Introduction
This is the allnew Volvo EX30. Volvo’s third EV for India and their first EV that has been built from the grounds up. It’s big on design, big on tech, big on sustainability. But of course, what we want to know is how does it feel to drive and what’s it like out in the real world?
Platform & Design Philosophy
Based on the SEA2 platform owned by Volvo’s parent company, Gile, the EX30 is their first grounds up EV. Its job is to appeal to a younger audience and fight with the mainstream EVs with a premium badge. Now, design is quite an integral part on the EX30. They want to appeal it to the youth and make it nice and modern, and that’s I think they’ve done, but they’ve also carried forward the Volvo DNA. So, very minimalistic and very, very swelt.
Exterior Styling
The Volvo DNA is highlighted in these headlamps especially that gets the Thor hammer LED DRL. Slightly different from the XC90, the XC60 because you don’t have that single uh LED DRL strip. You have these individual elements, but they definitely do the job. Apart from that, it’s all closed off in typical EV fashion. You need the best of arrow. And speaking of arrow, to help it cut through the air, you’ve got vents at the sides of the bumpers and you’ve got some vents at the lower half as well. And that’s about it. Very simple, very no nonsense. The bonnet has two sharp creases as well. So, nothing fussy about it. And in terms of the width, it is not as wide as the XC40 or the C40. Slightly compact, but it’s not like you’d notice.
Now, over to the side, what you’ll notice is a rather unique form factor. It’s not that typical boxy look you get with the XC40, but it’s not even as much as a coupe as the C40. It’s a slightly different design philosophy, and I think it would do very well because you’ve not really seen this on Volvo before. You’ve got the high-rising shoulder line, especially towards the end. It gets a nice bit of kink as well. Uh, and with the dual tone, it just works. Then you have the wheels. Now, these are 19inch wheels. They actually look bigger in person. They look like 20s. Uh, but they are 19s in fact. And you have this nice dual tone finish to them as well. Adds a bit more character, bit more sportiness. Ground clearance is not an issue either. We’ve driven it on some really bad roads and it’s not touched yet, even with some occupants and luggage in the back. So, that’s quite a relief.
Now, when it comes to dimensions, length and wheelbase are not as long as the XC40 or the C40. So, it’s slightly compact in dimension. How that reflects on the inside is what we’ll see in a bit, but overall from the side, it definitely looks like a car that’s premium, that’s modern, and definitely that is quite unique.
And at the rear, it’s not short of drama. You get the LED tail lamps with these DRLs. Now, they are C-shaped and quite a bit of detailing going in them. You’ve got some more elements up alongside the windshield as well. You’ve got the rear wiper washer, of course. And when you look at it from the rear is when you notice that it is slightly short in height. If I stand next to it, it almost looks like a hatchback. So, you won’t have that road presence of an SUV, but it definitely is a unique looking EV and something I think that will age really well.
Interior & Features
Now, on the inside, sustainability is the name of the game. You see a lot of recycled materials used uh and it definitely looks quite unique, quite different. Does it look plush and upmarket? Not in the traditional sense. So, not a lot of leather. Don’t see any wood. Uh barely any metal used. But functional wise, everything is housed in this big 12.3 in vertical style touchscreen. Google powered touchscreen that runs on a Snapdragon chip. So very fast, very crisp. But when I say everything runs by it, I mean literally everything. There is not a single button on the dashboard. It is all part of this screen. Now, some buttons are hardcoded onto the screen like the fan speed, uh your home button, your car features, but you still have to engage multiple touches in order to get to the right functions. So, for example, if I have to adjust the fan, I have to press the fan function once, then I have to adjust the fan, it’s not just one touch right here. Even for the temperature, you have to go into the temperature and then keep on clicking it. So, yeah, it will take some time to get used to. It is a learning curve and there’s just so much packed in here that you are bound to spend a good time just learning what all this can do. Basic functions like headlamps and even the ORVMs need to be controlled via the screen and subsequently the steering which feels unnecessary and overdone.
