This is Volvo’s biggest-ever GAMBLE – will it pay off?

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This is the brand new Volvo EX90!

The EX90 is the all-electric follower to among Volvo's most famous household haulers, the XC90. Nevertheless, it's now been fully future-proofed with massive batteries, state-of-the-art safety tech, and a heavy dose of Scandinavian minimalism … The concern is, can a high-end EV SUV this huge actually be the ultimate family cars and truck? Well before we discover that out let's take a better look at what comprises the Volvo EX90.

At the front you have a streamlined, blanked-off grille with extraordinary 'Thor's Hammer' DRLs that actually open to reveal the primary headlights like a blinking robotic. Walking around to the side you have flush door deals with, big aerodynamic alloy wheels, and a prominent LiDAR bump on the roofing that makes it look a bit like a futuristic taxi. At the back, you have a contemporary take on Volvo's signature styling with striking split vertical taillights.

Being a flagship dual-motor EV, obviously it needs to have more power than the old XC90. We now have 517hp and an enormous 910nm of torque. That power goes to all four wheels and it's supposed to do 0-60 in simply 4.7 seconds. But can it actually do that when it weighs a colossal 2,811 kg?

Relocating to the inside, we lose a great deal of the physical controls in favour of an enormous 14.5-inch picture touchscreen, but there's lovely sustainably-sourced 'Nordico' stitching throughout the cabin, a fantastic Bowers & Wilkins stereo, and seating for seven with a lot of light flooding in through the panoramic roofing system.

Rates begin with ₤ 80,160 then rise up to ₤ 97,760 for the fully-loaded Ultra Performance version featured in this video. Is it worth it though? Stick to Mat to learn!

Chapters:
Introduction – 0:00
Style – 1:00
Interior – 3:59
Price – 7:13
Rear seats – 8:56
Braking – 11:45
Power – 12:26
0-60 – 12:57
Boot – 13:46
Nation driving – 15:02
Range – 16:14
Town driving – 17:17
Spirited driving – 19:01
Bads – 20:27
Goods – 24:16
Final verdict – 25:17

BMW iX Review –
Hyundai Ioniq 9 Review –

Comments

69 responses to “This is Volvo’s biggest-ever GAMBLE – will it pay off?”

  1. @carwow Avatar
    @carwow

    Get 20% off Car Vertical using code Carwow: https://bit.ly/Carwow-Car-Vertical

    1. @benlecluyse Avatar
      @benlecluyse

      Hell yeah Mat ! ❤

    2. @Galvin-c7u Avatar
      @Galvin-c7u

      Do a range test with the volvo

    3. @billclintonsindazi Avatar
      @billclintonsindazi

      The Ioniq looks like a mix of the newer Ferrari design and like a Lamborghini Urus

  2. @josefernando624 Avatar
    @josefernando624

    “I’m car Watson, and you’re watching Matt wow.”😭

    1. @some-one-else-r Avatar
      @some-one-else-r

      Didnt think I’d see Matt wow himself today but here we are

    2. @brbhave2p00p4 Avatar
      @brbhave2p00p4

      When fame reaches your nose

    3. @avon_c6199 Avatar
      @avon_c6199

      Nhaa he’s Emma Watson now.

  3. @davidoconnor3201 Avatar
    @davidoconnor3201

    A hundred grand for a family Volvo? The world has gone absolutely mental.
    I don’t know why anyone is buying new cars, it’s completely insane.

    1. @tomedward8652 Avatar
      @tomedward8652

      And all these YouTube car review video try to normalise it. They band around numbers like £60k, £90k etc as though we are all drowning in money. Nothing could be further from the truth.

    2. @scientist1410 Avatar
      @scientist1410

      I’m even amazed
      This for a 100 grand

    3. @prod.off-grid Avatar
      @prod.off-grid

      @tomedward8652anything is possible with a lil deposit, sprinkle of interest and monthly payments chaining you to the car for at least 4 years. Just got to sacrifice your financial freedom for a fancy touchscreen in your car… the capitalist way.

    4. @MMohamud_7 Avatar
      @MMohamud_7

      They prob get people on finance plans to suck their money dry.

    5. @PaulTheCollector44 Avatar
      @PaulTheCollector44

      Well said!

  4. @andys5841 Avatar
    @andys5841

    Temperature set to 26°c, man up Watson.

  5. @SpaceChimes Avatar
    @SpaceChimes

    6:40 The heads-up display indeed helps keep the eyes on the road. You know what else accomplishes that? Yes, buttons. Both should be standard if safety is a real concern.

    1. @nhpy336 Avatar
      @nhpy336

      Facts, I hate that all car companies these days just put a giant screen in the middle and call it the day. Just copying Tesla. I don’t want to go through 7 menus to lower the A/C a bit. Btw Here in Europe it is forbidden to look at your phone while driving, BUT every single car these days is fitted with 1 huge tablet that controls EVERYTHING…

    2. @lm1314 Avatar
      @lm1314

      I never look at mine. I still use the instrument cluster but also go by feel especially when driving my manual car. Plus, if you have on polarized sunglasses you don’t see it anyway.

