Designers always spend the most time working on exterior car designs to attract buyers, sometimes with disastrous results. But it’s the interior that matters more, as that’s what any car owner and their family and friends is going to look at the most. That dichotomy comes into play on the 2025 Volvo EX90, Volvo’s new battery-electric flagship.

The exterior is at once fresh yet familiar. Overall, the EX90 is 1.6 inches wider and 3.3 inches longer than the petrol-powered XC90. The front end seems soft and curvaceous. Overall, the EX90 is 1.6 inches wider and 3.3 inches longer than the XC90, and sports the brand’s Thor’s hammer headlight design and the classic Volvo logo, although there’s no traditional grille. In contrast, the rear seems classically Volvo, being upright and blocky. Uniquely, however, the brake lights vertically set into the rear window pillars, a novel touch and a great safety idea, not to mention a distinctive styling feature.

But it’s the interior that’s a knockout.

Cloth seats with contrasting piping feature enough side bolstering strong without being aggressive. Their texture, made from a wool blended with recycled plastic soda bottle fibers, contrasts against the quietly lavish decor, retaining Scandinavian minimalism while incorporating a touch of Chinese opulence. This might be why wood trim lights up at night with an underlying diamond pattern.

The instrument panel features a small screen mounted to the steering column, along with a massive 14.5-inch vertical screen that contains controls for everything on the car. Among its controls are those for the Bowers & Wilkins sound system with Dolby Atmos, which provides excellent sound. But while the system is fairly good, it does little to elevate the poor sound of SiriusXM satellite radio, which has the fidelity of a 1962 AM transistor radio.

The infotainment screen runs Google software, but also incorporates wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Nvidia is responsible for the EX90's AI processor, Qualcomm designed its communications, and Luminar handled the lidar system. Not that it was all activated during my test drive, but it should at some point.

And there are quirks. One is the button to open the glove box door. It’s on the screen and requires two steps to do it. How is this an improvement over a simple glove box door latch? The same is true of the side mirror adjustments. They’re on the screen. And, like Volkswagen, there are only two power window switches for four windows, you must use a toggle switch to activate the front or rear. Is this simplicity or cost savings? Probably the latter.

Obviously, Volvo aimed to simplify the interior and that’s in keeping with Volvo’s brand aura.

But some controls are hard to find, while other items, such as the steering wheel controls, seem obtuse upon first using them, and their function seems overthought in the desire for simplification. And the touchscreen isn’t as sensitive to touch as you might think.

As with all three-row SUVs, the second-row bench seat can be swapped out for captain's chairs. And there is a third row, but it looks fairly cramped, nonetheless. Worse, the standard sunroof has no cover of any kind. So you have no choice in whether you want it or not, and no choice in whether you want to block out the sun. This is a huge oversight in warm weather states, particularly as there are no ventilated seats.

Thankfully, the EX90’s performance is a lot more straightforward.

The 2025 Volvo EX90 is offered in Twin Motor and Twin Motor Performance trims. The former delivers 402 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque, while the latter produces 510 horsepower and 671 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to reach 60 mph in 5.7 seconds on the Twin Motor model and 4.7 seconds on the Performance model. Range is 310 for vehicles with 21-inch wheels, 300 miles for those with 20- and 22-inch wheels. Power comes from a 111 kWh battery under the cabin floor that recharges from 10% to 80% in a mere half-hour using a DC fast charger.

Volvo only offered performance models running 22-inch summer tires, something production cars won’t have. What they will have is air springs and adaptive dampers, which deliver the optimal balance between performance and ride comfort that Volvo has always delivered. Of course, having that huge battery pack mounted down low gives it a solid, planted feel that’s enhanced by the perfectly weighted steering. It made for an athletic yet comforting ride.

And it’s quiet, very, very quiet.

However, being an electric-powered flagship, such goodness comes at a cost. All EX90s for the U.S. market are going to be built near Charleston, South Carolina. How much of a federal tax credit they will get as a result remains to be seen. Prices start at $79,995 for the Twin Motor model and top out at $89,345 for the Twin Motor Performance, not including options, taxes and destination charge.

If anything can be said of the 2025 Volvo EX90, it’s that it is still a Volvo, albeit a stylish one that doesn’t use a lick of fuel. And for some buyers, that will prove irresistible. Certainly, the vehicle is.

2025 Volvo EX90

Base price: $79,995-$89,345

Powertrain: Dual AC motors

Horsepower/Torque: 510/671 pound-feet

Range: 300/310 miles

Recharge time (DC fast charging, 10%-80%): 30 minutes

Length/Width/Height: 198/77/69 inches

Ground clearance: 8.5-9.4 inches

Payload: 1,233 pounds

Cargo capacity: 3 cubic feet (front); 13-68 cubic feet (rear)

Towing capacity: 4,850 pounds

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