Volvo EX60 test drive: Smooth, and ready to talk

The Volvo EX60 is the center electrical SUV within the Swedish model’s luxurious EX lineup, sitting proper between the EX30 and EX90. I’ve now pushed all three, and this one’s placement makes a variety of sense, although its greater influence could lie in what’s happening behind the sprint.

That it rides with area and luxury is a Volvo EX staple at this level, however once you throw in a chatty Google Gemini and improved infotainment display presence, there’s rather a lot to love about this automobile.

I acquired to check drive the EX60 P10 variant in Barcelona and the Catalonian countryside to really feel all this in movement on the street. I additionally acquired to check drive the P6 model, which isn’t coming to Canada till someday in 2027, and is the one EX60 that runs on a single motor. Thus, I give attention to the EX60 P10 AWD Electrical that’s confirmed for Canada when laying out what it’s wish to be each behind the wheel and as a passenger.

Let’s get comfy

I coated lots of the underlying particulars and intentions when Volvo revealed the EX60 in Stockholm in January, so I gained’t go over all of them right here. As an alternative, I’ll give attention to the driving expertise, since I lastly acquired behind the wheel.

There’s no query it’s a snug cabin, irrespective of the place you’re sitting. I sat within the again simply to test it out, and as a tall man, I didn’t really feel all that constrained. Using shotgun, it was simple to really feel like I used to be lounging whereas my driving accomplice took the wheel. Nonetheless, there are trade-offs one should settle for contained in the EX60.

I’m a bit of torn on the centre console as a result of, properly, it’s not likely a console within the acquainted sense. It’s high quality as an armrest, however Volvo opts to go along with its now-standard sliding twin cup holder mechanism as a substitute. Although fairly cool in how one can slide it out of the best way once you don’t want it, you lose out on any storage capability between the seats.

With no glove compartment going through the entrance passenger, all of that space for storing strikes to a compartment on the backside beneath the sprint. The pondering right here is that it will increase legroom for these using shotgun, but is an equally clear nod to the minimalism Volvo craves for its autos.

The 2 USB-C ports within the entrance are 18W and 60W ports, respectively, which means you should utilize the latter to cost a laptop computer fairly comfortably if a passenger must get work completed. Much more so if in case you have children you need to preserve engaged on a pill with out worrying about battery points. However they may have their very own actual pair of ports to make use of within the again. The wi-fi charging pad nestled within the sprint beneath the display will not be Qi2, so no making the most of sooner speeds there.

Lay of the land

Solely the EX60 P10 might be coming to Canada, with the P6 set to reach someday in 2027. The P12 will not be set for Canada at the moment, however will come to the U.S. For the P10 Plus trim beginning at $77,500, you get the identical twin motor powertrain because the Extremely trim, together with the identical 360-degree digital camera system, a 21-speaker Bose premium sound system, 19.2kW onboard AC charger, bi-directional charging assist, three-zone local weather management, and a warmth pump with distant inside preconditioning.

An “all-in” $81,419 that covers the one choices and local weather bundle can get you Extremely staples like built-in booster cushions, ventilated entrance seats, four-way energy lumbar assist, an electrochromic panoramic roof and 21-inch alloy wheels.

Upgrading to Extremely, beginning at $84,000 and going as much as $87,919, offers you these 21-inch alloy wheels, the electrochromic glass roof with adjustable shading, high-definition headlights and an upgraded 28-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio system with Dolby Atmos assist. To not point out the Nappa leather-based seats as a pleasant contact. As with different EX fashions, Volvo makes heated seats and steering wheel commonplace with each Plus and Extremely in Canada.

In any other case, each trims share the identical powertrains and metrics, so many of the variations between them veer extra towards options, consolation and expertise. Since each share the identical basic design, body, and cabin area, there’s a reasonably constant expertise between them, save for the optionally available upgrades I famous.

Importantly, in addition they get Volvo’s new multi-adaptive seat belt that controls power throughout accidents. It doesn’t require the driving force doing something to set it up, but it surely’s adaptive by way of onboard sensors, providing 11 profiles that take note of the pace and course of a collision, in addition to the dimensions of the occupant. Principally, which means a bigger individual will get a better belt load in a critical crash, whereas a smaller individual in a gentle crash will get a decrease belt load in order to not induce an damage within the rib cage. It’s a kind of stuff you hope to by no means interact, however glad it’s there simply in case.

Two screens are higher than one

The EX60 is the primary time Volvo shuns the earlier portrait-oriented screens for a barely concave 15-inch OLED panel in panorama. It’s brilliant sufficient in daylight to not wrestle with visibility, neither is it ridiculously shiny in producing horrible glare. A little bit of a fingerprint magnet for certain, although.

