Infiniti Q60 vs Volvo Es90

What's the difference?

Beautiful looks, good handling, but the driving experience of the Q60 GT is let down by a numbness and disconnection relative to what's happening under you. Refinement isn't on the same level as its BMW and Benz rivals, but the GT is a perfect match for the RC 200t, while remaining good value for money. If you have your heart set on an Infiniti Q60 then I'd skip straight to the top and opt for the Red Sport.

More stylish than ever before, as quiet and refined as you'd expect from a luxury car and yet the stand out feature might once again be safety. Despite seemingly every new car being loaded to the gills with safety features, Volvo has managed to demonstrate industry best-practice and leads the way again.

I would encourage engineers from every other car brand to drive the ES90 to learn how to better integrate the modern suite of active safety features like forward collision warning and lane departure warning.

But beyond that, is the ES90 a car worthy of consideration? Well, pretty much everything it does the EX90 does too, so if you prefer an SUV that’s definitely worth consideration. But if you don’t want an SUV, if you prefer a sedan or just love to be different, the ES90 is a very attractive proposition in more ways than one.

The Q60 GT is a head turner – literally. Whenever I was driving slow enough to notice, people were rubbernecking to look at the long, low-slung coupe. I'm sure most had no idea what brand of car it was, but in its 'Iridium Blue' paint the Q60 looked amazing with its curvy, sleek profile.

There's only one small issue – the RC 200t and Q60 GT are way too similar looking, right down to their 'signature' shaped c-pillars. I prefer the grille of the Lexus but the rear of the Q60. While there might be a bit of copy-catting going on, both are prettier than their BMW or Benz rivals.

The Q60 GT feels fairly large to drive and the dimensions don't lie – 4690mm end-to-end, 2052mm across with the wing mirrors unfurled, but low at 1395mm.

The cabin treatment is just as emotional as the exterior, with its dual screens, swoopy dashboard and sectioned off driver and passenger cells.

Discussing Volvo design will draw different opinions depending on your age. As a millennial, I grew up at a time when Volvos were, to quote a famous movie line from the 1990s, ‘boxy, but good’.

But over the past two decades Volvo has smoothed off those boxy edges and become one of the most style-conscious car companies in the world. It has embraced its now-unique place as a Scandinavian carmaker and uses softer edges and more Nordic design themes (such as light coloured interior woods) to ensure the ES90 is simply a good-looking car.

What it isn’t, at least not technically-speaking, is a sedan. That’s because it has a liftback rear-end design, rather than a traditional ‘three-box’ sedan with a conventional boot. That shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for anyone and it means it’s a far more practical design.

It also sits taller than a conventional ‘sedan’, which is an increasingly common trait for modern European sedans as they try to woo would-be SUV buyers. It’s not a lot, you certainly wouldn’t call it a tall or high-riding car, but it is noticeable.

Ends up as an ‘in-between’ design, neither one thing or the other. The closest thing it reminds me of is the short-lived BMW 5-Series GT, which is damning with faint praise, but it speaks to the challenge of making something that simply isn’t an SUV appealing to the modern SUV-obsessed market.

The very stylish cabin features that previously mentioned light coloured wood (at least in our test car) and that unique Scandinavian look. It’s the closest you’ll get to sitting in a Swedish lounge room on wheels.

The short answer is not very practical - but then no two-door sports car really is. So while the front two seats are roomy (although the optional sunroof restricts headroom) the same can't be said for the back seats – at 191cm tall, not only can I not sit up straight (because of the sloping roofline), I can't fit my legs in behind my driving position.

While those large doors open wide the roofline and the lack of rear doors means trying to insert a toddler into his car seat was painful and involved kneeling in the street, there were days we took our much less fancy SUV just because it was easier.

This is a four seater – with two cupholders in between the rear seats and two more cupholders up front. Storage elsewhere is limited, with tiny pockets in the front doors and a small centre console bin to hide your phone and wallet.

The boot is also on the small side at 341 litres – don't compare this to the 423 litre of cargo capacity in the RC 200t which is measured in VDA litres. That said, there was more than enough room for our weekly shop which fitted in snugly, although you have to hoist your shopping bags high to clear that boot lip.

In terms of space the ES90 is very generous, which it should be given it's a five-metre long car. There’s loads of room front and the back so you’ll seat four adults in absolute comfort, and can squeeze in a fifth if needed. Thanks to the relatively flat floor, as well as the panoramic roof that can either be opaque or clear, the cabin feels spacious and bright even in the rear.

