Volvo’s EX30 is getting no small amount of attention these days. A compact SUV of no small import to the erstwhile Scandinavian company — seeing as it is determined to offer an all-EV range as soon as possible — it is efficient, more than a little attractive, and, for a Volvo, passably sporty. At least that is the story being told on the internet. Does reality match hype?
The EX30 is very much a continuation of Volvo’s recent design efforts. Think EX40, only with the gene for size turned down by about 10%.
If anything, the EX30 is more attractive than its siblings, its curves more appropriate for a small sport-cute than for, say, the oversized EX90. On the other hand, its squarish profile lends a sense of seriousness lacking in many compact crossovers. It even has a Land Rover-like floating roof thing going on. For loyal Volvoists, for whom practicality and purpose are all, the EX30 hits all the styling marks—it’s the best-looking Volvo in ages.
Minimalism maximized
The EX30 is, well, different. I realize that might seem like the most juvenile of comments, the word used too often when someone lacks the vocabulary to express exactly what they’re looking for. In my case, I mean it in the strictest possible sense, which according to the Oxford English Dictionary is “not the same as another.” In other words, unique or distinct.
What makes the EX30‘s interior dissimilar is that there’s nothing there. As in, it’s stripped way past the bare essentials. There’s one semi-large portrait-oriented touchscreen, a couple of window buttons, and, well, that’s about it. Everything else is bare. No buttons for anything — including volume control for the audio system, controls for the A/C, or even a starter button. Most noticeably, there’s no gauge set. Everything save the window toggles — and there’s only two of them to operate the four windows — is built into the infotainment system. The results of such supposed optimization is, as you might expect, mixed.
On the positive side, some of Volvo’s multi-tasking of the touch buttons is excellent. For instance, the area of the screen that is the fan speed control when you’re driving is the “end” button when charging, amongst the most convenient of charging systems I’ve yet seen. Radio station selection is excellent with a vertical scrolling system.
As for the bad, the speedometer is now just some mid-sized digits over on the centre touchscreen. Tesla, of course, does this as well, but that’s no excuse for Volvo, with the company being desirous of the strongest reputation for safety, to make it a distraction to check your speed. What were you thinking, Sven?
The range estimator and battery percentage monitor are over there as well, but they’re tiny (the battery percentage is numerical, not graphic). I just had cataract surgery, so my vision is now 20/17 — yes, better than 20/20 — so I could, in most situations, see it clearly. Those with lesser — but still legally passable — vision might have a tougher time. And forget looking for a trip meter. For one thing, its font is even smaller. For another, it’s only displayed while in Park. In other words, you don’t have any indication of how far you’ve road-tripped until you stop. Hardly convenient.
Some pundits are claiming this is a deliberate styling exercise, typical Scandinavian minimalism, they claim. I’m less sure. I can’t help but think that it’s also a cost-cutting exercise. Legacy automakers are having a hard time building electric vehicles with ICE-parity price tags. I won’t label the EX30’s cabin “cheap” — some of the materials are excellent, as well as recyclable — but it certainly seems built to a cost, and that isn’t $59,100, the MSRP of my tester.
Decent performance
The littlest EX is available both in single-motor rear-wheel-drive guise; and AWD dual-motor versions. The former boasts 268 horsepower, the latter some 424 hp. The first is more than adequate, speeding to 100 kilometres an hour in less than six seconds. In everyday use, it feels sprightly, bordering on sporty. Launch is good. So is passing trucks. The single motor, the version we tested, will be not setting any speed records, however, but never will it disappoint. As entry-level models go, the performance is impressive.
The dual-motor version — which we didn’t test — should be a veritable speedster, pushing the 1,755-kilogram sport-cute to 100 klicks in something less than four clicks of a stopwatch.
Handling is similarly impressive. With such a low centre of gravity and stiff-ish suspension — yes, the ride can be a little tumultuous — the little EX corners with elan. In fact, from behind the wheel it feels like a budget sports coupe. Oh, there’s not the fantastical levels of grip of a true sports car — that would require tires far wider than the tester’s 245/45R19 Goodyears — but roll is minimal and steering direct. Points for the EX30, then, if you’re looking for fun; points against if you’re looking to be coddled.
Decent range
All Canadian EX30s — be they single- or dual-motor — are powered by a 69-kilowatt-hour battery, with 64 of those kWh usable. Officially, it’s overall Natural Resources Canada-rated range is 420 kilometres. In our Range Finder testing — 125 kilometres an hour on Ontario’s toll-based Highway 407 — the little Volvo managed 325 klicks. That’s obviously not exemplary from a total-range point of view, but, on the other hand, it warrants a not-half-bad when it comes to efficiency.
