“Don’t blow it up,” echoed through my mind as I sat behind the wheel of the brand new EX90, Volvo’s flagship, all-electric SUV. I wasn’t actually worried about exploding the car—though it wouldn’t be the first time I inadvertently caused smoke to pour out from under the hood of a fancy midsize SUV (sorry again to our editor-in-chief, about that little explosion on the way to the photoshoot). I imagine it’s much harder to combust an electric engine than a gas engine.
Clearly I’m not the usual car reporter. But my experience test driving the EX90 last week convinced me that regardless of your total hours clocked in the driver’s seat, this vehicle delivers a one-of-a-kind blend of practicality, luxury, and typical Swedish thoughtfulness. To that end, even if you’ve spent countless hours behind the wheel, the car offers massage settings to release any knots from driving tension.
A breakfast presentation introduced attendees to the EX90 before getting behind the wheel. Lindsay Tingström, UX Design Manager, and Hande Ergiturk, Vehicle Product Lead for the Volvo EX90, pointed out features on the car’s 14.5-inch main display screen including the massage seats, Pilot Assist, and music controls. Photo courtesy Volvo
Volvo hosted the Global Media Drive in Newport Beach, California—a stark contrast from the drive to Vermejo Ranch in the Volvo V90 Cross Country back in 2021. After checking into my villa at The Resort at Pelican Hill, I caught the hotel trolley down to Crystal Cove beach to get a feel for the area. As a Northern California native, I never want to admit when Southern California has any edge in the ongoing battle for regional supremacy—but Newport Beach is a stunning spot.
I arrive in the middle of a major heat wave—it’s nearly 100 degrees—so the chilly ocean brine feels perfect as I duck dive into a wave. Looking back at the families playing on the beach and the cars zooming along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway on the bluffs above, it’s easy to see why Volvo would select this location for the test drive event.
An extensive fleet of EX90s greets press tour attendees in the Vapor Grey and Sand Dune color options. Then, each person was handed their “keys”—iPhones that the Volvo detects in proximity. Photo courtesy Volvo
I met the Volvo team and my fellow journalists for dinner at Pelican Hill. Although the heat is extremely incongruous, the Volvo team prepared a series of activities and meals meant to evoke Sweden and its culture—starting with the box of Swedish pick-and-mix candy (lösgodis in Swedish) that greeted us in our villas. We’re all sweating more than we want to admit as we sit down at a table decorated with Polaroid cameras and snapshots of the EX90 next to floral centerpieces.
“It’s the safest Volvo ever,” Eva Lahti, manager of safety technology at Volvo Cars, tells me. As golden hour intensifies on the Pelican Hill golf course and the Pacific Ocean beyond, we discuss what it takes to make the safest car possible: cameras, radar, and Lidar sensors are connected to the car’s two core computers, where NVIDIA DRIVE runs Volvo’s in-house software. The sensors recognize objects and obstacles in the road ahead to ensure an appropriate reaction from the driver, especially when the assisted driving function, Pilot Assist, is enabled.
Inspired by the Scandinavian living room, the EX90 cabin showcases a modern, luxurious, and uncluttered interior design with high-quality Nordico or Wool Blend upholstery options. Photo courtesy Volvo
Thanks to these high tech sensors, especially the Lidar delivered by Luminar, the EX90 is hardware-ready for any future software upgrades to further enhance its safety—even unassisted driving. It will be some time before the system is trained and legal, but Eva hints that future testing will take place in my home San Francisco Bay Area, where driverless cars already swarm the streets. “It’s the safest Volvo yet,” Eva amends as we continue to discuss its potential.
It’s clear that Eva and her team are extremely proud to present the car. She points out details in the Polaroids on the table—a Swedish flag engraved in the metal outline of the dashboard, fancy speakers, backlit wood inlays—and advises me to take Polaroid pictures throughout the event, as they’ll be useful for a workshop we have scheduled the next day. We snap a few as the sun goes down and—finally—we cool off just enough to survive dessert.
There’s no engine noise to indicate speed, or to cover the usual squeaks and groans of a car—but the EX90 emits neither. Photo courtesy Volvo
The next morning finds us at breakfast for a presentation to introduce us to the EX90 before we get behind the wheel. Lindsay Tingström, UX Design Manager, and Hande Ergiturk, Vehicle Product Lead for the Volvo EX90, point out the features we ought to check out on the car’s 14.5-inch main display screen. These include the massage seats, Pilot Assist, and music controls. With 25 speakers from Bowser & Wilkins that are compatible with Dolby Atmos, the EX90 can offer a full surround sound experience. We just have to be sure to turn on music that is made with Dolby Atmos—anything on Tidal will do the trick.
Outside the hotel reception an extensive fleet of EX90s greets us in the Vapor Grey and Sand Dune color options. We are paired off and handed our “keys”—which are iPhones that the Volvo detects in proximity. The tail lights flash and door handles rise as I walk up to the driver’s seat with key in hand. Only slightly stunned, I accept the car’s invitation and open the door.