As for luggage space, the boot measures 424 litres, and obviously it’s very easy to access via the power liftgate. But it’s still not as big as an SUV. The EX90 offers up 655 litres of space in its five-seat configuration. Which is at least a small part of the explanation why SUVs have become the more popular choice.

But what really stands out in the cabin isn’t the space, it’s the technology. The ES90 Ultra’s multimedia system is centred around a 14.5-inch touchscreen that runs all the car’s key functions; you also get a 9.0-inch driver’s display.

Notably, Volvo has opted to offer Google’s operating systems built-in, which means while you can still run Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, if you have a Google account you can sign-in and have your contacts, address book and other details integrated into the car.

It’s a really fast system, too, supported by the most powerful software Volvo has ever put inside one of its cars. Having a big tablet-style screen is great and feels very modern, but if it runs slowly, with lag between commands, it’s not as useful. This Volvo system, particularly the transitions between menus and even the voice assistant, reacts with lightning-fast speed.

Then there’s the sound system we mentioned earlier. It’s a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins set-up with 'Dolby Atmos' and an app called Abbey Road Studios. This app has been produced in conjunction with the iconic recording studio made famous by The Beatles. The speakers and the app were all developed together to provide a superior audio experience.

The speakers themselves are incredibly powerful while staying crystal clear, with the Abbey Road app providing the ability to change the sound between 'Modern' and 'Vintage' settings that make you feel like you’re inside a recording studio.

Put simply, it is as impressive a sound system as I’ve ever experienced in a car.

The ES90 range consists of two models at the time of publication both powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor, with the twin-motor option available on the EX90 SUV currently not offered in Australia (emphasis on the word ‘currently’).

The range begins with the Pure from $88,880, before on-road costs, and is completed by the current range-topping Ultra variant, which we're testing, priced from $107,990, plus on-roads.

That means it’s cheaper than its direct rivals in the luxury electric sedan market. Audi’s e-tron GT starts at more than $200,000, the BMW i5 line-up is priced from $155,900 and the Mercedes-Benz EQE range begins at $134,900. So, even with this more expensive Ultra variant, Volvo has a clear head-start on the competition.

And Volvo hasn't managed that by skimping on standard equipment. The ES90 comes loaded with adaptive air suspension, 22-inch alloy wheels, a comprehensive safety package (as you’d expect from Volvo) as well as an electrochromic panoramic roof, a smart key you can add to your phone and 'Nordico' upholstery - Volvo’s sustainable synthetic leather.

There’s also a 25-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system, but more on that later…

The Q60 GT has a 155kW/350Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with drive being sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission. The same engine is also in the Q60 Sport Premium, while the Red Sport packs a twin-turbo V6.

As the name suggests, the ES90 Single Motor is powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor that drives the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission. The motor makes a healthy 245kW and 480Nm, so the 0-100km/h sprint time is 6.6 seconds - sprightly for such a big car.

As alluded to earlier, there is a Twin Motor, all-wheel drive ES90 variant available in overseas markets, with 500kW, but Volvo Australia is yet to confirm when, or even if that will arrive here.

An official combined fuel consumption figure of 7.7L/100km is fairly optimistic and our combination of urban, city and highway running saw the trip computer reporting back to us with 9.1L/100km. Still, that's not too bad considering how much time was spent in city traffic.

Built on Volvo’s 800-volt electrical architecture, the first Volvo to feature the technology, the ES90 is powered by a 92kWh battery that provides up to 554km of driving range on a single charge.

Volvo quotes an NEDC energy consumption of 18.5kWh/100km, with 300kW DC charging able to take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 22 minutes. A full, empty to 100 per cent charge using a 16A outlet will take 10 hours.

It should be noted that the EX90 SUV will be upgraded to the 800V architecture with the 2026 model year introduction.

I had a feeling this would happen - the GT was disappointing to drive after the Red Sport with the latter's twin-turbo V6, sports suspension, better steering and excellent Sport + drive mode. There's lots to like about the GT, though – the grip is great from the wide Dunlop SP rubber (235 40 R19 front and 255 40 R19 rear), the chassis feels taught, acceleration is good and it's a gorgeous looking car.