What’s also missing as you can see is an instrument cluster which means all your car data, all your running data is right here as well. a small mini screen up here that is not touchscreen. That is part of the screen, but you can’t really do much with it. That is just basically a display for what’s going on, your speed, uh the drive selector you’re in, and your basic uh electric range uh and those things. Below that is everything that is touchscreen. Uh wireless Apple CarPlay is there unlike the XC60 which is not. Uh Android Auto is still not there, wireless. So that’s a bit of a miss.
And under that you have a lot of storage options. In fact, if you start with the doors, you have big pockets that can accommodate quite a lot. You have this big center console as well that is there for your wireless charger, for your phone storage. Even an iPad can fit here. An iPad mini I guess. And lower down here, you can open this up for more storage. It has a bit of a partition as well. And if you’re wondering where are the cup holders, they are hidden right here. two of them, but you can basically have just one or remove it all together for ease of access.
Seats are nice and comfortable. You get electronic adjust for the driver’s seat. You get lumbar and under thigh support adjust as well. You have to click on the button on the side and that basically gives you a display right here as to what is happening with the seat and what all you can adjust. Sadly, there is no ventilation or heating and there is no massage option as well. A highlight usually on Volvo cars.
Now, if you’re wondering where are the power window switches, they are not on the door. They are in the center armrest and they are just two for your front doors. But you can also control the rear windows from here as well. Just hit the rear button and that will allow you to open or shut the rear windows from here.
Big glass sunroof, but there is no sun shade. Now, today it’s cloudy. It’s not an issue, but on a hot day, this will definitely be a problem. And given that the AC takes, I mean, their own settings to cool down, it is going to be an issue, especially in hotter climate zones.
The other things you miss are speakers in the door pockets. If you look around, there are no speakers because you have one long soundbar here. Harmon Cardon powered and Volvo says that it has their individual tweeters and speakers inside it. It has a subwoofer behind the dashboard as well for added bass. How that works out, we’ll find out in a bit. But it is quite weird to not have the sound coming from here because you’re so used to it all the time.
And apart from that, a quirky feature is this sensor right here. Basically, a drowsiness detector. If you yawn in front of it or if the car detects you’re not looking at the road ahead, if your eyes are shutting, it will start chiming. It will basically start warning you. Uh there are two stages to this. There is a bit of an initial chime and then if you continue to do so, it will constantly keep beeping.
What I also notice, especially at my height in the front seat, is that you are seated quite knees up. I mean, because you’re driving, your feet are likely to be ahead, but in the passenger seat, if you sit normally, I mean, this is the position, and that is not ideal. And that is the result of the battery being under the floor. Now, it’s not under the floor so much to hamper ground clearance, but the trade-off with that is that you eat in a bit of that space on the inside. Does that affect the back as well? I’m sure it does, and that’s not a nice feeling.
Rear Seat Comfort
Now, in the back seat of the EX30, I’ll tell you the good news first, and that is the headroom. At 6’2, I don’t have an issue. Even with this glass roof, there’s a decent amount of room, and that is it. I mean, as you can see, I’m seated incredibly knees up. That is the result of the battery being quite high up in the floor. Uh knee room is not adequate at my height. This seat had to be taken considerably ahead for me to have some space. If I sat in the front, I wouldn’t be able to sit in the back with the same seating position. Even fitting three in the back is going to be quite tight because the width is just not there. You can fit two adults here. Yes, there is a flat floor for the center, but that doesn’t mean you can fit a full-size adults. Kids in the back will be fine, but that’s about it. You have power window switches in the center and surprisingly no AC vents. Now, that on a hot day is going to mean problem because it just going to make the whole car stuffy. And with this big glass roof that can easily allow the sun to come in, that is an issue. No sunlines either. And you don’t even have a center armrest. So, comfortwise, not a lot in the back seat.
Boot Space
The boot at 318 L is decent and accessible. And a unique touch is the diagram on the tailgate that shows what all it can fit. There is a 7 L franc 2 which will mostly be used up by the charging cable. And there is no spare wheel on offer.
Driving Experience: Performance & Refinement
Where it will rely most on is that driver seat and what powers it, the 272 horsepower electric motor with 343 Newton m. How that feels? Let’s find out. Globally, this EX30 is the extended range as there is a small battery pack option as well that gets LFP cells. This one uses NMC cells that are energy dense and have longer life cycles. The battery is also liquid cooled and gets an 8-year warranty.
