Volvo EX90

Cabin

Being the premium luxury SUV means your time inside the cabin is nothing but opulence. The Luxury variant seats trimmed in leather or a leather-free alternative are standard, with the ultra getting a massage function. A 15-inch central touchscreen, one of the largest fitted to any current Volvo, pairs with a fully digital driver display ahead of the steering wheel.

Like any other Volvo model, Google Maps, the Google Assistant, and the Google Play store come built into the infotainment system, so route planning around charging stops does not depend on a separate app. Auto park assist is standard throughout, useful given the EX90's considerable footprint in a typical UAE mall car park.

The Abbey Road Studios sound mode lets you tune the cabin's audio profile using settings developed with the London studio. This is something Volvo introduced specifically on this model rather than across its whole range. The ambient lighting with multiple themes runs through the cabin after dark.

Front Seat

• Massage function exclusive to the Ultra variant
• Ventilated front seats are standard on Ultra, unavailable on Plus
• Power-adjustable driver and passenger seats with memory
• Leather or leather-free upholstery on both grades

The step from Plus to Ultra brings a real change in front-seat comfort, worth a test drive before deciding whether the massage function justifies the difference.

Rear Seat

• Seven-seat layout as standard across both grades
• Rear seat headrests are fitted on every outer position
• The third row is usable for children on shorter trips
• Rear air vents keep the second and third rows comfortable

Seven real seats are the EX90's clearest advantage over two-row rivals like the BMW iX, useful for a family that occasionally needs to carry more than five people. Neither the BMW iX nor the Audi Q8 e-tron offers a third row at all, which is where the EX90 quietly scores well against two out of three named rivals.

Climate Control

Automatic climate control covers all three rows on the EX90, not just the front two. Rear passengers get their own fan speed controls rather than depending entirely on whatever the driver has set up front. This is useful on a school run where the third row is filled with children who all have an opinion on the temperature. The battery pack sitting under the floor also helps keep cabin temperature more even between rows than a car with its climate hardware crammed under the bonnet.

Storage

• Underfloor storage compartment for charging cables
• Door pockets sized for bottles on all four doors
• Centre console bin with a sliding cover

The storage inside the cabin makes room for charging cables without forcing them into the boot alongside luggage, one of the few useful spaces electric SUVs add that petrol cars simply do not need. A deep centre console bin also swallows a handbag or a small backpack without either one sliding around on a rougher road.

Charging

• Wireless phone charging standard
• No dedicated front storage compartment under the bonnet

Unlike some electric rivals, the EX90 does not offer a front storage compartment where an engine would normally sit, since the motors and climate hardware occupy that space instead.

Boot Space

• At 310 litres, the EX90's boot trails most rivals in its size, a real trade-off for buyers who need to carry both people and luggage regularly.
• Fold the third row flat, and that number climbs well past what most owners will ever actually need to pack for a weekend away.

A roof-mounted LiDAR sensor feeds a central computer on the EX90, reading the road further ahead than a camera or radar alone would manage and reacting to a hazard before a driver even notices it.

• Multiple airbags, including a passenger airbag cut-off switch
• 360-degree camera with a separate around-view monitor on Ultra
• Blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert
• Adaptive cruise control with collision mitigation braking
• Forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking
• ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outer second-row seats

The 360-degree camera and around-view monitor are useful to keep going on a car over five metres long, especially when reversing out of a tight UAE villa driveway. Also, collision mitigation braking comes standard on the entry Plus grade, not held back for Ultra. The battery pack itself is inside a reinforced structure built to protect it in a side impact, an extra layer of engineering petrol, Volvo simply does not need.

Front

A blanked-off grille panel replaces the traditional slats other Volvo models still use, a giveaway that this is a pure electric platform underneath. Thor's Hammer LED headlights carry the T-shaped signature seen across Volvo's range, framing a face designed around aerodynamics rather than a traditional engine's cooling needs. There is no need for a large air intake here, so Volvo has used the extra space to smooth out the car's overall drag figure instead.

Side Profile

Flush door handles are level with the bodywork until a driver approaches, cutting wind resistance at speed. The glasshouse runs high and confident along a 2,984 mm wheelbase, with short overhangs at both ends for a car that measures 5,037 mm from nose to tail. Aero-focused wheel designs on the Ultra grade continue the same drag-reduction theme as the door handles.

Alloy Wheels

• The Plus variant gets 20-inch wheels, while the Ultra gets 22-inch wheels with an aerodynamic design.
• This is actually aimed at squeezing extra range out of the same battery; buyers who want maximum range should stick with the smaller wheels regardless of grade.

