Volvo EX30 Review

Introduction

Volvo doesn’t make cheap cars. They’re a premium product with a delightful blend of Scandinavian style and Nordic luxury that demands a higher price tag. This makes it somewhat of a surprise to find that its cheapest car is an electric model.

Electric cars are meant to be expensive, but the EX30 we’re driving here starts at £32,850. That’s the same as a mid-spec Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

It’s got to that price point with some careful sharing of components with the Smart #1 and Zeekr X, both brands owned by Volvo paymasters at Geely.

The price tag might suggest a budget model with quality slashed, but it still looks like a Volvo. Let’s find out if it still feels like one…

At a Glance

To keep the price tag down, the entry-level Volvo EX30 models are fitted with a 49kWh battery pack, which is good for just 209 miles before you’ll need to plug it in, at least according to WLTP testing figures. Happily, there are models with larger batteries and models with more performance — at extra cost, of course.

Volvo hasn’t cut costs in the design department, as the mini-SUV body that wraps around all the tech looks fantastic. It’s small, at 20cm shorter than the previous small Volvo, the XC40, but everything is in proportion. And, by being a pure-electric model, packaging has been optimised to free up lots of interior space.

The rectangular rear lights that run the entire width of the car stand out as being modern yet, somehow, traditionally Volvo, with another set of lights running up the hatch pillars to the roof. It harks back to the Volvo 850 estate that we loved to watch racing in the British Touring Car Championship and still manages to evoke memories of the 1970’s 240.

Inside, it’s a classy palace of minimalism. Look for buttons or switches, and you could be there for some time, as everything’s been transferred to a dominant digital infotainment screen in the centre. The march of progress, I guess…

Key Features

Let’s talk about batteries a little more. Honestly, this is (mildly) interesting.

The entry-level EX30 is fitted with a 49kWh battery pack, which is a little smaller than you’ll find in a Peugeot e-2008 and well under the capacity of a Renault Megane E-Tech or Kia Niro EV. It undercuts all of them on price, though.

Something had to give to hit that price point, and Volvo has looked at the battery tech. While everybody else is pushing for as much energy dentistry as possible — getting more power from smaller batteries — Volvo has opted to fit lithium iron phosphate (LFP) units into the entry-level EX30. That’s a less energy-dense material than the usual lithium-ion or nickel-metal hydride batteries you find in most cars, but it also uses fewer rare earth materials and is less susceptible to losing capacity over time.

It’s an intelligent decision to opt for a cheaper, (slightly) more environmentally friendly battery pack that still gives most users a week’s worth of urban motoring without any issue.

And if you do need to travel further, Volvo can provide an EX30 with a 65kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt battery pack, which packs a bigger, harder, longer punch.

Performance & Drive

Under the bonnet of the EX30 is, well, nothing. The motor is in the back, driving the rear wheels, at least on the Single Motor models. We’re in the Single Motor Extended Range model, so we get the larger 65kWh battery and a 272hp motor, which is quite a lot for a small car.

Apart from a slight hesitation off the line, it feels incredibly snappy, racing from a standstill to 62mph in just 5.3 seconds, which would have been supercar rivalling speeds about 20 years ago. Now, it’s what you get in a family SUV.

If that’s not enough, the Twin Motor model, which has another motor at the front of the car, will unleash all 428hp and get you to 62mph in 3.6 seconds. That’ll rival many a modern supercar.With that thrill over, you can relax and find that the chassis of the EX30 is a fine development, giving the car a composed and reassuring solidity. It’s firm, with suspension that is far from perfect at low speeds, which is unfortunate as that’s where it’s likely to spend most of its time, but it transforms as you go quicker. Crank it up to cross-country speeds, and the car rides over bumps, undulations, cracks and even potholes with a surprising amount of fluidity.

It turns well enough, with pleasingly precise steering, although it can never quite mask the almost two tonnes the car weighs.

Running Costs

That low price tag and some good residual values translate to affordable leasing costs, but there’s more to running a car than a monthly payment.

Happily, the Volvo EX30 does well here, assuming you can resist mashing your foot to the floor each day to experience the intense performance. Officially, the 65kWh model we’re in will run for 296 miles, which broadly matches its rivals — the Kia Niro EV, with its 64kWh battery, will manage 285 miles between charges, and the Renault Megane E-Tech will manage 280 miles before needing to find a plug.

We covered a lot of miles in our EX30, from motorways to mountains and unclassified tracks to urban sprawl, and averaged 3.4 miles per kWh at the end of it all. That translates to a range of 221 miles, which is some way short of the official figure of 294 miles, and that’s without any cold weather impacting performance.

On the right electricity tariff at home, where rates can be as low as 7p per kWh, you’ll be looking at spending a little over £2 per 100 miles, which is close to the equivalent of 300mpg if you spend £1.50 on a litre of fuel. Charge up at an expensive motorway charger, and that could drop to under 30mpg equivalent, so pick and choose your charging points carefully.

When you do need to charge, the EX30 can take 154kW of energy, meaning you can take the car from 10-80% charge in under half an hour.

Warranty cover lasts for three years and is limited to 60,000 miles, with the battery covered for an additional five years, up to 100,000 miles.