Now, how does it feel refinement wise? It is nice and quiet. It is quite relaxed as well. Apart from slight road noise and slight wind noise at high speeds at about 100 kph, it is nice and calm in here. Vibrations are very well contained. The road damping is quite nice. So on the steering, you don’t really feel much.
And then we come to the performance. Now 0 to 100 is a claimed 5.7 seconds, but of course it’s not the most exciting number. However, push this car and there is a nice surge, but it is linear. There is none of that neck snapping reaction. So you don’t go in the back of the seat every time you push the accelerator. And that makes it very easy to drive in day-to-day scenarios.
Now while that acceleration is nice and linear, you don’t have any drive modes to help you gain a bit more in terms of response. It is set in its default setting and that is what you get. And the same goes for the regeneration as well. There is no selective regen on this car. So whatever equuperation happens during braking, you have that and then you have something called one pedal driving which is self-explanatory in traffic. Basically you don’t have to use too much of your right foot. It will detect the car in front and do the job on its own. However, selective region would have made it a lot better. So naturally you don’t have paddle shifters either. So basically all you can do from behind the driver’s seat is control your right foot. Especially on highways there’s not much to do. So, it’s not a fun and engaging car to drive, but yes, power delivery is nice and smooth. There is plenty of punch to overtake, so you won’t really feel like it needs a bit more push.
Ride & Handling
And then we come to the ride quality. Now, there is an inherent firmness with all that weight low down, but the damping is really good. So, even over low speed bumps, even though you move about slightly, there is none of that harshness or no thuds seeping into the cabin. It does not make you uncomfortable. So that’s a nice touch as well.
Now where that slight firmness in the suspension helps is in the corners. This thing remains relatively firm and relatively flat, but you won’t get much from the steering even though you have selectable modes between soft, medium, and firm. It’s basically an artificial heft added to the steering, especially in firm. So you’re not likely to engage it quite often. Soft is the best one because you get that nice light steering in the city. You can twirl it very easily. maneuverability is very good and medium is of course the best of both worlds. So I think leave it in medium and you’d be fine.
Range & Charging
And then we come to the all important topic of range. 480 km is what Volvo claims on the WLTP cycle. Obviously real world figures will be slightly different. At 95% we were looking at about 360 km of range. Of course that depends on how you’re driving, where you’re driving. Now, our driving today has mostly been on the highways, not much of the city. So, we weren’t able to get the most accurate number, but you can expect above 350 km on a single charge. And that I think is not too bad given the car is likely to do mostly urban runs and once in a while small intercity commutes. Apart from that, you’re not going to do much of highways, but if you do, 350 should be your hard deck.
Safety & ADAS
Now the EX30 also has ADAS which means in the city you have full support of the ADAS as well. [Music] Automatic braking, lane keep assist, blind spot monitor, it’s all there. And this EX30 also gets warning when you open the door and it detects someone coming from the road. Very helpful, especially in our airatric traffic conditions.
Now, the 8S is all well and good, but what this EX30 also has is this sensor right here, which I mentioned earlier, the drowsiness detector. Basically, it will scan my face, it’ll scan my eyes, it’ll scan the road up ahead, and it’ll also scan steering movement. So, when it detects that I’m basically not focusing as much, I’m getting drowsy, I’m yawning, it will start with the chimes. Now, let’s just try that out. I’ll just mimic a yawn right now. Yeah, that’s the chime. And that’s the message up there saying I need to take a break. And if I don’t do anything about it, the chimes will keep coming on until I actually pull over. So, that’s a nice safety touch.
Pricing & Competition
The bookings for the EX30 will start on the 20th of August. The price will be revealed in September and deliveries to customers will commence in October. Pricing for the EX30 is likely to be aggressive and will undercut the EX40 and C40. In terms of battery size, it will go up against the BMW EX1 and Mercedes-Benz EQA Plus. But around the 50 lakh mark, it will also have to fight some strong EVs like the Hyundai Ioni 5, BYD Cline 7, and even the Kia EV6 that pack a whole lot more.
Conclusion
The Volvo falls short on rear seat space and misses some basic features, but its strong suits are its modern design, sustainable interior, and the premium badge that will look to attract buyers. It has its strengths, but it also has its work cut out.