I once owned a Volvo S80 with well over 700,000 miles on the clock. That’s not a misprint. It had done the sort of mileage that NASA’s Artemis 2 mission can only dream of, and I loved it. It was big, comfortable, understated and wonderfully relaxing. In other words, it was exactly what a big Volvo should be.
Which brings us to the Volvo ES90, a big electric saloon-ish fastback that proves Volvo hasn’t completely forgotten how to make cars that aren’t SUVs. In a world where every premium car seems to have been inflated into a tall, heavy crossover, the ES90 is a welcome reminder that sitting slightly lower can still feel special.
What’s hot?
+ Possibly the quietest car this side of a Rolls-Royce
+ Big, comfy and properly relaxing
+ More interesting than another SUV
+ The entry-level version is the one to have
What’s not?
– Volvo needs to rediscover buttons
– The rear window is basically a letterbox
– Back-seat passengers sit a bit knees-up
– Not exactly thrilling to drive
The version tested here is the ES90 Plus Single Motor Extended Range. It’s the most affordable ES90, although that phrase needs some context, because it still costs close to £68,000. For that, you get rear-wheel drive, 333hp, more than 400 miles of official range, enough standard kit to think that the Plus badge is being rather modest, and enough performance for the kind of person who isn’t trying to win every traffic-light grand prix.
There are more powerful versions, but I’m not sure I see the point. The Single Motor ES90 is already quick enough. It moves away smoothly, gathers speed easily — it hits 62mph in 6.8 seconds — and generally behaves like a large luxury EV should. It’s not dramatic, it isn’t aggressive, and it doesn’t shout.
It barely even whispers. The ES90 is incredibly quiet. Possibly the quietest car I’ve driven this side of a Rolls-Royce. That’s the thing I’ll remember most about it. At normal road speeds, the outside world fades away, as if it’s been edited out. Wind noise is barely noticeable, road noise is incredibly well suppressed, and general modern-life irritation is reduced significantly.
Our time with the car didn’t give the ES90 much chance to show what it can do dynamically. Most of the drive was spent trundling along at 40-50mph on fairly ordinary roads, so I can’t tell you whether it comes alive when pushed hard. I suspect it doesn’t, and I suspect Volvo doesn’t really care.
It does ride well, though. Even without the fancy air suspension you get on higher-spec versions, the ES90 Plus felt composed and comfortable. It’s a big car, and you’re always vaguely aware of that, but it doesn’t feel clumsy. It just feels relaxed.
There is an off-road mode, which is… interesting. I have no idea what Volvo expects ES90 owners to do with it. Perhaps it’s for gravel driveways outside expensive Scandinavian holiday homes. Perhaps it’s for escaping a muddy National Trust overflow car park. Either way, I wouldn’t plan a green-laning weekend around it.
Inside, the ES90 is mostly lovely. It’s calm, clean, expensive-feeling and very Volvo. There’s lots of space up front, the driving position is more commanding than you might expect, and the whole cabin has that calm Scandinavian thing that Volvo does so well.
The back seats are less convincing. At first glance, the legroom looks massive. You open the door and think, “Excellent, this is basically a limo.” But then you sit in the back and realise there isn’t much space under the front seats for your feet. That means your legs end up in a slightly perched, knees-up position. So yes, there’s loads of room, but it isn’t quite as comfortable as it looks.
Rear visibility is ridiculous, too. The view through the back window is like peering through a letterbox from the wrong end of a hallway. Honestly, Volvo might have been better off doing what Polestar did with the Polestar 4 and ditching the rear window altogether. At least then it would feel like a deliberate design choice rather than a tiny apology in glass form.
And then there’s the touchscreen.
Yes, I know I’ve talked about touch screens in endless other reviews, but I don’t apologise for that. I know minimalism is the vibe. I know physical buttons are apparently deeply unfashionable. But come on, some things shouldn’t be hidden behind a screen.
Mirror adjustment? Screen.
Steering wheel adjustment? Screen.
Opening the glovebox? Inexplicably, also screen.
Why? A button is not a moral failing. A switch is not an admission of defeat. Volvo has built one of the calmest cars on sale, then made some of the simplest tasks needlessly annoying.
The frustrating thing is that the ES90 gets so much right. It’s comfortable, refined, quick enough, roomy enough and genuinely relaxing. It feels like a proper luxury car, which Volvo hasn’t always managed to achieve in recent years. And, in a market obsessed with SUVs, it has a real point of difference.
Should you buy one over a BMW i5, Audi A6 e-tron or Mercedes-Benz EQE? That depends on what you want. If you want the sharpest drive, probably not. If you want something that feels calm, understated and very, very quiet, the Volvo makes a strong case for itself.
My old S80 had 717,286 miles on the clock and still understood comfort better than many new cars. The ES90 is more complicated, more expensive and far more futuristic, but it understands the same basic idea: sometimes the best luxury car is the one that simply makes everything quieter.
Volvo ES90 Plus: The Average Joes verdict
The Volvo ES90 is expensive, very digital and slightly daft in places, but it’s also one of the most relaxing cars I’ve driven. It’s incredibly quiet, comfortable, quick enough and refreshingly different from the usual luxury SUV.
The rear seats aren’t as naturally comfortable as they look, rear visibility is laughably poor, and the touchscreen obsession needs to calm down. But if you want a big electric car that majors on silence and comfort rather than fake sportiness, the ES90 gets a lot right.
Just give us some proper buttons back, Volvo. And maybe a rear window you can actually see through.
What: Volvo ES90 Plus
How much: £67,560
Average Joes rating: ★★★★☆
He is the founder of Huff Media, publisher of Professional Pickup, Professional Van, Average Janes, Average Joes, and CALIBRE. His work focuses primarily on light commercial vehicles, pickups, and real-world vehicle use, with much of his time spent on manufacturer launches, industry events, and long-term vehicle testing.