The EX90 has a battery range of up to 310 miles on a full charge, depending on the wheel size. Photo courtesy Volvo
My Vapour Grey EX90 is upholstered in gray wool. All the materials for the car were sourced as sustainably as possible, with timeless modernity in mind. I adjust my mirrors, disable one-pedal driving, pull out the seat extender to support my knees, activate a low intensity massage, and turn on the official test drive playlist that pops up when I open the Tidal app. I have to remind myself I’m in a car because, of course, there is no engine rumble near my feet.
My half of the pre-routed test drive takes us up and then down (and up and down) a winding road through Trabuco Canyon to the Callaway Vineyard and Winery in Temecula. The heat wave scorches outside—literally: it ignites the Airport Fire in Trabuco Canyon, which just that afternoon burned over 1,800 acres—but the temperature and air quality inside the EX90 remain perfectly comfortable.
Creative culinary studio Balbosté prepared a four course meal experience inspired by the EX90. At the center of a long table, a sculptural “ash tree” of white tubing and twisting lights calls back to the backlit wood detailing. Photo courtesy Volvo
Over 90 minutes in the car I am impressed by the near silence of the drive, beyond what I expect from a typical EV. Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I accidentally edge up to 95 mph and am relieved to catch myself just before I zip past a highway patrol officer with a speed radar. There’s no engine noise to indicate speed, or to cover the usual squeaks and groans of a car—but the EX90 emits neither. I struggle to hear even the indicators when I flick them on to change lanes. Admittedly, it takes me longer than the test drive to get used to that particular feature; I find it disorienting. The suspension is perfectly tailored to diminish road noise while still offering a tactile maneuverability that makes driving fun.
“Low road noise also reduces fatigue,” Eva tells me later when I remark on the pleasure of riding in silence. It’s hard to say, but this may have helped me on my drive: I received a notification on the driver display telling me I looked tired, did I want to take a break? The car’s internal cameras that monitor eye gaze concentration to detect drowsy driving must have caught me yawning one too many times. I was perfectly awake after the first alert, but should the unthinkable happen and a driver nods off behind the wheel, the EX90 is designed to safely stop and call for help.
With the EX90 every material, line, and curve has definite substance: it feels high-quality as well as high-tech. Photo courtesy Volvo
The EX90’s range is 310 miles; I notice the battery rests at 68% as I pull up to the winery. Inside Marie Stark, Senior Design Manager of Color and Materials, leads us in a workshop printing photos of “Moments that Matter” to put into a decorative box made of FSC-certified birch wood. The idea is that the Volvo EX90 ensures those moments happen—tragedy and trauma are avoided thanks to its next-level safety features. The box itself offers a material tie-in to the vehicle: it is made of the same birch that can be specified for the EX90’s smooth, backlit wood panel inlays.
In daylight we don’t get to appreciate the backlighting. Marie teases that we have much to look forward to when we witness the car’s full effect at dinner in the evening. “We worked so hard to get it the right thinness. Now in the car it just looks amazing,” she says.
Polaroid snapshots of the EX90 next to floral centerpieces decorate the dinner table on the first night of the event. Photo courtesy Volvo
After lunch we hop back in the car to meander down the Pacific Coast Highway and back to Pelican Hill. During my turn as passenger I am impressed by the comfort of the seat and the intricacy of all the little details that make the car beautiful. With a heightened awareness of the thin, light ash inlays, I appreciate the tactility of the car. Sometimes high-tech can feel flimsy and unsubstantial. But in the EX90 every material, line, and curve has definite substance: it feels high-quality as well as high-tech. I am almost sad to disembark from the car—then I remember I have just one hour before dinner to soak up sun at the hotel pool. I hightail it out of there.
Hande bragged about the top-notch passenger experience in every seat at our morning presentation, but I am still surprised as I settle into the backseat for the ride to dinner. It feels just as welcoming and user-conscious as the front seat. I watch the sun descend over the Pacific as we coast through Laguna Beach to what promises to be a very special meal.
The car’s internal cameras monitor eye gaze concentration to detect drowsy driving. Should the unthinkable happen and a driver nods off behind the wheel, the EX90 is designed to safely stop and call for help. Photo courtesy Volvo
Creative culinary studio Balbosté prepared a four course meal experience inspired by the EX90. At the center of a long table, a sculptural “ash tree” of white tubing and twisting lights once again calls back to the backlit wood detailing—which I finally get to see glowing, and can confirm to be a unique, warm, and gorgeous detail. From cocktails full of fresh ingredients to course one’s windmill-shaped crackers, to the material-motivated menu design, the dinner is as innovative as the car that inspired it. The guacamole pie—whoops, I mean the “Winding Road” avocado and lime tart with fresh herb gel and toasted grains—caps the meal with a fresh and cool crunch.
I’m sad to say goodbye to Newport Beach, a few new friends, and the Volvo EX90 as my plane lifts off the next morning. But as I watch smoke from the Airport Fire gather over the hills, I am simply grateful; despite my iffy driving history, I did not start the wildfire during my stint in the car.