    3. @FGGiskard Avatar
      @FGGiskard

      How many buttons? for which functions?

    4. @lm1314 Avatar
      @lm1314

      ​@FGGiskardclimate control should be buttons. On the screen i want options on how to control it. I have sane model car as before but miss myvold car. It had MMI wheel and toggles of radio/media and phone/navigation. When driving it was easier to use then the touch screen now used. I still find my sekf reach for the toggles or the wheel and have had new car for over a year.

    5. @SpaceChimes Avatar
      @SpaceChimes

      @FGGiskard Climate control basics (for exemple to activate max frontal defogger, as the XC90 has), and in this case window switches to the back windows would help a lot too.

  6. @Solovyer Avatar
    @Solovyer

    Note to carwow at 11:20 if you freeze the frame, you can actually see where the USB port is at the thirdrow seat. USB-C

    1. @runbuh Avatar
      @runbuh

      I don’t see it, but that could be me. Is it at the 11:17 mark right above Matt,’s wrist?

    2. @WilfredvanderDeijl Avatar
      @WilfredvanderDeijl

      At 11:17 is the Hyundi Ioniq9 for reference. You can see the USB-C in the third row of the EX90 at 11:20. It is hard to see, but if you pause you can see it just right of the cup holder.

    3. @ebridgewater Avatar
      @ebridgewater

      @runbuh On the door (horrible place for it).

    4. @carbeastsm Avatar
      @carbeastsm

      @ebridgewaterthere is no door for the third floor, it is behind the cupholder at 11:20

    5. @NoahBridle Avatar
      @NoahBridle

      Yeah 👍

  7. @mihailpetrovici5044 Avatar
    @mihailpetrovici5044

    2.7 tons?😲

  8. @jammiedodger7040 Avatar
    @jammiedodger7040

    Personally, I would rather have a car full of buttons with analog dials and a physical key.

    1. @OfSheikah Avatar
      @OfSheikah

      😂😭 i am out of emotions
      Truly the solutions have existed all along for addition of screens in vehicles. Looking at modern semitrucks they dont have such excess, and given there’s a demographic like this who just won’t get along with excess they don’t gotta force everyone to be more glued to screens when they hop in their car

    2. @oliverlondon5246 Avatar
      @oliverlondon5246

      You…and everyone else. But apparently buttons have become like gold dust and we‘re no longer worthy of them

    3. @martinottosson6583 Avatar
      @martinottosson6583

      @oliverlondon5246 Its the manufacturers that try to make touch controls look like a modern trend, but the real reason is that buttons are more expensive to add and also locked in in terms of use. You have to do everything right at the first try with physical buttons, and right at the first try is for sure not standard nowadays in the car industry.

    4. @jammiedodger7040 Avatar
      @jammiedodger7040

      @martinottosson6583It all about cost cuttings decrease the manufacturing cost and increase the profit margins it’s like how analog deals actually cost more than digital, same with physical button and the same with physical keys things that used to be standard are now considered premium.

    5. @JM-wd3dk Avatar
      @JM-wd3dk

      The world doesn’t stop for boomers

  9. @makwikus Avatar
    @makwikus

    I’m 100% sure, that without the LiDAR the car will be sold at a lower price, since it’s an expensive part …right?

    1. @hirekk Avatar
      @hirekk

      suuurely

  10. @gordonnorris4202 Avatar
    @gordonnorris4202

    Whoever buys a big 7 seater car he/she wants to use it in long trips…with a 250 miles range it kinda beats its purpose

    1. @tomhan Avatar
      @tomhan

      Most sold will be used for school runs. Mummy needs to feel high up and safe

    2. @OfSheikah Avatar
      @OfSheikah

      ​@tomhanyea man but I can’t imagine how you’d convince them an Altima over a rogue 😭 and i do feel the size constraints make a good reason but yeah, not all middle-class people are made the same indeed (my scenario here is a more responsible one who does use the extra size to a daily basis like much passengers)

    3. @gordonnorris4202 Avatar
      @gordonnorris4202

      ​@tomhanwhy would someone need a 5m+ car for school runs?

    4. @edphobic Avatar
      @edphobic

      to be fair that one was being driven by a automotive journalist, never trust what they say about range because they usually push cars to the limit

    5. @nickt2822 Avatar
      @nickt2822

      @gordonnorris4202 because they are regarded and have more money than sense.

  11. @georgekirby3361 Avatar
    @georgekirby3361

    How do you bring a car to the market with so many problems?

    1. @Welwynnick Avatar
      @Welwynnick

      IIRC, the XC90 II was the first with two big screens, 11 years ago, and that had LOTS of teething problems.
      They don’t learn. Instead they seem to have taken a step backwards.