Do the math and that works out to 19.7 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometers. That’s roughly the same as I achieved a few weeks ago in the much smaller Fiat 500e. In fact, the little Volvo is the most efficient battery-powered sport-utility I’ve tested, behind only Lucid’s incredibly efficient Air RWD sedan; and the aforementioned compact Fiat.
Transport Canada rates the littlest EX for 420 kilometres in overall driving. And that’s exactly what I achieved in a combination of about 55% city driving and 45% of my time on Toronto’s inner-city highways. That split, by the way, is how Transport Canada tests for its overall range rating, which means Volvo’s range estimations are exactly spot-on. I’ve had a few other cars come close to their range ratings — the original Porsche Taycan was the closest — but I’ve never had one go bang-on its predicted numbers. Congratulations, Volvo!
Also, that 20-kWh/100-km battery efficiency I measured in my range testing was almost exactly the same as NRCan’s 20.1-kWh/100-km highway rating. We’re talking it being off by 0.1 kWh/100 km, a discrepancy of just 0.5%. Wow! That’s never happened. Not even close. Volvo’s battery State of Charge might be nearly invisible on its touchscreen, but its ratings are spot-on!
It’s also worth noting that the EX30’s onboard range estimator is fairly accurate as well, though, in a rarity amongst EVs, its range predictions are actually pessimistic. So, for instance, while I managed those 325 km on a battery full of lithium-ions, the range estimator was predicting I would only get 306 km. At the same time, the efficiency readout said we were averaging 21.0 L/100 kilometres.
Now, never mind that the numbers are off the actual. What’s interesting — at least to we engineers that like to wile away the hours driving by doing math — is that, with 64 kWh of usable battery, that would work out to almost exactly 306 kilometres. Again, those numbers are bang-on. I know that all this congratulations about accuracy of numbers sounds ridiculous. Computers should always be consistent in their calculations, and data always shared across different algorithms therein. Sadly, so many EV onboard readouts lie — and, more importantly, do so by not cross-referencing their calculations — that the EX’s honesty is an anomaly. Again, kudos to Volvo!
Not-great charging
Unlike the smaller 49-kWh battery available in other countries, which is a lower-tech lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) design, our 69-kWh units are higher-tech nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) units. According to EVKX, one of the benefits is that, despite its old-school 400V architecture, the EX30 can attain 153-kilowatt peak charging.
Unfortunately, says the same website, the EX30 can only sustain that pace from 13% to 33% State of Charge — barely 20% of its capacity — after which it drops pretty rapidly. At 50% SoC, it’s down to 100 kW, and by 80% it’s below 40 kW. Overall, it averages 91 kW between 10% and 80% SoC, and takes about 29.5 minutes to return that 70% charge. That would be middling if it the EX boasted a large battery, but 69 kWh is on the smallish side, so speedier charging would be a boon. Though it is, as I said, a premium NMC chemistry, the Volvo still operates at 400 volts. A boost to 800V would definitely help that charging speed.
Verdict
After a week of driving Volvo’s EX30, I’m very much conflicted. On the one hand, I’m more impressed with this car’s infotainment system than that of any Volvo past. On the other, the company expects it to do too much. I do like me a little minimalism, but Volvo has taken it way too far. Whether the stylistic Spartan-ism is purely design-oriented, budget-minded, or some combination of both is unknowable. What is more easily determined is that, with a starting price of $53,700 for the Core Single Motor version — and a top price of $62,100 for the Ultra Twin Motor — the cupboard is a little bare to be a truly big bang for the buck.
That said, its efficiency is excellent. For the battery size, the highway range is decent. In town, there’s more than enough juice. Charging speed is passable and the rapidity with which it hooks up — and disengages — is likewise appreciated. Were the EX30 some $10,000 less expensive, it would be my highest-rated EV yet. As it stands — and here I’m referencing that interior minimalism again — if Volvo wants to justify the price tag, a little less austerity might be welcome.
That brings me to my final conflict. The Spartan interior — and here I am talking about the lack of an instrument cluster, the (mostly) missing odometer and general lack of information — speaks to a clientele seeing mobility as mere conveyance. On the other hand, the excellent handling and delicate steering is something only those who truly love driving will appreciate. That split personality is the EX30 in a nutshell, and my largest complaint with Volvo’s latest electric vehicle.
2024 Volvo EX30 Pros & Cons
Pros
✔ One of the most stylish Volvos in the current lineup
✔ Efficient battery and refreshingly accurate range estimates
✔ Excellent handling makes for sports-car-like fun
Cons
✘ Minimalist interior makes it feel like value isn’t there
✘ Re-charging speeds could be better
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