Autocar
Swedish brand goes against the grain with an esoteric – and rather charming – electric 'saloon' When Volvo presented its first electric saloon to the world in March last year, it chose the Artipelag modern art museum in Stockholm. It was a strong statement, if any were still needed, that the 99-year-old company now sees itself as an aspirational brand that can sit wheel to wheel with Mercedes, BMW and Audi, rather than a purveyor of the sort of trusty family plodders you grew up in.Volvo’s ascent has been mostly but not entirely convincing. It boils down to the fact that the company’s approach to exterior and interior has, for about a decade, been writing cheques the underlying technology hasn’t always been able to cash. Performance and handling have been fine, but efficiency and ride quality have often been short of the mark. Any shortfalls relative to the Germans have been small in outright terms, but small margins make a big difference at the sharp end of the premium class and Volvo’s products have too rarely been truly convincing.The new Volvo ES90 is an interesting car because it represents a reset for Volvo’s most luxurious offering. It’s an opportunity that might see the Swedes catapult themselves above rivals in the saloon car rankings for the first time. The BMW i5, Mercedes EQE and Audi A6 E-tron are all good but none is spectacular, and the ES90 arrives with a cutting-edge 800V platform, an extremely long wheelbase and some very promising on-paper credentials. Plus, of course, that smart design, which follows in the footsteps of the EX90 SUV introduced last year.Might the near-£70,000 ES90 be the lavish, undemanding, long-ranged, ultra-practical and keenly priced electric saloon the class has been waiting for? Let’s find out.
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