The Volvo ES90 Arrives – CleanTechnica

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I’m used to pretty bland, formulaic EV press releases. There’s always a blatant attempt with flowery language and the latest buzzwords to make you see the vehicle in a certain way. It’s fine. What else are they going to do? But it’s boring and routine. So, I was quite happy with the opening lines of Volvo’s press release for the new ES90, which were a bit different.

“Some might say it is a sedan. Others will see a fastback, or even hints of an SUV.

“We’ll let you be the final judge — all we know is that the new, fully electric Volvo ES90 carves out a new space for itself by eliminating the compromises between those three segments, which puts it in a class of its own.”

Okay, maybe this is just a clever way to send exactly the message about this car that Volvo Cars wants people to consume. But is it wrong?

It’s a nice looking car. Call it a sedan, a fastback, or a short, slick SUV. Call it whatever you want. But it’s cool, right?

It’s also got hot computer tech, the latest EV tech, and presumably better software. “The ES90 is designed to evolve over time and powered by next-generation core computers that represent an eightfold improvement over the previous generation. It’s the first Volvo car with 800V technology, for a longer range and faster charging than any electric Volvo before. And naturally, it’s designed with our pioneering safety tech at its core, in a package that is set to be another Scandinavian design classic from Volvo Cars.”

“The Superset is enabled by core computing, and the ES90 is the first Volvo car to be powered by a dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin configuration. That makes it the most powerful car we have ever created in terms of core computing capacity,” says Anders Bell, Volvo’s chief engineering and technology officer. “This allows us to further raise the bar on safety and overall performance through data, software and AI.”

If you feel like Volvo has been electrifying faster than any other legacy automaker, that’s because it has been, and this is now the company’s 6th fully electric model (following the EX30, EX40, EX90, EC40, and EM90).

Well, after those intro lines, Volvo shot right into the normal press release lingo trying to make you think the ES90 is the greatest thing since sliced bread, or at least since the company’s last new model. There’s a lot in there about the “flowing roofline” … “the car’s confident and distinctive stance” … Volvo’s unique “Thor’s Hammer headlight design” … and how you get a “commanding view of the road” because the ES90 is slightly taller than a normal sedan. You can read all about that here.

The things that did stand out to me related to Volvo’s focus on health and safety. Aside from “superior sound comfort,” the ES90 offering one of the quietest interiors the company offers, Volvo highlighted sunroof UV protection of up to 99.9% and an asthma- and allergy-friendly air purifier that “can stop up to 95 per cent of PM 2.5 particulates from entering the cabin and remove 99.9 per cent of grass, tree and pollen allergens.”

The infotainment system is a Google system, so you can be sure it’s high quality, but whether you prefer that over Apple or an automaker-built in-car system is up to you. There’s also a head-up display and a new 3D view that helps you park.

Of course, there’s a lot of talk about the tech and how it’s the latest and best tech. It does use 800-volt architecture and provide up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) of range in 10 minutes using new 350-kW charging stations. Further, it provides up 700 kilometers (435 miles) of range on a full charge (WLTP).

You can currently order the ES90 in these markets: