Whatshot
Volvo ES90: Silence Has Never Felt So Alive
Volvo ES90: Silence Has Never Felt So Alive
Date: 2026-05-29
There are cars you drive and cars that drive you somewhere else entirely. The Volvo ES90 belongs firmly in the second category, and after spending time behind its wheel, I am not entirely sure I want to come back.
Volvo has always interpreted true luxury without shouting, just presence. The ES90 whispers instead, and what it whispers is extraordinary. Built on an all-new 800-volt EV platform, this five-metre Scandinavian masterpiece redefines what a luxury saloon can be in the electric era. The drag coefficient sits at a slippery 0.25, the bodywork drawn tight and purposeful, Thor's Hammer LED signature glowing with quiet authority up front.
Inside, the word that keeps returning is considered. Every surface, every material, every detail placed with the kind of intention that makes you slow down and pay attention. The 14.5-inch touchscreen is intuitive rather than intimidating. The Bowers and Wilkins sound system, standard on Ultra trim, does not so much play music as reconstruct it around you. Four-zone climate control and heated seats front and rear mean nobody in the cabin feels forgotten.
Then there is the range. The ES90 delivers between 560 and 690 kilometres on a charge, and when you do need to top up, a 10 to 80 percent charge takes just 22 minutes at a fast charger. These are not hopeful numbers dressed up in optimism. They are real world figures that make range anxiety feel like someone else's problem.
Power comes in three flavours, from a 245kW single motor rear-wheel drive to a twin motor Performance variant producing a tidal wave of 500kW. The entry point alone will embarrass most of what pulls up alongside it.
The ES90 is not just the finest EV Volvo has ever made. It is a genuine argument for rethinking everything you thought you knew about electric luxury.
Talk to Tony Halstead at CMH Volvo Cars Umhlanga, 1 Wilton Crescent, Somerset Park, Umhlanga. Call 031 571 2600 or reach Tony directly on 082 570 3346. You can also drop him a line at tonyh@cmh.co.za. The ES90 is waiting. So is Tony.