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Volvo EX90 EV is heavy on sustainability with new Nordico cabin material

After hints from former Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelson and a trademark application for the term "Embla," we'd suspected the electric successor to the XC90 would be called the Embla. New Volvo CEO Jim Rowan explained that after taking brand familiarity into account, the people who decide the names of things decided "EX90 marks a new iteration on our current nomenclature and is reflective of our transition toward a full-electric lineup by 2030." Another symbol of the transition to all EV all the time is Volvo interior designers believing they have created "one of the most pleasant and elegant car interiors on the market" by "reinterpreting luxury and well-being [through the] essential qualities of Scandinavian design: simplicity, well-being and natural sources." Senior Design Manager Cecilia Stark tells us the nut and bolt of this is Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood, and wool shorn off sustainably raised sheep. Backlit wood trim lines the EX90's cabin, reminiscent of a Scandinavian living room. The wool is a secondary fabric option, buyers first invited to enjoy Volvo's new Nordico synthetic fabric made from ingredients like recycled PET bottles and responsibly sourced pine resin from managed forests in Sweden and Finland. Counting Nordico and other synthetic textiles in places like the carpeting, Volvo says there are "almost 50 kilograms of recycled plastics and bio-based materials" in an EX90 cabin, surpassing the amount for every other vehicle in the automaker's range.  There will be a standard luxury aspect to configuring the flagship crossover, though. Mostly discussed as a feature among super luxury makers who offer so many options that buyers can be overwhelmed into analysis paralysis, Volvo designers have created themed "rooms" encompassing EX90 exterior colors, upholstery, and decor. We don't know how many rooms will be offered, and we're not used to seeing exterior hues included in themed packages, so this should be interesting.     Volvo will show the EX90 on November 9. The crossover is slated to go into production at the automaker's South Carolina plant before the year is out. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo C40 Luggage Test: How much cargo space?

The Volvo C40 is the chopped-roof "coupe" version of the Volvo XC40, albeit without the internal combustion powertrain options. It's Recharge or nothing. As an electric vehicle, the C40 (or EC40 as it's apparently being renamed) is quite agreeable, with ample range and performance, plus a refined driving experience indicative of a Volvo that is quite clearly more sophisticated than the Hyundais, Kias and Volkswagens of the world. The interior up front is highly functional, too, with clever storage and good tech. Oh, and the gray wool upholstery is just beautiful.  But good grief, is the rear visibility atrocious. The back window is comparable to a pillbox and the blind spot is enormous. Worse, the various cameras supposedly on board to counter those flaws are just not effective. The rearview camera is mounted so low that its field of view is poor. The rearview camera mirror is susceptible to water droplets and condensation, and worse, the mirror housing is effectively pointed at the ceiling. That ceiling is glass and there is no shade. Ergo, if the sun is behind you, the amount of glare on the mirror renders it unviewable. If the roof is covered in condensation and the sun is behind you, there might as well be a brick mounted to the ceiling.  OK, I've gone off the rails here, but I just had to get that off my chest. The XC40 Recharge (or EX40 as it'll be called in the future), didn't have that problem, and I'm sure this isn't exactly a spoiler, it has a more usable cargo area, too.  Just in case it's not obvious, the C40/EC40 and XC40/EX40 is on the right. I'm done doing that / business, so I'm just going to make this future-proof from here on out. Volvo's specs say the EC40 has 17.3 cubic-feet of cargo space and specifically indicates that includes the underfloor storage area. When seemingly using that same measurement, the EX40 has 20.4. Honestly, I have no idea how that equates to the typically reported cubic-foot volume number of other manufacturers, but as a point of reference to each other, I'm going with those figures.  Both have an underfloor storage area, including a lid that cleverly props itself up so you can divide the cargo area for the purposes of keeping smaller items in place. There's also two little tabs that stick up specifically intended to loop grocery bags onto.  Now, I wrote off this area in the XC40 luggage test since it wasn't big enough to hold the smallest (fancy) bag, shown above in blue.

Volvo V90 Cross Country vs V60 Cross Country Luggage Test | Comparing cargo areas

While the Audi A6 Allroad and Mercedes E 450 All-Terrain have disappointed us with their poseur levels of capability and questionable value, that is not the case with the other midsize luxury off-roadish wagon: the 2021 Volvo V90 Cross Country. It has genuinely useful extra ground clearance and a lower, more sensible price. But what about that other element of wagon goodness, utility?  Although I have not luggage-tested the Allroad or All-Terrain, Road Test Editor Zac Palmer effectively did so using different luggage and different A6/E-Class wagon variants. Our results are therefore only vaguely comparable. My guess is the Mercedes would win the day and the V90 would top the Audi, but again, that's just a guess. I have, however, luggage-tested Volvo's smaller off-roadish wagon, the V60 Cross Country. Surprisingly, the difference between Cross Countries isn't that great.  According to Volvo's wonderfully detailed cargo specifications that indicate what exactly they measured (hint hint, every other car company), the V90 Cross Country (above left) has 25.5 cubic-feet of space behind the back seat from floor to roof. The V60 Cross Country (right) has 23.2 cubic feet. That's not much of a difference.  However, Volvo also provides the cargo area length from the seat base to the liftgate. That's a bigger difference on paper: 45.4 inches for the V90 and 40.7 inches for the V60. That would play out once I brought the luggage into the equation.  Before we get to the bags, though, take one more look at the above comparison photo. Check out the different D pillars and specifically how much more upright the V60's are. That's my guess as to why the V90 cargo area manages to be so much longer, yet has only a minor volume difference.  Same bags, same formation, different Volvo wagons. You clearly see here that there's more length available in the V90. Five inches more? I don't know about that, but you nevertheless DO get more space.  As with every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).