VOLVO EX90 AND XC90, DIFFERENT TWINS

Two sides of the same coin. Looking at the new Volvo EX90 and XC90, it is immediately obvious that they belong to the same styling family. Despite their close kinship, however, the designers have managed to mark out certain differences, most of them closely related to the nature of the models’ drive systems: the EX90 is electric, the XC90 is hybrid.

The face-to-face between the two models starts at the front. The electric propulsion of the EX90 allowed the designers to create a full nose without the need for openings to allow air in to cool the engine. In contrast, the XC90 displays a more traditional front end with a grille containing the Volvo logo in the centre. The end result gives the EX90 a more clean-cut appearance.

The rear of the two models shows several differences. On the EX90, the designers’ desire to recall the styling approach inaugurated by the EX30, the small electric car, is evident: ’The lowest part of the tail houses mirror-positioned C-shaped lights. Then, during the clinic tests, we realised that it would be wrong to eliminate the vertical lights, a Volvo symbol. The idea was to bring them into the future, with a series of small horizontal light segments that, one on top of the other, draw the vertical light,’ explains Örjan Sterner, Senior Design Manager Exterior at Volvo. The XC90, on the other hand, has retained a more traditional approach with the vertical lights that have become one of the Swedish manufacturer’s styling identities.

The headlamp system developed for the EX90 is particularly innovative. The Thor’s hammer light signature approach has remained, but now when the high and low beams are switched on, the headlamps literally open up and make way for Matrix LEDs. For the XC90, however, the classic solution has remained, while the daytime light signature has been updated: it is now more subtle and modern.

According to the Swedish manufacturer, the EX90 is the most technological Volvo ever built to date. The model has dozens of sensors that the designers have cleverly concealed behind bumpers and shapes. All except one: the LiDAR stands in the centre of the roof, above the windscreen. The XC90 lacks it and its overall line is, thus, cleaner.