’s rear compartment is outstanding, almost limo-like in terms of legroom and atmosphere. As in the front, there’s some lovely detail stuff; even the door cards have been artfully reimagined. The rear also gets a centre armrest with a pair of cupholders and additional storage, and the option of separate climate control and heated and ventilated seats. Fans of ambient light will have a field day in here, too. 

It’s technically a hatchback so it has the edge on practicality. The boot holds 424 litres, but the rear seats fold (almost) flat, in a 40/20/40 split, taking the overall capacity to 1427 litres. You can drop the rear suspension to facilitate easier loading. As an extravagant means to transport flat-pack furniture – IKEA naturally – the ES90 would be difficult to beat. There’s even a ‘will if fit?’ size guide inside the tailgate, and a 16-litre storage space under the floor. Plus a 22-litre frunk. 

Anything else? 

Yep. We really must give praise for the big dog Bowers & Wilkins audio system. It’s majestic. There are 25 high performance speakers, double dome tweeters, and an overall output of 1610 watts. On top of that, the firm has developed a special mode with the celebrated British recording studio, Abbey Road, during which B&W’s experts measured, sampled and recorded the studio’s equipment and ambience. 

It sounds a bit nuts but your ears will not deceive you. There are four presets – Open, Energised, Intimate and Expansive – plus a Producer one that allows you to personalise the set-up. And, given the ES90’s minimal overall NVH, it’s a pretty perfect sound stage.