The display is chock-full of knowledge specified by a wide range of menus, largely managed by three details on the backside (driver, local weather, apps). Tapping on Driver settings reveals a sidebar of shortcuts to get to every little thing from driving preferences, charging, audio, and connectivity settings, amongst others.

Regardless of its dimension and responsiveness, Volvo is making an attempt to make it so that you just don’t contact the display as a lot. That’s the place voice management by way of Gemini is available in. What’s fascinating is that if you happen to select to run Android Auto within the automobile, you have got two concurrent Gemini AIs working. Quick-press the discuss button on the steering wheel to wake the built-in Gemini; long-press to wake the Android Auto one.

You may not assume there’s a distinction, however there may be. The Android Auto one typically is aware of extra about what you’ve searched in your telephone, like places, as an example, whereas the built-in one is aware of about settings within the EX60. If you happen to do log into the built-in system with the identical Google account, issues like contacts, map data and YouTube historical past can carry over, however not essentially third-party apps. You’d should log in to apps like Spotify and Waze individually.

It additionally means you possibly can run Gemini alongside Siri or ChatGPT if you happen to’ve acquired CarPlay working as properly. What’s cool is that navigation can nonetheless run from the built-in system, so music can play from the iPhone whereas the built-in Google Maps or Waze handles instructions.

Going panorama is the appropriate transfer for the principle display, however I might argue the 11.4-inch “ahead driving show” digital cluster behind the steering wheel is a serious contributor. After fully reducing out the cluster within the EX30 and making a tiny one for the EX90, this appears like a extra substantial a part of the broader system. There’s no heads-up show (HUD) projection to the windshield right here, in order that ahead show is usually one of the best place to search for mapping instructions. It’s additionally the place key issues like Pilot Help, approximate vary, and pace typically seem.

Google Gemini

Integrating Gemini into the EX60 means not solely having an onboard AI that must be acquainted, but in addition one which ties into the automobile’s personal capabilities. The very first thing I requested it was every little thing it might management or entry, which quantities to navigation, audio, local weather management, driving vary, battery diagnostics and entry to the person guide.

What it may well’t do is change issues like audio settings, driving preferences, and connectivity. You’ll be able to’t inform it to alter driving modes or change the audio impact from, say, 3D Encompass to Gothenburg Live performance Corridor, as an example.

In maybe essentially the most weird UI selection Volvo makes, Gemini abruptly stops speaking the second you faucet on the display — and it’s not a glitch. I requested Volvo engineers and executives who have been available in the course of the two-day check drive why they’d do such a factor, and it principally comes right down to driver security. Chilly consolation when it occurs whereas a wonderfully secure passenger is tapping on the display in the same situation.

I personally discovered it a irritating expertise, significantly as a result of I like speaking to Gemini about historical past or contextual data, much more so when cruising in an space with some historical past price speaking about. We have been within the midst of the historical past of wine in Catalonia once I tapped on the display to entry driver settings. It took a number of subsequent prompts to attempt to get it again on monitor within the dialog.

The one saving grace could also be that Volvo’s Product Lead in Linked Expertise, Anders Lindbom, tells me the corporate remains to be deliberating on whether or not it really follows by with such a restrictive transfer by the point prospects drive off with their EX60s within the coming months.

Personally, I don’t assume Volvo has a lot of a selection. Given how Gemini continues to evolve, and with the most recent announcements at Google I/O going over adjustments coming to each Google built-in programs and Android Auto later in 2026, the proverbial doorways proceed to swing open.

Volvo is among the many manufacturers Google mentions as a launch accomplice for video playback, although firm reps revealed little about that. What we do know is that the system will prohibit playback to when the EX60 (and different supported Volvos) isn’t transferring — like ready whereas parked or charging the EV’s battery, as an example. That it will work with Google built-in isn’t as massive a deal as the very fact Android Auto is getting this characteristic, too. If you happen to begin driving whereas watching YouTube, the system will change it to audio-only, which really looks like a great way to maintain listening to a podcast or live performance. The EX60 already advantages from Dolby Atmos, however the truth that it’s additionally coming to Android Auto opens up one other avenue to reap the audible advantages.

One factor I discover significantly compelling is how Google’s built-in system can combine with the EX60’s cameras for higher driving steering by way more immersive maps and — probably — contextual need-to-know particulars primarily based on what they see. Approaching a curb or car parking zone and asking, “Can I park right here?” could be one such instance.

