Volvo ES90 Review 2025

These are unprecedented times in the automotive world — not just in terms of the switch to electrification, but also where our ability to pigeonhole cars into one type or another are challenged with a greater degree of frequency than ever before. One of the latest to beg the question ‘so, what actually is it?’ comes in the form of the Volvo ES90.

Yes, once the sensiblest of manufacturers, producing square-set cars that were undoubtedly sedate saloons, enormous estates or suave SUVs with no blurring between them, has released the ES90. It’s essentially replaced the Volvo S90, despite model disappearing from UK price lists in 2023.

Put on your most crumpled coat and we’ll investigate Columbo-style for clues. So, if it’s effectively the new S90 — which was a large, luxury four-door saloon — the Volvo ES90 must be the same, albeit electrically powered, right? Yes — and no.

That ‘E’ prefix does signify that the ES90 another electric model in the Swedish brand’s range, just as it does with the closely related Volvo EX90 SUV, while the ‘90’ suffix suggests it’s a large car. And large it is at 5000mm nose to tail, some 31mm longer than the previous S90.

Okay, makes sense so far — the ‘S’ is for saloon, then, as per Volvo’s naming policy used for the past 30 years? Erm, not quite. First off, you’ll spot that the ES90’s boot lid looks rather stunted — that’s because it’s not a traditional four-door car, but a five-door hatchback with a large tailgate.

Not only that, the Volvo ES90 looks tall and chunky, with those visuals supported by the tape measure. Its 1549mm height makes the newcomer 108mm loftier than the old S90 and only 198mm lower than the EX90. Hmmm.

Regardless of whether the Volvo ES90 is a saloon, a hatch or even an SUV coupe, it doesn’t have the plush, battery-powered car market all to itself with alternatives including the five-door Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, plus the more trad four-door BMW i5 Saloon and Mercedes EQE rivals.

Propelling the Volvo ES90 are a trio of drive systems starting with the rear-wheel drive Single Motor. Its 333PS motor is nestled under the boot floor, producing 480Nm of torque for a 6.9-second 0-62mph time. Top speed on all Volvos is electronically capped at 112mph.

Under the floor of the passenger compartment is an 88kWh useable capacity battery pack giving a WLTP Combined cycle driving range of 403 miles between recharges. Using a 7.6kW domestic wallbox a full recharge will take around 12 hours, while a 250kW DC ultra-rapid public charger reduces that to 20 minutes for a 10-80% replenishment.

All-wheel drive comes by virtue of the Twin Motor and Twin Motor Performance, both with a second drive unit under the bonnet. The Twin Motor produces 449PS and 670Nm for a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds, while the Performance ups the ante to 680PS and 870Nm for a supercar-like 4.0-second squirt from a standstill to 62mph.

They both have a larger 102kWh useable capacity battery giving both models a WLTP Combined cycle range of 435 miles. A 0-100% recharge on the same domestic wallbox will take 14 hours and 20 minutes again for the 10-80% top-up using a DC ultra-rapid public charger.

Two trim levels are available for the ES90, labelled Plus and Ultra — the former only being available with the Single Motor arrangement, the latter with all three options. Both versions are generously equipped but you’ll need to go for the Ultra if you fancy air suspension, HD pixel headlights, ventilated front and rear seats plus a Bowers & Wilkins 1100w, 19-speaker audio system.

Minimalism is the theme for the Volvo ES90’s dashboard with few physical buttons, much to our dismay — even the hazard warning lights are controlled via the central 14.5-inch, Google-powered multimedia touchscreen. That feels like it flies in the face of Volvo’s carefully curated reputation for safety and is something Euro NCAP is going to mark down later in 2025.

Elsewhere the firm’s safety record is likely to be amplified with the ES90 with what Volvo refers to as 360-degree advanced sensing technology. As with the EX90, this includes a lidar sensor array which is able to precisely pick-out moving and stationary objects up to 250m ahead, day or night. The downside is the housing, just above the windscreen, has a whiff of a taxi’s ‘for hire’ light about it.

Volvo’s quoted dimensions suggest that the ES90 should be a roomy five-seater with a generous luggage capacity. Open the rear hatch — the outer edges of its glazing containing high-set tail lights — for 424 litres of boot volume to the height of the top of the rear seats, extending to a maximum of 1256 litres once they’re folded over.

There’s additional space under the bonnet, with a 22-litre capacity on Twin Motor ES90s and 49 litres for Single Motor versions. Those Single Motor models can tow a braked trailer weight of up to 1600kg, with the Twin Motor alternative increasing that to 2000kg.

Just one more thing — how much does the Volvo ES90 cost? Prices start at £69,650 for the Plus Single Motor rising to £87,850 for the Ultra Twin Motor Performance. Order books for the ES90 opened in March 2025, but first deliveries are unlikely to get underway for UK customers until early 2026.

Keep this page bookmarked for updated news and our comprehensive Volvo ES90 review later in the year.