Volvo EX60 is a brilliantly executed EV

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Volvo has been working on electric vehicles since 1976, and it shows: The 2026 Volvo EX60 has emerged as one of the year’s best, and thus worthy of receiving a Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems award.

The EX60 combines emissions-free environmental responsibility with more than a little driving excitement. And it’s the first implementation of the SPA3 architecture, which is Volvo’s first ground-up EV platform.

“Volvo made many iterative improvements to the EX60 over its other EV models and it shows. Really well done,” said Robin Warner, a Wards 10 Best Engines & Propulsion Systems judge.

The EX60 is a two-row SUV that comfortably seats five and has a maximum cargo capacity of 63 cubic feet. This is an electric utility vehicle that offers real-world functionality.

The Wards team assessed the all-wheel-drive P10, which has two motors — one on the front axle and one on the rear. Both motors are produced in house by Volvo at its powertrain plant in Skövde, Sweden, which is approximately 100 miles away from the Volvo Torslanda plant, just outside the company’s headquarters in Gothenburg.

The front motor, an induction/asynchronous type, has a 268-horsepower output and the rear motor, a permanent-magnet synchronous type, makes 402 hp. The total output of the system maxes out at 503 hp because the AWD system balances power in driving.

In typical driving situations, power distribution is around 40% to the front axle and 60% to the rear axle. The system automatically makes adjustments predicated on driving conditions. So, for example, while cruising along at a steady speed on the highway the front motor will be turned off in order to improve overall operational efficiency. In the event wheel slippage is detected, power to that wheel is reduced and redistributed to the wheels with the best grip.

And although the aforementioned typical driving situations likely don’t include putting the accelerator to the floorboard, when that does occur the EX60 goes from 0 to 60 mph in an official 4.4 seconds.

The EX60 uses nickel manganese cobalt batteries produced by Sunwoda Electronic. There are 192 prismatic cells, each with a nominal voltage of 3.75 volts, connected in series. The total battery capacity is 95 kWh.

Volvo also uses the battery as a structural element in the EX60’s SPA3 architecture. That is, the cells are integrated into the floor structure, so the battery contributes to the strength and rigidity of the overall structure while enhancing interior packaging.

It is an 800-volt electrical architecture. With a DC fast charger, the battery can be charged from 10% to 80% in 16 minutes. It has a native North American Charging Standard port, so it can use the Tesla Supercharger network.

The EX60 P10 has an EPA estimated range of 330 miles, which makes it the longest-range EV Volvo has ever sold in the U.S. What’s more, the 95-kWh battery propels the EX60 further than comparable luxury midsize EV SUVs with batteries equal to or bigger than the Volvo’s — perhaps the best proof of the automaker’s accomplishment.