To be clear, I didn’t check any of that as a result of it wasn’t out there, but it surely does current a really intriguing evolution for Google’s in-car infotainment platforms.

Driving the EX60

The EX60 follows go well with from the EX30 and EX90 in that there’s no key or fob, nor an on/off change. So long as you have got the ultra-wideband key in your iPhone or Android telephone, you possibly can simply put the EX60 in drive and be in your method.

Whereas I by no means used it in the course of the check drive, the EX60 can retailer a number of driver profiles to personalize settings for anybody sharing it. Very ideally suited for a pair who may not solely want their very own app logins but in addition seat, steering wheel and facet mirror positioning. The Bowers and Wilkins sound system can be incredible, and I grew to love the completely different modes as properly.

As soon as on the street, the EX60 drives precisely like I anticipated it could — clean, responsive, exact. I just like the dealing with, whereas acceleration exhibits its pep for a mid-size SUV by hitting 100 km/h in simply 4.4 seconds. Velocity is all the time powerful to expertise in Barcelona site visitors, so the open highways and rural roads of Catalonia supply loads of alternative to gun it a bit of and gauge among the limits.

The square-ish steering wheel takes some getting used to, one thing Volvo purposely designed to extend clearance excessive of the wheel and make the ahead show extra seen, given how recessed it’s.

Like Volvo’s different EX fashions, the extent of driving customization feels fairly in depth. I attempted all of the driving modes (Commonplace, Efficiency, Off-Highway) to really feel the subtleties in every, and in lieu of a “sport mode,” Efficiency stands in because the sportiest possibility among the many trio. Not that I acquired to drive in rugged terrain, however Off-Highway principally makes use of adaptive suspension and the all-wheel drive motors to ship greater floor clearance (as much as 25 km/h) and higher management by way of the accelerator pedal. Like one-pedal driving, you don’t have to continuously press on the brake navigating rougher spots as a result of the automobile creeps when you elevate off. Utilizing this mode on a daily street does nothing, so it really is for very particular circumstances.

Pilot Help is a semi-autonomous mode that’s actually extra of an enhanced cruise management since you need to preserve a hand on the wheel. Setting it requires hitting the cruise management button on the steering wheel first after which hitting the Pilot Help button thereafter. Like different programs, I might alter the pace but in addition inform it to alter lanes. The phrase “help” is operative right here, although, which means you continue to should steer within the course you need to go in, very similar to how the mode’s primary objective is to maintain you centred in a lane. Onboard cameras have to see two distinct strains on the street to work, which is why it’s typically extra for freeway driving.

Additionally, as earlier than, it doesn’t work from a useless cease, so it’s not a lot assist in stop-and-go site visitors the best way GM’s SuperCruise or Ford’s BlueCruise are.

Charging and processing energy

I didn’t get the prospect to cost the EX60, but it surely’s clear it’s Volvo’s first to have a local North American Charging Commonplace (NACS), in order that massive Tesla Supercharger community is appropriate once you want some juice. If you happen to’re fortunate and have any 400kW charger shut by, it may well take a mere quarter-hour to go from 10-80%.

Thoughts you, the vary for the P10 is an estimated 514 km. I’m inclined to consider that after seeing 390 km left at 71% throughout my very own drive. Granted, chilly climate, air con, warmth, driving mode and different variables will all the time have an effect on that quantity, however an extended street journey isn’t out of the query with this automobile.

Volvo is looking the EX60 really “software-defined,” and the declare rests on a three-part basis: in-house electrical structure, proprietary software program, and an Nvidia core compute module that handles processing for the entire system. In different phrases, the Nvidia chip doesn’t simply energy the infotainment system or driver-assisted options; it’s the central core that controls each the software program stack and the automobile’s personal propulsion.

A built-in SIM offers the automobile fixed community connectivity to allow Volvo to ship over-the-air updates that may influence each infotainment and driving options, in addition to plug or patch holes that pop up. Primarily, Google can launch a brand new replace for its automotive endeavours, and Volvo might then relay it over to the EX60 at any time when it feels prepared to take action. Nevertheless, there’s no Wi-Fi hotspot, so whereas OTA updates are available regardless, all different knowledge has to return out of your telephone.

Coming quickly

You’ll be able to reserve and order the Volvo EX60 proper now with or with out the add-on upgrades. Deliveries in Canada are anticipated within the fall, whereas dealerships will get demo items in late summer time. The EX60 could not qualify for the various government rebate programs available, because the phrases and language change and might be complicated. The EX30, however, has now hit the mark.