A new star in the making

Volvo is aiming to capture a huge slice of EV sales in the UK with its new baby SUV. Is it a winner?

Probably the thing we’ll most remember about 2023 is the influx of Chinese cars that have made EVS from established European brands look expensive. And, to be fair, they are pricey with carmakers tending to favour larger models that generate juicier profits. But that could change with the Volvo EX30 because, on the surface at least, it’s a high-quality EV with a decent electric range and has a low starting price of just under £34,000.

WHAT’S NEW?

Up until now, Volvo’s electric cars have been good but a little compromised by having to share their underpinnings with petrol and diesel models. That changes with EX30 because it’s been designed and engineered to be an EV from the very outset. Volvo is making some big claims about its new baby SUV, saying that it’s not only the quickest accelerating car it has ever built, but also the greenest. The EX30 will be the entry point to Volvo’s lineup, with the recently revealed seven-seat EX90 topping the model range.

UNDER THE BONNET?

There’s the choice of two battery options. The entry-level Single Motor model gets – forgive us for getting scientific here – a 51kwh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, which uses fewer expensive materials, is less resourceintensive, and is less degrading over time. It’s cheaper, overall, but that also means the driving range is limited – Volvo claims 214 miles, which will likely be well under 200 in normal driving, and even lower in colder weather. Then there’s the ‘NMC’ battery, which is of the type used in many electric cars, and uses lithium, nickel manganese and cobalt – precious metals, in other words. This 69kwh battery is reserved for the Single Motor Extended Range and the Twin Motor Performance models; it’s more expensive but it unlocks more range. You get up to 298 miles in the Single Motor, while the Twin

Motor travels a little less at 286 miles. Both the Single Motor and Single Motor Extended Range models have a 270bhp electric motor on the back axle, while the Twin Motor Performance gets an additional motor on the front axle and has a total output of 424bhp. It races from 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds, making it the quickest accelerating Volvo ever. The Extended and Twin Motor models get a heat pump as standard.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

The EX30 is one of those cars where pictures don’t do it justice. It’s a very handsome car that takes those classic Volvo design cues – ‘Thor’s Hammer’ headlights, strong shoulder line, and tall rear lights – and neatly updates them. There’s no need for a ‘grille’ as it’s an EV but Volvo has succeeded in giving its car an identity. It’s a simple but really good looking piece of design.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

Volvo has tried hard to ‘declutter’ things, so the central touchscreen takes pride of place and elegantly appears to be perched on the dashboard like a picture frame. It runs a new infotainment system that is fairly easy to use, but we miss the small row of buttons that you find on other older Volvos, such as the chunky volume knob. Another annoyance is the speedo being only positioned on the central screen and there being no secondary display in front of the driver, such as a head-up display.

THE VERDICT

On paper, the Volvo EX30 is a hugely tempting and much needed competitively priced offering in the burgeoning electric car market. While that low headline price is for a version that most buyers will likely find too compromised in terms of range, the EX30 is still a desirable small electric SUV that makes many EVS from supposedly more value-formany brands look unnecessarily overpriced. Factor in stylish good looks, a comfortable and tasteful interior, and the cache of that Volvo badge, and you’re left in no doubt that the EX30 will easily be a star car of 2024.