Volvo has pulled the covers from its latest electric model and Volvo is going small. The Volvo EX30 is the smallest SUV from the Swedish car company and it's fully electric. The aim of the Volvo EX30 is to drag the price of electric cars down, making them more accessible - and bringing the benefit of Volvo's safety heritage and design to more buyers.
The Volvo EX30 price will be £33,795 in the UK - or €36,000 - which is some £15k cheaper than the larger XC40 Recharge, bringing real variety to the company's offering. It also falls right into the segment of the car market selling like hotcakes - or should that be cupcakes? - as compact SUVs are all the rage.
Volvo is understandably pitching this as an urban SUV, the compact dimensions making it more manoeuvrable in tighter streets, while giving the passengers the safety and comfort they'd expect from a Volvo. With that in mind, this model debuts an enhanced Park Pilot Assist function to help you squeeze into the tightest spaces, while it also offers Door Opening Alert, designed to stop you opening the door and hitting a cyclist.
But we're really here to marvel at the tech, so let's start with the EX30 powertrain configurations. There are three options, with Volvo offering a 51kWh battery model with single motor for 272hp at the entry point, then stepping up to a 69kWh battery with either single (272hp) or twin motor (428hp) options.
That's going to result in 214 miles from the entry-level option, before stepping up to 298 and 286 miles respectively, so there are options for all kinds of drivers here.
What this allows is for Volvo to offer that competitive price, and the EX30 undercuts the Vauxhall Mokka, for example, while offering more power, and comes in around the same price as the Mini Electric, while offering a larger battery and greater range. That already sounds too good to be true.
The interior has a minimalist aesthetic, but you get the essentials, with a 12.3-inch central display. It's powered by Google as we’ve seen on previous Volvo models, while you also get wireless Apple CarPlay for the first time, which will appeal to younger buyers. You don't have to use Apple's systems, as the car's own services come from Google, so you can navigate with Google Maps and use Google Search to help you find things.
There are two trim levels, with a high level of standard specification, including a heat pump (on all but the most basic model), as well as a Harman Kardon sound system. The Ultra trim gets a 360 degree camera, panoramic sunroof and power adjustable seats, among other comforts.
The interior also has a hint of Tesla about it, which is where it really differentiates itself from the XC40 Recharge, which is much more conventional. On the Volvo EX30 there's a sliding centre console, the glovebox in the centre of the car beneath the display - and speaking of which - there's no driver display. That's where the Tesla looks come from, with everything on that central display and the drive shifter on a stalk on the steering column too. The steering wheel controls appear to be rather more normal.
The result is likely to be a car that's popular with drivers. It's going to offer SUV space, with a trendy minimalism which has the added advantage of keeping the price down.
The Volvo EX30 is now open for orders, with deliveries expected in early 2024.