  12. @SurgeDashcam Avatar
    @SurgeDashcam

    Nothing screams safety like getting rid of all the buttons and having to have a computer science degree to adjust your mirrors and change drive modes. No manufacturer is serious about safety if they decide to make standard functions difficult to nearly impossible to do without taking your eyes off the road. It’s honestly getting to the point that it’s just as unsafe to adjust climate settings as it is to use your phone whilst driving.

    1. @2steaksandwiches665 Avatar
      @2steaksandwiches665

      It’s the reason we didn’t buy the most recent XC 90. We went with a Honda pilot because it had buttons. And we have a 14-year-old XC 90 original version in the driveway still. The Volvo that I knew and grew up with is dead.

    2. @Somebodyhello Avatar
      @Somebodyhello

      @2steaksandwiches665 was going to say that’s why I like honda

    3. @spangoz1000 Avatar
      @spangoz1000

      You can do virtually everything by voice command on a Mercedes, so no need for physical buttons.

    4. @2steaksandwiches665 Avatar
      @2steaksandwiches665

      @spangoz1000 some people don’t want to do that. That’s the point. Car manufacturers got rid of buttons for a minimalist look but it was mostly to cut costs

    5. @SurgeDashcam Avatar
      @SurgeDashcam

      ​@spangoz1000 “Sorry I didn’t understand”

  13. @mercedeeznuts6313 Avatar
    @mercedeeznuts6313

    Actual Volvo tech here. In the two years since that car was launched, our dealership has sold 3. And all three are currently at the shop for 12v battery maintainer issues, key fob issue, power steering issue and loads of software issues. When it works, the car is great, but do expect the car to be bricked and unable to move in the morning every once in a while.

    1. @briankeenan6553 Avatar
      @briankeenan6553

      My next door neighbour has one, and he’s had so many problems with it , 96k for it to go back to the dealership about 8 times 😊

    2. @Peanutblox-o9h6u Avatar
      @Peanutblox-o9h6u

      Same were Luton

    3. @Stef.Cata051 Avatar
      @Stef.Cata051

      Bro…I would expect for a 20 yrs old extra cheap bmw x5 to be bricked in the morning…. A 100k car this unreliable is a bad joke

    4. @mrpeterfromgodknowswhere Avatar
      @mrpeterfromgodknowswhere

      That’s just bat-sh** crazy..

    5. @DrClumber Avatar
      @DrClumber

      As an ex lifelong Volvo customer (9 total, last one is a ’15 V70 that we still have and cherish) that doesn’t surprise me at all. The last model I had was an S90 and it had all sorts of issues but at least it had ‘mechanical’ controls. Volvo’s lost it big time and our daily is now a Honda, which does what Volvos used to, work.

  14. @jenkygoat Avatar
    @jenkygoat

    The fact you cant open a glovebox or adjust the mirrors due to a software glitch is straight up f*cking criminal

  15. @BiancaAlexandria-y2i Avatar
    @BiancaAlexandria-y2i

    It is a bad notion to have an object that heavy being operated by an ordinary Volvo driver at rocket-like speeds.

  16. @Rosefryee Avatar
    @Rosefryee

    Anyone who purchases a large 7-seater vehicle intends to use it for long journeys… with a range of 250 miles, it somewhat undermines its intended use.

    1. @prestonrakobe584 Avatar
      @prestonrakobe584

      10000000000%

    2. @emilsivacek795 Avatar
      @emilsivacek795

      why does it have to go on long journeys? What if you just have a large family and use it as a city car.

    3. @turkishturk1296 Avatar
      @turkishturk1296

      How’s gonna go over 250 miles with family without a break?

    4. @v4skunk739 Avatar
      @v4skunk739

      @emilsivacek795 EV’s are a joke, i’m not surprised that the majority are not buying them.

    5. @ponkacik8641 Avatar
      @ponkacik8641

      This exact reason totally f*cked our KIA EV9. It’s a frickin bus (so everyone inside has LOTS of space), but in the winter it goes max 230-280km on the highway. Trip from SK (where I live) to ITA for Olympics took 2 hours longer because of charging. And that is only like 850km trip!

      In summer it’s much better, but winter demolishes highway range quite drastically.

  17. @themattkirschner Avatar
    @themattkirschner

    £98k and the middle row is manually operated? LOL

  18. @Rosefryee Avatar
    @Rosefryee

    6:40 The display that shows information on the windshield truly aids in focusing on driving. Do you know what else does that? Correct, buttons. If safety is genuinely important, both should be provided as standard features.

    1. @Sean-pm2vd Avatar
      @Sean-pm2vd

      You think buttons help with safety???
      You have to take your eye off the road to use buttons. They’re nearly as bad as going through that screen while driving.

  19. @WikoWiko-qh3nz Avatar
    @WikoWiko-qh3nz

    The heroes who watched the video in less than five hours should gather here…..

  20. @Feleciamary Avatar
    @Feleciamary

    It is absolutely outrageous that you are unable to open the glovebox or change the mirrors because of a software error.

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