► All-electric EX60 debuts a pile of new tech
► Specs compare well with new BMW iX3 and Merc GLC
► Cross Country version for outdoors types
Volvo, it doesn’t mind admitting, lost its way for a moment there. The ultra-dependable Swedes, who’d been on a roll ever since the first Geely-era car (the marvellous XC90 Mk2, unveiled way back in 2014), hit stormier waters post-pandemic. When ex-Dyson boss Jim Rowan took over at Volvo he tasked the brand with redefining itself, switching mindset from car maker that dabbled in software to software company that made cars. That transformation – coupled with the continued push to electric SUVs and some hostile economic headwinds – took its toll. The EX90 was late, irritating early adopters and ensuring a good car had a less than ideal first year.
As such, the new EX60 is something of a reset. Rowan’s gone, safe pair of hands Håkan Samuelsson is back in the big chair, and God-level crayon wielder Thomas Ingenlath (who took a few years out from design to helm Polestar) is back steering Volvo’s look and feel. And if any car can help the Swedes put all that fun behind them it’s this one, the all-new EX60.
Replaces the XC60? Or sells alongside it?
The EX60 arrives this summer (though we’ll have to wait longer for the range-topping P12 powertrain and the Cross Country variant), and when it first arrives it’ll claim its place in Volvo showrooms next to the (recently updated) XC60 SUV, Volvo’s all-time bestseller (2.7 million units and counting).
Only in Volvo’s wildest dreams will the EX60 sell in something like the same numbers as the XC60. But whether it does or not, this is arguably the most important Volvo since the first one, 1927’s ÖV4. Packed with new technology, including Volvo’s software-defined, future-ready SPA3 architecture, it lays the foundations for a new generation of all-electric and plug-in hybrid Volvos. Mediocrity, should it rear its ugly head here, would go on to dog the brand for years to come. What’s more, none of its engineering – including new Tesla-inspired manufacturing techniques to slash costs, reduce weight and improve efficiency – came cheap. Volvo can’t afford for this car to fail.
But it’s basically an electric XC60?
Philosophically, yes, though the two share almost nothing in reality – this is a dedicated EV platform, and reaps the benefits of that, quietly impressing in every area that matters, from space to speed, efficiency to emissions.
The new architecture, SPA3, is a significant step on from the SPA2 platform you’ll find under the EX90 and ES90. That’s an interim solution – a software-defined evolution of the SPA architecture introduced more than a decade ago in the landmark XC90.
Featuring Volvo’s Superset tech stack, SPA3 is lighter and less complex, with a single megacasting for a big chunk of the monocoque (it replaces more than 100 individual parts, saving 35% on the cost of the rear floor) and so-called cell-to-body construction, in which costs are reduced 25% by having the battery form a key part of the floor of the structure, rather than being boxed and bolted to a second, traditional floor (BMW’s done the same with its Neue Klasse cars, as has Rivian with its imminent R2).
The EX60 also introduces a new generation of batteries and motors (ASM at the front, because they’re compact and cost-effective, and more powerful EESM units on the rear), designed and built in-house using third-party cells and created to allow for different cell suppliers in different markets, as de-globalisation insists car makers let go the single worldwide solutions of the past.
The exterior is clean and fuss-free and will no doubt hoover up customers put off by the fairly punchy aesthetics of the iX3 and Mercedes GLC. The focus on efficiency is clear to see in the EX60’s elegantly tapered body sides and sweeping roofline. Short overhangs, too, and when you climb aboard space is consequently standout, with miles of legroom, a frunk and a big boot with a sub-floor compartment for your charging cables and contraband.
Interior design sticks to the Volvo script in many ways; discreet tech meets Scandinavian chic, with little Swedish flags just to remind you that its soul is still Swedish, no matter the ownership. The level of restraint, both in terms of screen-based real estate (the multimedia interface sits landscape, unlike most current Volvos, and features a gently curved convex screen, so even rear passengers get a clear view) and general ornamentation is to be applauded, but don’t mistake the EX60 interior’s apparent simplicity for a lack of technical heft. Under the hood you’ll find Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX Orin (Orin’s big strength is autonomous driving tech) and Qualcomm computing brawn. Google multimedia also opens the door to Gemini conversational AI, which promises frustration-free voice control for even ambitious, multi-stage requests. We’ll see.
At the risk of appearing a simple creature, can you gimme some numbers?
The P6 is a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive variant, likely priced from around £56,000. It’ll be the entry-level car, for now at least, but it’ll still go 0-62mph in less than six seconds and cover 385 official WLTP miles between charges on its 80kWh (usable) battery. Step up to the P10 and you gain a front e-motor, all-wheel drive, a bigger battery (91kWh) and a bump to 500bhp, plus nearly 400 miles of WLTP range. And if you’ve got places to go, people to see and around £65,000 burning a hole in your pocket, the P12 is the EX60 for you, with its healthy 670bhp. It’ll launch 0-62mph in just 3.7 seconds and go a little over 500 miles WLTP, though not at the same time obviously… Able to handle charging at up to 400kW, Volvo’s claiming just 10 minutes will yield another 211 miles of range.
Lumberjack shirts on, there’s a Cross Country!
Perhaps because its impressive range numbers open up the possibility of actual all-electric adventure, the EX60 will be available in standard and Cross Country versions. The latter isn’t a hardcore off-roader but adds visual drama and a little more all-terrain capability. You can only have the Cross Country with all-wheel drive (makes sense), so it won’t get the ultra-efficient P6 powertrain, but you do get air suspension as standard equipment, allowing for a further 20mm of ride height increase over the 20mm advantage the Cross Country gets out of the box. You also get broader track widths, tough plastic wheelarch cladding and stainless-steel skid plates, leaving the thing just a roof tent short of being ready to go get lost in the wilderness.