Rear

There are slim LED taillights around a tailgate shaped to help air flow cleanly off the back of the car, rather than purely for looks. There is no rear exhaust to design around, so the bumper below the tail lights runs cleaner than on any petrol Volvo in the UAE range.

Colors

• Onyx Black
• Crystal White
• Denim Blue
• Vapour Grey
• Sage Green

Volvo offers the EX90 in a handful of exterior finishes shared with other current-generation models, rather than a colour palette exclusive to its largest electric SUV.

City Performance

• If you happen to get your hands on the higher-end variant, Ultra, with that massive 680 hp of power, while pulling away from a standstill on Al Wasl Road, it is just easy.
• The 360-degree camera and around-view monitor together make reversing out of a tight villa driveway in Al Barsha far less stressful, showing angles a single camera would miss.
• Auto Park Assist takes over a tricky parallel bay outside a Jumeirah café with real confidence, even with the EX90's considerable length working against it.
• Crawling through school-run traffic near Dubai British School, the instant torque means there is no waiting for the car to build up the boost the way a turbocharged engine would.
• Flush door handles present themselves automatically as you approach, a small theatrical touch that still draws a glance from people parked nearby.

Highway Performance

• Settle into a cruise on the E11 toward Abu Dhabi, and the cabin stays remarkably quiet, helped by the lack of any engine noise and aerodynamic door handles doing their job at speed.
• Overtaking on the coastal road past Umm Al Quwain is close to effortless in the Ultra, the dual motors closing a gap before a driver in a petrol rival has finished checking the mirror.
• The adaptive cruise control holds a steady gap through the stop-and-go stretches near Ghantoot without any harsh braking.
• A real-world range on a hot summer run drops noticeably below the claimed figure once air conditioning runs constantly, a pattern common to every EV in Gulf conditions, rather than unique to the EX90.
• The dual motors mean an overtake on a two-lane stretch near Al Ain finishes in a fraction of the time a similarly priced diesel SUV would need.
• The Abbey Road Studios sound mode is worth switching on for exactly this kind of long, quiet cruise, where the cabin's isolation actually lets the tuning show.

Ride and Handling

• Rougher patches on Al Ain Road barely register inside the cabin, the weight of the floor-mounted battery pack keeping the body from crashing down hard on the rebound, the way a lighter, taller SUV would.
• Steering carries real weight from the moment you turn it, honest about the car's mass rather than artificially light, the way some heavy SUVs are tuned.
• On the highway, the low centre of gravity from that same floor-mounted battery shows up as a planted, unshaken feeling well past 120 km/h.
• Around town, the ride leans toward plush rather than firm, suiting a family SUV built to be driven in rather than pushed hard through a corner.
• Brake hard or need to swerve suddenly, and the EX90 stays composed, the low-mounted battery keeping body movement in check better than a taller, lighter SUV would manage.

Two grades of the EX90 are sold in the UAE, Plus and Ultra, and the jump between them is mostly about how much power and comfort a buyer wants rather than a different car underneath.

Plus

The entry point into the EX90 range, with 456 hp, 20-inch wheels, and the full standard safety suite. If you want the EX90's size, seven seats, and electric drivetrain without paying for the Ultra's extra power and comfort features.

Ultra

This top-end variant gets the huge 680 hp of power, massage and ventilated front seats, a 360-degree camera with around-view monitor, and 22-inch aerodynamic wheels. This is for ultimate performance and power users who don't mind paying extra for that driving experience.

Zigwheels Recommendation

The Ultra is worth the step up for buyers who want the EX90's strongest performance and its most complete comfort features, particularly the massage and ventilated seats that make a real difference on longer Gulf drives. Buyers mainly focused on the seven-seat layout and Volvo's safety reputation, without needing the extra power, will find the Plus a properly capable starting point.

Looking at this full-size premium luxury all-electric SUV, it gives you different vibes than the usual way of looking. This is actually the Abbey Road Studios tuning the cabin's sound system, something no amount of power could replicate. And this is precisely why the EX90 catches your imagination and stays in your memory a lot longer. And this is something hard to compare against the specs of the BMW iX or Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV.

But it's not that the specs aren't impressive; they certainly are, particularly the Ultra's power and a seven-seat layout, neither german rival matches. But here is a catch: UAE presence has not caught up to Volvo's better-established models; you will have to wait for a while to get your hands on this one. Also, being an EV owner, a home charger, and patience for a newer brand have a properly interesting alternative here; anyone needing a proven local service network today should wait, ideally.

Other Full-Size Electric SUVs to Consider