Interior 

A quick bit of housekeeping: the EX30 is tiny, and that means the back seats are a little tight. Up front, there’s plenty of room. The boot is small, thanks to the electric motor underneath, with 318 litres of capacity on offer, which is 157 litres less than a Kia Niro EV provides. It’s made more practical by an ingenious ‘will it fit?’ guide stamped onto the boot lid, highlighting what can and can’t squeeze in there.

That’s the essentials covered, so let’s look at the EX30’s interior in more detail. At first glance, it’s glorious. It’s filled with innovative materials — a carpet made from plastic bottles, a dashboard topper made from discarded PVC window frames, and floor mats made of fishing nets — and has a minimalist aesthetic bordering on obsessive.

There’s nothing to disrupt the clean lines of the interior, bar a 12.3-inch infotainment screen stuck in the middle. There are no buttons on the dashboard and no gear lever getting in the way. Volvo’s also got rid of the door speakers, replacing them with a soundbar that runs under the windscreen. There’s not even an instrument panel for the driver.

You don’t need a start button either, as the car detects your presence and switches on as you take a seat. Select drive, and you’re on your way. It should all be so smooth and easy.

It isn’t.

Getting past the fact that the keycard detection often wouldn’t work, leaving you locked out of the car and fumbling around for the keyfob, the insistence that everything has to run through the infotainment screen makes living with the car more difficult.

And by everything, I mean everything. Want to open the glove box? No, there’s no handle for that — it’s a button on the screen, but a button that moves depending on what part of the system you’re in. Adjusting the mirrors takes multiple stabs at the screen before trying to work a touch-sensitive panel on the steering wheel that doesn’t work as effectively as you might hope.

With no instrument panel, the speed readout is relegated to the centre of the car, with a small set of digits at the top. It’s surrounded by other info, so not always entirely clear and, of course, never in your line of sight. Every time there’s a warning from the car — and there are many of them — it pops up a message in tiny writing that stays on screen for a flash, disappearing before you can safely glance over to read whatever it was trying to tell you.

It’s infuriating.

Volvo will tell you that the screen is in the usual field of view of a driver and that there are no negative safety issues with the move to a system that's unclear and more difficult to use — there's nowhere to brace your hand when operating the screen, so you’re often left stabbing wildly as the EX30’s firm suspension moves you around. The fact that the plusher new EX90 is getting both a driver’s instrument panel and a head-up display suggests otherwise.

Safety

Volvo has long championed automotive safety and has made genuine advances that have been shared with every other manufacturer. It was Volvo that perfected the three-point seatbelt we all know in 1959 and gave away the patent to the world, free of charge. Literally, millions of lives have been saved by that one decision.

The decision to take a step backwards with its user interface flies in the face of that, but software updates will make it better, and future Volvo models won’t, seemingly, be quite so parsimoniously equipped.

Elsewhere, it’s still packed with endless safety tech, with everything you’d expect, plus items like full-length curtain airbags, five radars and a camera watching out for you on the road, at junctions and when parking, post-impact braking, run-off road mitigation and a whiplash protection system.

Yes, some of the electronic monitoring systems can be a bit nannying, but most of them have to be there by law now, so there’s no escaping them.

Safety experts at Euro NCAP haven’t got around to putting the EX30 through its comprehensive set of tests, but the closely related Zeekr X and Smart #1 both scored the maximum five stars.

Options

There are three trim levels for the EX30: Core, Plus and Ultra. While the entry-level Core isn’t sparsely equipped, Plus is the one to go for, as it gains heated seats and steering wheel (essential on an EV), as well as adaptive cruise control with some autonomous abilities. Dimming mirrors, upgraded climate control, smart alloy wheels, wireless phone charging, and a Harmon/Kardon sound system are also good to have.

Ultra adds a panoramic roof, bigger wheels and 360-degree cameras, along with a few other bits and pieces.

Options are limited, with a choice of wheels and colours being the only choices you can make. That keeps things simple, at least.

Rival Cars

The Kia Niro EV is a long-standing favourite, with an upright SUV-like body giving the car plenty of space, including a boot that’s far larger than the Volvos. It’s not quite as efficient, though, and more expensive.

Renault went electric with the most recent Megane, which is another car we’re fond of. It looks fantastic and packs in plenty of space, with good efficiency, but huge alloy wheels really hammer the ride without offering any kind of engaging drive in return.

The Peugeot e2008 is fractionally cheaper but can’t match the Volvo’s premium feel. Its real-world driving range is poor, too, and it can’t hold a candle to any of its rivals for driving engagement.

Verdict

The elephant in the room is the reliance on Volvo’s infotainment system to control everything and the flaws around that. Let’s assume Volvo fixes that with some software updates — the EX30 will get updates over the air, just like your phone — and it evolves into a better, easier, and safer system.

With that assumption made, the Volvo EX30 is an impressive car. A thoroughly sensible set of heads at Volvo balances battery size and range with cost and performance, making it almost unbeatable for value, while the engineers have ensured it’s good to drive.

That you can have one for less than the cost of a midrange Vauxhall Corsa speaks volumes, although I’m not sure if it says more about Vauxhall’s pricing strategy or Vovlo’s shrewdness.

Whichever it is, it’s a great car at a great price, let down badly by its user interface.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Volvo EX90.

**Correct as of 23/09/2024. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 24 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £3,107.16 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.