All-electric Volvo EX90 impressive on paper and in the metal

The Citizen Motoring team was invited down to Cape Town for the launch of the all-new Volvo EX90. The official hashtag for the event – #RestartWithVolvo – not only promised some clarity on a survival strategy from a local small-volume, premium, niche brand. Surely, it was going to involve some meaningful driving exposure to what is a very impressive car on paper and in the metal.

But I got this wrong. For a motoring journalist, this event did little more than deliver up frustration expertly dressed up as a glitzy lifestyle set within the beautiful winelands of Stellenbosch. The business presentations were brief, and there was no general Q&A session afterwards to talk about the product. Or address the rumours that more than half of the existing Volvo dealers are allegedly going to be closed in an aggressive restructuring programme.

But it wasn’t the end of the world, as I was there to drive after all. I had the thought of getting behind the wheel of a high-tech 380kW/910Nm, battery-powered, full-electric SUV that is claimed to get from 0-100km/h in just 4.9 seconds on what are some of the best roads in the country to look forward to. But then this too was about to fall flat.

ALSO READ: SA-bound all-electric Volvo EX90 SUV on shortlist for top accolade

Running out of time

We had to get our names, along with our driving partner’s names, on a schedule to secure a time slot for a drive in the Volvo EX90. Only one small problem. The schedules had a limited number of predetermined slots. And despite each slot only offering a shared 30 minutes of driving time on the straightest piece of tar in the Western Cape in afternoon traffic, it didn’t take more than about 10 seconds to work out that with around 100 invited media all keen for a drive and even more so for some cool pics for their socials and something like only eight EX90s available to drive, there was no way that everybody was going to drive the car at this event.

And just as I predicted, the slots were all allocated long before I got near the front of the queue. I also heard that there was no plan B. I realised that I had just spent more time in Cape Town figuring out the light switches in my hotel room than I was going to spend in the all-new Volvo EX90. Yet, nobody seemed too fazed about this little faux pas. Bizarre!

ALSO READ: Volvo’s flagship all-electric EX90 approved for South Africa

Silver lining

I decided it was time to call it quits. I asked Volvo’s media fleet manager if I could catch a shuttle back to the hotel instead of wasting any more of my time not doing what I thought I was there to do.

By this stage, there was a fair bit of confusion and frustration going on as people were milling around trying to figure out which car they were waiting for. Who had come back, and who was still to go? But in typical South African style, he made a plan and ushered me and my driving partner into the very next Volvo EX90 that returned, as it was “our turn” to go as per the schedule we were never on.

So, in the end, I got a drive, but outside of just repeating the press release, it was too short to offer any meaningful or objective opinion of the car. Other than to say that it felt as smooth and as refined as I expected it would be from a flagship Volvo.

I didn’t even have time to try and adjust all the things that frustrated everybody that has reviewed it. The controls now find themselves embedded deep within the large infotainment screen, but it sure as heck jolted when you jumped on the accelerator.

ALSO READ: Volvo EX30 a ‘Swedish shopping trolley’ ready to outgun supercars

Volvo EX90 has a tough task

At R2 650 000 for the Volvo EX90, the task of moving these cars out onto driveways around the country is not going to be easy from the start. Not in an environment where big, flashy money hasn’t quite latched onto the full battery electric vehicle thing yet.

But Volvo are putting the effort in on the consumer side of the business in providing incentives to potential buyers in the form of a free wall charger box at a location of their choice, two years of free public charging, and three years of free data for the in-car connectivity systems.

And Volvo can also brag that on the other end of the pricing spectrum, their compact EX30 is the country’s best-selling full battery electric vehicle. With them planning on introducing the likes of the EX30 Cross Country, the updated XC60 and XC90 in the coming months, this iconic brand just might get out from under this cloud of uncertainty in South Africa.