2024 Volvo EX30 review: First Australian drive

Volvo has been in a relatively quiet product period after delivering a cracking trio of SUVs between 2015 and 2019, but now comes a pivotal smaller SUV to sit below the XC90, XC60 and XC40.

The EX30 is a battery compact SUV that will not only deliver greater sales volume than relatively niche models such as the S60 sedan and C40 coupe-SUV, but is predicted by the Swedish brand to become its best-selling vehicle.

Non-traditional colour options such as Moss Yellow and Cloud Blue reveal much about the EX30’s (younger) target audience, while Volvo says it’s pulling buyers from other brands.

The EX30 also continues the Swedish brand’s transition to an all-electric line-up – from 2030 globally and, even more ambitiously, 2026 locally.

Direct rivals aren’t in short supply. They include the Cupra Born hatch (and its forthcoming twin, the VW ID.3), Hyundai Kona Electric Premium, Peugeot E-2008, and Renault Megane E-Tech. There’s also the upcoming Mini Countryman Electric.

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JUMP AHEAD

• Pricing and features
• Interior
• On the road
• First verdict
• Specifications

Pricing and features

Volvo’s smallest model isn’t its cheapest.

The EX30 starts from $59,990, positioning it five-grand above the petrol-powered entry-level XC40. Pricing was announced way back in mid 2023, though at launch Volvo announced increases for the other two variants that form a three-model line-up.

The mid-range Extended Ultra moves from $64,990 to $66,290; the flagship Performance Ultra shifts the other side of $70K, also up $$1300 to $71,290.

Every EX30’s power source is a 64kWh (useable) battery, with the Extended Plus and Extended Ultra models sharing a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive set-up. The Performance Ultra offers all-wheel drive via a dual-motor arrangement and is naturally the most powerful model, producing 315kW/543Nm to the single motor’s 200kW/343Nm, and is, somewhat bizarrely, Volvo’s quickest vehicle yet.

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Volvo quotes 3.6 seconds for the 0-100km/h test, with the single-motor models hardly slow-coaches at 5.3 seconds.

They counter with longer WLTP battery ranges, though only 20km more than the 460km of the twin-motor Performance Ultra.

You can click on the feature link below for our detailed guide to the EX30’s pricing and specification, though we can also distill the highlights for each model here.

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The Extended Plus entry model’s key features comprise auto tailgate, digital key, wireless phone charging, and an infotainment set-up incorporating a 12.3-inch touchscreen and a Harman Kardon audio system with soundbar.

Laying out another $6300 for the Extended Ultra adds heating function and electric adjustment for the front seats, heated steering wheel, rear privacy glass, fixed panoramic sunroof, and two major parking aids: a surround-view camera plus a new-generation version of Volvo’s Pilot Park Assist, which can now detect a wider range of parking spaces and controls acceleration and braking in addition to the steering.

The Performance Ultra replicates those features while swapping the Extended Ultra’s 19-inch wheels for 20s.

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Interior

Mix a bit of inspiration from Tesla and Volvo’s own XC40 into VW Golf hatch-sized dimensions and you have a basic idea of the EX30’s cabin.

The XC40 nods include generously sized (and easily accessible) door pockets, enabled by an absence of door speakers – and instead a dashboard-spanning soundbar that’s linked to a standard Harman Kardon audio.

Then there’s the hugely versatile centre console system that comprises upper and lower sections.

Small bags or other items can be placed on lower, floor part, which includes flaps that open to reveal a hidden storage area that can keep wallets out of view, or keep cables neatly out of the way.

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Ahead of the armrest (which in an automotive rarity doesn’t double as a console cubby in this car’s case), a protruding horizontal section features a top layer with octagonal-shaped cupholders – which can be slid back to create a wider storage box.

The cleverness doesn’t stop there as the whole protruding section can be pushed back partly to create a larger singular cupholder or pushed right out of the way to make access to the lower storage area even easier.

Less successful is the glovebox that opens from a central dash position rather than the conventional passenger side. It’s not a bad size but when it opens – via a touchscreen button (the first of the Tesla nods) – it has a habit of knocking the driver’s left knee.

Then what looks like a Model 3/Y-style angled dual phone charging tray turns out of offer inductive charging on the left side only.

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There are delightful design details such as the ‘floating’ door armrests and rectangular door handles, many surface trims are visually interesting, and while hard plastics are more widely used than in other Volvos they at least some are comprised of sustainable materials.

Just like Tesla owners, EX30 drivers can turn their smartphone into a digital key to lock/unlock and, after swiping over the NFC (Near Field Communication) readers, start the car.