But there's a sense of disconnection from the driving experience I couldn't get past, such as the numb feeling in the steering which needed constant re-adjustment. I also think the suspension felt over sprung and lacked composure over small bumps in the road.

The GT and all Q60s don't have the same level of refinement as the C200 Coupe or 420i, evident from the clunky feel of the door handles to the road noise intruding into the cabin.

That 2.0-litre engine is great, but the transmission is a mood killer with it wanting to change up gears quickly to save fuel.

I'm not a fan of the cockpit. Sure it's brave and expressively designed, but the double-deck screens are confusing, there's one for nav, while the other's for media... I think. Then there are things you don't need, such as a digital compass – actually there are two, one on the display and another in the instrument cluster, but there's no digital speedo.

That 2.0-litre engine is great, but the transmission is a mood killer with it wanting to change up gears quickly to save fuel, even in 'Sport' mode.

Here's a curve ball call for you – I've just stepped out of a, Alfa Giulia Super. Close in price to the Infiniti, same sized engine, but infinitely more rewarding and fun to drive – plus you get an extra two doors.

As you’d expect from a luxury, electric car the ES90 is a quiet and refined vehicle to drive. Being a Volvo, the company has used its experience where it matters, and there is excellent insulation from the outside world. Unlike some EVs that lose the engine and hope that just makes things quieter, the ES90 gives you a genuine feeling of insulation from the exterior hustle and bustle. 

Performance is adequate from the single motor but it’s by no means a sports sedan with only 250kW/480Nm and such a big vehicle. But it has the instant response that is an EV trademark so it has all the performance this type of car and the drivers it will attract would likely need. If buyers start banging on the door for more power, Volvo can oblige, but for now it does the job you expect of a luxury four-door.

While it has the sedan silhouette, the taller body and raised ride height on the air suspension are noticeable. You will find yourself looking up at SUV drivers, but not all of them. It’s roughly the same seat height as you’ll find in a modern small SUV, so a slight elevation rather than a big boost.

The ride is what you expect from this type of car. You can adjust the suspension and steering between ‘soft’ and ‘firm’ settings, but even with the latter selected there is a lot of compliance and the ride remains comfortable.

The steering is fine most of the time, but when you have to do parking maneuvers you certainly notice the ES90's steer-by-wire technology. The steering literally feels like an old computer game steering wheel set-up, with very little resistance as the wheel lightly spins from lock-to-lock. It’s not a bad feeling, but it is a bit odd and takes some getting used to.

The ultimate take-away from the driving experience is just how relaxed it is - quiet and effortless are the two words that probably best sum it up.

This is obviously the area that Volvo is famous for, but with seemingly every other brand forced to raise their own safety features over the years, does the Swedish brand still do anything special on this front?

Absolutely.

Put simply the Volvo suite of active safety systems is better developed and better integrated. Every rival car to the ES90 will have a similar list of features, including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane departure assist, road sign information and more. But Volvo has made it work so well that unlike rival models, you never even think of turning them off, they don’t beep and bong ad nauseum, they only work if you need them in an emergency - which should be the standard.

One thing to note is the ‘bump’ on the roof (you may see in the images) to house a Lidar system. However, Volvo split with its supplier and has decided to abandon this technology for the ES90. That means the 2026 model year examples will not have the roof bump, but still come loaded with five radars, seven cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors for the excellent coverage of the surrounding environment.

The only thing that stops the ES90 being worthy of a 10/10 safety score is the lane keeping assist could do with some fine-tuning, as it has a tendency to move in the lane slightly too much.

There is no current ANCAP score for the ES90, but the EX90 SUV does, and given the organisation's previous sharing of scores between different models based on the same core underpinnings, there is no reason to believe the ‘sedan’ wouldn’t be just as safe.

The Q60 GT is covered by Infiniti's four-year/100,000km warranty.

Servicing is recommended every 12 months/25,000km. Servicing is capped at $538 for the first, then $643 and then $849 for the third.

The ES90 is covered by Volvo’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is competitive for the luxury market even if it’s shorter than the cover some mainstream brands offer.

Servicing costs are currently unclear, at the time of publication. Volvo Australia typically offers five-year servicing plans for its models but is yet to finalise the cost for its electric vehicles.

Despite its long history in Australia, Volvo still has a relatively small footprint in this country with only 28 dealers/service centres spread across the country. However, more are planned to expand that coverage in the coming years.