Range anxiety could well be a thing of the past thanks to Volvo's new ES90, as it promises a range of 435 miles – plus it comes with a huge dollop of Swedish style and top-end tech. The brand has just pulled the covers off its latest electric model – and Ginny has had the full lowdown.
The newcomer will act as Volvo's range-topping electric saloon, and will go toe-to-toe with BMW's i5, Mercedes-Benz EQE and the recently launched Audi A6 e-tron Sportback.
Volvo claims the ES90 is in "a class of its own" as the car combines the "refined elegance of a sedan, the adaptability of a fastback, and the spacious interior and higher ground clearance of an SUV". It means that, at five meters long, it's a big car, with a raised ride height similar to that of a Polestar 4, and a hatchback tailgate instead of a traditional boot like you find on the outgoing petrol-powered S90.
The ES90 has the same minimalist design at the front as the EX30 and EX90 SUVs with no grille, and large, Thor hammer headlights. The roofline has a coupe-like slope to it, while at the rear there are Volvo's familiar C-shaped lights. Additional lights in the glass, like those found on the EX30, hint at Volvo's traditional stacked tail-lights on its past estate cars.
The new electric saloon uses much of the same technology underneath as Volvo's flagship electric SUV, the EX90. But while that car has a 400V charging system, the ES90 boosts this to 800V, maxing out the driving range and slashing charging times.
Volvo claims the ES90 can add 186 miles of range in just 10 minutes when the car is hooked upon to a 350kW charger. The car's total range is 435 miles – that's roughly on par with both the Audi A6 e-tron and Mercedes EQE, and considerably better the BMW i5's 356-mile maximum quoted range. The ES90 is also capable of bi-directional charging.
That long range comes from a chunky 106kWH (102kWh useable) battery pack, which gets 350kW charging capability, and is hooked up to twin electric motors to give 443bhp. It'l be a quick car, too, with 0-62mph taking just 5.5 seconds.
Lower down the range will be a cheaper single motor version with 328bhp, an 92kWh (88kWh useable) battery with 300kW charging, a 406-mile range, and a sub-seven-seconds 0-62mph acceleration time. A Twin Motor Performance model will top the range which use the same 102kWh battery pack as the Twin Motor model, but with power cranked up to just 671bhp – remarkably, despite the hike in power, Volvo says this version will have the same 435-mile range as the mid-range Twin Motor model.
The interior is packed with plush materials and high-end tech, plus all cars in the UK will get a full glass panoramic roof. There's a huge amount of space in the back for passengers to stretch out, although the 468-litre boot isn't as large as the BMW i5's. The hatchback does make loading easier, though, and when the rear seats are folded there is a very useful 1,256 litres of space. There's also a 22-litre frunk for storing charging cables.
Naturally, this being a Volvo, there's a whole stack of safety systems. Like the EX90, the ES90 gets clever LiDAR detection (that's what the hump on the roof is for) and state-of-the-art dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin capability. The latter making the ES90 the most techy Volvo ever and allows its computers to carry out 508 trillion operations per second, which is about 15 times faster than the latest smartphones.
Prices are expected to start at around £70,000 and top out at £88,000; the car goes on sale this month, with deliveries in spring 2026.
Now take a look at Ginny's in-depth walkaround of the new ES90....
