EX90: An Electric Marvel

Getting to grips with the cabin's ergonomics: difficult.

- Charl Bosch

The Volvo EX90 has been a topic of much reporting since its local market launch earlier this year, but probably not for reasons the Chinese-owned Swedish brand had been hoping for.

Aside from debuting as the effective all-electric version of the XC90 just under three years ago, the EX90 also introduced the second-generation Scalable Production Architecture platform called SPA2, designed specifically for EV propulsion without the need for a combustion engine.

The biggest controversy surrounded the EX90's overly minimalist interior, lifted directly from the EX30. A design involving the majority of physical switchgear, including the glovebox release and adjusting the mirrors and steering wheel, moving to the 14.5-inch infotainment system, the EX90 instantly drew backlash for being overly complicated and too minimalist for its own good.

Officially the most powerful production Volvo yet, the difficulties in getting to grips with the cabin's ergonomics, which borders on the ridiculous for even requiring the driver to select which windows need to be raised or lowered via a split function button on the door, threatened to spoil our weeklong drive right from the get-go.

The EX90's quirks don't stop there as it doesn't have a starter button or, at best, a switch for the handbrake. Instead, flicking the steering column-mounted gear lever to Reverse or Drive switches the ignition on, while selecting Park turns it off while also applying the electronic handbrake.