VOLVO EX30
The first electric-only Volvo is many things, not all of them good – but it’s not expensive
Clean, reduced, purposeful and neatly proportioned, the EX30 could easily pass as an entry-level Polestar. It’s a good-looking piece of kit inside and out, just about roomy enough for mum, dad and up to two sprogs. And, remarkably, it’s priced from £33,795. That’s Corsa money, for something that looks and feels considerably more substantial.
It’s an agile, comfy and stylish all-rounder which can cover up to 295 miles on a single (if not overly fast) charge. The entry-level 268bhp EX30 is £13,610 less expensive than the 235bhp C40 Recharge, which has a bigger boot and more space in the back but offers few other tangible benefits. At £38,545, the long-range Volvo EX30 could lure away BMW iX1, Audi Q4 and Mercedes EQA buyers.
An extra £7200 gets the twin-motor Performance AWD variant, which fields a combined 422bhp and 401lb ft of torque. The 1850kg crossover will hit 62mph in 3.6sec, eclipsing its lesser sibling by 1.7sec. The top speed of all versions is capped at 112mph. Consumption? An official 3.96 miles per kWh. While the 49kWh battery needs recharging after only 215 miles, the 64kWh energy pack is good for 280-295 miles. A stop to charge the battery from 10 to 80 per cent could take as little as 26 minutes.
The modest 313-litre boot comes with a practical sandwich floor which can be converted with one hand. There’s a frunk, but it’s only big enough for the charging cable. The cabin looks cool in a modern, no-frills way, with lots of oddments space, and it has shed the trad glossy birchwood and softgrain leather mix for innovative second-life man-made materials which come in four different (but equally tasteful) colour and trim combinations.
Less happily, the EX30 follows the minimal-buttons philosophy we have criticised in other Geely products. In this respect, the Volvo feels like an overkill attempt to beat Tesla at its own game. So there’s zero information relayed to the driver’s prime field of vision: no instruments, no head-up display, not even a basic speed, range and state-of-charge read-out. Instead everything lives in the upright centre screen. The Google sat-nav map display is big enough, but it lacks augmented-reality assistance, a zoom feature on the approach to junctions or crossroads, a proximity sensor to blow up those minuscule icons, or pre-programmable favourites buttons.
Wipers and indicators are thankfully still stalk-operated, but the headlights and foglamps must now be switched on and off via the touchscreen, and this is also how to access climate control, seat heaters, audio system, driver-assistance features, drive modes, route planning, even opening the glovebox, you name it. Adjusting the door mirrors is a particularly fiddly task