Volvo seats have a long-deserved reputation for excellent ergonomics and the EX30’s pews – whether all-fabric or pleather/fabric – doesn’t betray that tradition.

Cleverly, Ultra models feature a single, squircle electric seat-adjust knob, with a middle button that can be pressed to cycle through movement options on the central touchscreen.

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There’s also a squircle design for the steering wheel, though Volvo thankfully sticks to its favoured portrait shape for the 12.3-inch touchscreen.

This is one of the biggest Tesla influences as it controls most vehicle functions and is the only display for vehicle information including speed. As with a Model 3 and Y, there’s no head-up display option.

The EX30 isn’t a marvel of packaging. Despite its battery platform, there’s less rear-seat space and boot capacity (318 litres) than you’ll find in a similarly sized Golf hatchback – and this despite the fact that the EX30 also packs no spacesaver spare wheel, leaving you just a puncture kit.

Volvo admits the car is intended more for a two-vehicle garage or that some buyers who come to see the EX30 in a showroom may decide they instead need an XC40 or XC60.

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On the road

We’ve regularly criticised the Model 3 and Y for their everything-in-one-display approach (and lack of standard HUDs), because they require the driver to avert their eyes from the road for more than a glance to find various functions. The same applies to the EX30.

Although Volvo has created some icon shortcuts for items such as mirrors and wipers on one of the menu pages, other functions/modes are more deeply buried - two or three menu pages away. It’s compounded by the steering-wheel-mounted driver monitor that will beep and warn the driver if it thinks they’re not paying attention for long enough.

The adaptive cruise function is a better Tesla copy, though, where it can be engaged/disengage simply by pushing down on the transmission stalk.

Wiper functions are also positioned conveniently on the left (indicator) stalk.

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All-round vision is excellent and the EX30’s compact dimensions and sprightly performance – regardless of single or dual motors – make the smallest Volvo a wonderfully nimble urban runabout.

The 315kW/543Nm dual-motor, all-wheel-drive model has the unexpected label of being the company’s fastest-accelerating vehicle yet – quoted at 3.6 seconds for the 0-100km/h!

Such an unlikely car to boast that claim, though we guess there would be some fun in having a moss-yellow EX30 capable of outsprinting most AMGs.

Otherwise there’s ample pace provided by the 200kW/343Nm single-motor EX30s, evidenced by a no-slouch 5.3 seconds. In (non-timed) 50-80km/h and 70-100km/h runs we made, the less powerful, rear-drive model proved it can make easy work of overtaking.

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Battery ranges aren’t as different as would be expected for RWD and AWD variants, separated by just 20km in WLTP ratings – 480km for the Single Motor, 460km for the Twin Motor.

Volvo EV batteries have hitherto regularly failed to live up to their WLTP promises in the real world. We’ll have to wait for a full test of the EX30 to assess whether it can improve on the XC40 Recharge and C40 (soon to be renamed the EX40 and EC40).

All test models on launch were fitted with 20-inch wheels. They’re standard on Ultra models, with the base Extended Plus sitting on 19s.

We can’t report the ride experience for the latter, but there’s a firmness to the way the 20s-shod EX30s roll without evidence of any jarring or crashing on the launch route.

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The EX30’s suspension deals adeptly with pockmarked roads, though the heavier Performance twin-motor – which feels all its 110kg over the 1850kg Single Motor model – is prone to bouncing on undulating surfaces.

Three steering settings are available – buried distractingly in the infotainment system – with Firm our clear favourite over Soft and Normal for its preferable level of (heavier) weighting and accuracy.

This doesn’t quite help transform the EX30 Performance Ultra into an electric hot-hatch wannabe. Pushing the pace reveals a chassis that can get itself into a bit of a knot in tighter corners, not helped by an overly eager stability control nanny.

Dial the wick back from rapid to brisk, however, and the EX30 feels plentifully assured negotiating a country road, with the added bonus of 20-inch tyres that are respectably quiet on most surfaces.

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First verdict

Relatively short stints behind the wheel of a Single- and Twin-Motor mean we need to wait for a longer, fuller test to delve deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of the EX30, yet it’s telling that we can’t wait to do so.

First impressions are that Volvo has played yet another strong SUV card, further broadening its appeal to a younger customer demographic following the XC40's introduction.

While not perfect by any means, Volvo's smallest model crucially remains big on the sophisticated, Swedish-luxury vibe that has made such a success of the company's larger SUVs.

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