Preview: 2027 Volvo EX60 Boasts Incredible Range and AI Integration

Volvo’s entry into the all-important premium midsize electric crossover segment is here, and the Swedish automaker has done everything it can to help it succeed. Segment-leading range, an advanced suite of technology, and a reasonable price tag should help the EX60 compete against Germany's best.

Range for Days

As noted above, the EX60 will be a segment leader in terms of range thanks to large battery packs. The P10 AWD trim will get a 91-kWh (net) battery pack that Volvo estimates will be good for 514 km of range (under North American testing conditions). However, the range-topping P12 AWD trim is underpinned by a 112-kWh (net) battery that’s good for an automaker-estimated 640 km of range.

That’s farther than the Tesla Model Y, Audi Q6 e-tron, or upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ technology can manage, and the same as the upcoming BMW iX3 will be able to travel per charge. That’s enough to get from Calgary to Edmonton, Alta., and back on a single charge.

The batteries will power a pair of electric motors that combine to make 503 hp and 524 lb-ft of torque in the EX60 P10 AWD, and a whopping 670 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque in the longer-range P12 AWD trim. That will be enough to get the electric crossover up to 96 km/h (60 mph) 3.8 seconds. The slower model will take 4.4 seconds to get up to the same speed, meaning that both models will feel pretty quick off the line.

Despite the size of the battery, you won’t be stuck at the charging stations for very long when you do eventually have to stop. Built on Volvo’s latest SPA3 platform, the EX60 gets the brand’s most advanced hardware and software, allowing it add 270 km of range in just 10 minutes of charging (under ideal circumstances). As for the 10 to 80 per cent state of charge sprint, Volvo promises that it will take just 19 minutes for the P12 to make the charge, and just 18 minutes for the P10 at a 400 kW charging station. The EX60 will also have access to Tesla’s charging network since it is the first Volvo to be delivered with a built-in NACS (North American Charging System) charging port.

 Design That’s More Than Just Scandi Chic

As ever, Volvo has delivered an understated and attractive SUV with the EX60, but, as with all the best designs, form and function are considered equally. Not only does the vehicle feature the automaker’s Thor’s Hammer headlights, its clean body lines, and a rearward posture that makes it look like it’s winding up to go, the body also has a coefficient of drag of just 0.26, contributing to its impressive range.

The EX60's structure, meanwhile, utilizes Volvo’s cell-to-body technology and megacasting construction, which simplifies assembly and lightens the vehicle overall. All of which, again, contributes to delivering up to 640 km of range and helps reduce its carbon footprint by 37 per cent.

Meanwhile, the flat floor that is a consequence of the all-electric powertrain means plenty of legroom for passengers. It also means 578 L of cargo space behind the second-row seats and 1,648 L with the seats folded down. That’s a little less space than its German competitors when the seats are down, but the Volvo offers more space to stow stuff with all the seats up.

Volvo promises to fill the cabin with high quality materials and to offer plenty of clever places to store stuff. For the first time, the brand is offering an optional 28-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system for the audiophiles. The EX60 will also be the first Volvo vehicle to come with Apple Music pre-installed. Not only is this convenient for people who have their music on the app, Volvo says it was also the easiest way to get a music player with Dolby Atmos music to take advantage of the sound system.

Tech for the Days Ahead

The app, among others, will be accessed through a big 15.04-inch infotainment screen. Unusually for Volvo, the screen is in the landscape orientation, not the vertical portrait mode we’ve become used to seeing in the centre of the automaker's dashes. That, says Akhil Krishnan, who is in charge of the 60 line of vehicles at Volvo, was done to make the infotainment screen more useful as an entertainment unit when the vehicle is parked to charge.

The OLED display is also curved, which isn’t odd, but middle of the screen bows out, rather than in, which is unique. Krishnan says that the convex screen is easier for passengers in both the front and the rear of the vehicle to see and also makes it more resistant to glare, a problem that faces OLED screens in particular.

Also strange to see in a modern Volvo is the large, 11.4-inch driver display behind the steering wheel. Whereas the EX90 has a tiny instrument screen, and the EX30 has none, Krishnan told media that Volvo chose the relatively large screen for this application to help with its advanced driver assistance systems.

While the screen isn’t necessary to run the EX60’s Level 2+ system — eventually, the model will get a highway “ramp-to-ramp” driver assistance system that is akin to systems like General Motors’ Super Cruise — the display is there to build trust with the driver by showing them what the vehicle’s onboard sensors see. Unlike the EX90, though, the EX60 is not equipped with LiDAR sensors, meaning there is a hard limit on how much it can assist the driver with driving.

Into the AI Era

The new model will be able to assist the driver with more than just driving, though. It will be the first Volvo model to include Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) onboard — though the technology will be added over the air to more than million existing Volvo vehicles, dating back to model year 2021, over the course of the coming months.

Gemini will work better with the EX60 than most older Volvos, though. That’s because it has been integrated into the vehicle more holistically, to the point where it knows what the sensors are picking up. As a result, you can ask your vehicle, "What statue is outside?" and, using both the cameras and GPS data, it will be able to tell you.

In addition, according to Anders Bell, Volvo’s chief engineering and technology officer, the EX60’s user’s manual will be available to the AI, meaning that you can ask Gemini how to change features or check the tire pressure, for instance, and it will be able to give you the answer. Best of all, the conversational capabilities of the chatbot mean that drivers can ask it questions conversationally and get answers.

It will also be able to run the vehicle’s infotainment and send texts, meaning that drivers can do all the fiddly stuff they’ve wanted to do with their phones while driving, without taking their eyes off the road — or at least that’s the theory. It remains to be seen just how useful and safe (from both a driver attention and a digital security point view) that all is, but at least you can ask your car to quiz you about the Team Canada Olympic roster on lonely drives home.

When it comes to traditional safety — this is still a Volvo, after all — the EX60 impresses. The model will be the first available with active safety belts that assess an occupant’s size and weight to better protect them in case of a collision. The use of stronger boron steel in the safety cage also work to protect occupants in a crash.

Cross Country Check Up

Like the EX30, the EX60 will also be getting a more rugged Cross Country trim. The model will ride 20 mm higher than the standard EX60, and will come standard with air suspension, which allows it to rise another 20 mm on top of that for a more comfortable ride on rough road surfaces.

The EX60 Cross Country will also come with unique wheels, a brushed stainless skid plate on the front and back, and more rugged wheel arches, too. To help differentiate it further, it gets an exclusive new colour, Forest Green.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, the top trim Volvo EX60 won’t be available until next year, and will go on sale as a model year 2028 vehicle. Volvo lovers won’t have to wait that long to get into an EX60, though. Order books for the regular model are expected to open this spring, with deliveries starting in the late summer or early fall. Prices for a well-equipped P10 AWD model are expected to be around $77,500. Full pricing and trim breakdowns are expected at a later date.