Volvo ES90 Review & Prices

The new ES90 is Volvo’s replacement for the departing S90 saloon. Except that it isn’t, quite. While the old S90 was a pretty straightforward Swedish alternative to the likes of the BMW 5 Series or the Audi A6, the new ES90 is a little different, not withstanding that it's a pure electric car.

It’s definitely closer to being a pure saloon car than it is a crossover, but there’s also a bit more ride height under those wheelarches than you might expect, and the EX90’s roof is quite tall by saloon car standards - in part, that’s to allow space under the floor for a massive battery pack.

So you could think of the ES90 as a Fjällräven rucksack. Stylish Scandinavian design, a bit outdoorsy but there are other more practical alternatives.

You can see the influence of the big EX90 electric SUV, and the compact EX30 in the ES90’s styling as it uses the same grille-less blunt face look as those two, with character added by the complex pixel-style LED lights. There’s also the same small hump, above the windscreen, as you get in the EX90, which houses a complex and expensive safety tech but which will probably have people mistake you for some kind of taxi.

Volvo ES90: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 407 miles
Efficiency: 3.9mi/kWh
Battery size: 92-102kWh
Max charge speed: 310kW
Charge time AC: 12hrs 30mins, 0-100%, 7.4kW
Charge time DC: 22mins, 10-80%, 310kW
Charge port location: Left rear
Power output: 333hp, 450hp, 680hp

At the back, the ES90 isn’t a saloon at all, but instead has a vast liftback hatch, which opens to reveal a less-than-vast 424-litre boot, which is pretty disappointing if you were thinking that this was going to be a traditionally practical Volvo. That is at least supplemented by a small ‘froot’ storage area in the nose, but that only holds 22 litres. The rear seats do split-fold in three sections, so you can set the luggage area up as needed if you have to carry larger items.

Up front, there’s the same 14.5-inch touchscreen as you’ll find in the EX90, with the same slim driver’s instrument display behind the steering wheel. The big screen is pretty good to use, thanks to having lots of Google-based software, but the lack of proper buttons - especially for things such as adjusting the steering wheel or the door mirrors - will have you pulling your hair out. As compensation, Volvo fits the ES90 with an optional 1,610 watt Bowers & Wilkins stereo which can replicate the sound quality of Abbey Road studios (seriously) and that gets the only proper button in the cabin — a neat crystal volume control.

The rest of the ES90’s interior is proper Scandi-lux, with pared-back styling and surfaces, and excellent quality levels. Lots of space too, with a huge storage box under the front seat armrest, big cupholders, and a wireless phone charging pad. The main glovebox isn’t the biggest though, and - annoyingly - that has to be opened by delving into the big touchscreen too.

For now, there’s only one variant of the ES90, with a single electric motor driving the rear wheels, and producing a healthy 333hp. With 2.3-tonnes to lug about, it’s no speed demon, but then much faster and more powerful models are on the way, with 450hp and 680hp twin-motor, all-wheel drive versions landing soon, which will trim the 0-62mph time from the single-motor’s 6.6 seconds to a flat 4.0 seconds for the Performance model. That’s seriously brisk for such a big, heavy car. 

The single-motor model uses a 92kWh battery pack, and has a claimed range of up to 407 miles on one charge, but Volvo’s electric models often use more power in the real world than on paper, so… we’ll see. When the two-motor all-wheel drive versions arrive, they will have a bigger 102kWh battery, pushing the range out to more than 430 miles, at least in theory. Any shortfall in range will be made up by the colossal 310kW fast charging power, which a 22-min 10-80% top-up time. 

If you can’t wait for us to get behind the wheel for a full verdict, you can check out the latest Volvo ES90 deals available through Carwow as well as ES90 lease deals, too. You can also browse used Volvo cars from our network of trusted dealers, and when it’s time to sell your current car, Carwow can help with that, too.

Traditionally, Volvo’s models have been a touch more affordable than the Swedish company’s big German competition, but that’s changing now. In fact, the single-motor ES90 is a hair more expensive than a basic BMW i5, about the same as a Mercedes EQE, and quite a bit pricier than the Audi A6 e-tron. Now, it’s true that the BMW has a shorter range, but both the Audi and Mercedes are comparable in that sense. However, the Volvo does out-do the lot of them for rear seat space and comfort, so if you’re regularly carrying people in the back, it has an advantage. The incoming all-electric version of the new Lexus ES saloon could put the cat amongst the battery-powered pigeons in this part of the market, however.