Volvo EX90, XC90 facelift launch confirmed for April 10

The Volvo EX90 and XC90 facelift will be launched on April 10. The ’90/90′ launch date was revealed by Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) in its social media posts. “Discover the safest Volvo ever made, or explore the electric car that comes with a backup plan, ready for whatever life brings your way. Join us on 10th April to meet the Volvo EX90 and its hybrid sibling, the all-new Volvo XC90,” the company said.

Order books for the two electrified seven-seater SUV flagships – one fully-electric and the other a plug-in hybrid – opened last month, when we were given a preview of the EX30. By the way, Volvo’s definition of electrified means cars that come with a charging cable, which includes PHEVs like the T8 AWD but not mild hybrids like the B5. The outgoing pre-facelift XC90 had a B5 option in Malaysia, but VCM is focusing on the PHEV, at least for the 90/90 launch.

The XC90 T8 AWD facelift pairs a 2.0L turbo-four (310 PS/400 Nm) with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and an electric motor (145 PS/309 Nm) at the rear axle. Total output is 455 PS/709 Nm and the 0-100 km/h sprint is dispatched in 5.4 seconds. By the way, the outgoing T8 AWD is rated at 462 PS and 5.3 seconds, so the figures are lower but marginally so, and inconsequential in a big Volvo SUV. We saw the XC90 facelift at the just-concluded Bangkok International Motor Show and detailed it for you here.

The EX90 is an all-new badge and model for Gothenburg. First things first, it’s not the XC90 converted into an EV, but a completely different car underpinned by Volvo’s SPA2 platform exclusive to EVs.

It looks exactly like how you’d imagine a giant, seven-seater EX30 would look like, and much of the small EV’s cues are replicated here, including the pixel daytime running light signature (the way it opens up to make way for the headlamps is very cool), C-shaped taillights and little dash light bars bookending the glass. The clamshell bonnet opens to reveal a small 37-litre ‘frunk’.

The EX90 is 5,037 mm long and 1,964 mm wide, which makes it 87 mm longer and 41 mm wider than the already-large XC90. The wheelbase is about the same length (2,985 mm, + 1mm), but the EV sits 29 mm lower (1,747 mm) than its PHEV sister.

This big electric SUV is offered with two all-wheel drive configurations. The base model is the Twin Motor with 408 PS (300 kW) and 770 Nm, but we’re getting the Twin Motor Performance with 517 PS (380 kW) and 910 Nm of torque. It’s the car you see here, which we shot in a preview last week. The 111 kWh (107 kWh usable) nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery provides 590 km of WLTP range, which is 10 km less than the Twin Motor.

As for charging, maximum AC input is 11 kW, which gets the big pack fully charged in approximately 10 hours. DC fast charging’s peak rate is 250 kW, and getting the battery from 10-80% state of charge takes about 30 minutes.

We understand that for now, Malaysia is getting a single top-spec variant of the Twin Motor Performance with a very long list of equipment. Everything that the top Thailand spec has is here, including a panoramic glass roof (doesn’t open, no sunshade), 9.0-inch instrument cluster display and 14.5-inch portrait touchscreen infotainment system (powered by Android Automotive OS, but there’s wireless Apple CarPlay).

Also present are four-zone climate control, air suspension with adaptive damping, high-def pixel LED headlamps with active high beam, massage for the front seats and a posh 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins 3D sound system.

Our neighbours get 20-inch alloys, but the wheels you see here are 21-inch items – curiously, they’re not even the largest available for the model, which is 22″. The contraption you see on the roof, above the windscreen, is the EX90’s LIDAR, which is not in use now, but is something for the future. Aside from that, this SUV has five radars, eight cameras, two interior cameras and 16 ultrasonic sensors. No unsupervised driving for now, just regular ADAS.

As for trim, we’re getting black leather with responsibly-sourced wood in a light brown tone. The latter, which is backlit, is genuine, unpolished and oozes a warm feeling. Luxuries that will be appreciated by affluent families in real-world usage include limo-style soft close doors (a first for Volvo), double glazing front windows and powered steering column adjustment via the touchscreen.

Open the rear hatch and you’ll find decent space even with the third row seats erect (310 litres), and on the right side panel there’s a row of buttons for the third-row powered fold/unfold (50:50) and lowering of the rear air suspension. The latter makes loading things easy, and if you’re wondering if a big item will fit, Volvo has etched the interior dimensions and a ‘will it fit?’ guide on the boot trim. There’s also a rather deep bin under the boot floor.

Parents of young children, the middle row centre seat has a booster. Does your parental habit include opening/closing the rear windows? If yes, note that there are only two window switches on the driver’s door – like in the EX30, you’ll need to press a rear button first to control the rear windows.

That saving of one switch coincides with Volvo’s super minimalist dashboard style, again, as sampled in the EX30. Away from the steering spokes, there’s one rotary dial on the centre console and nothing else – but at least there’s a ‘meter panel’, HUD and stalks, so it’s not quite the full Tesla madness. VCM says that both the EX90 and XC90 facelift will be priced around RM450,000, but we’ll have to wait for the launch this Thursday for the final RRP.

GALLERY: Volvo EX90 in Malaysia

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