Pros and cons of Volvo’s smallest EX30 SUV

The EX30 is Volvo’s first small premium SUV which, with its compact size, is designed primarily for use in urban environments and aimed at young people seeking to buy their first electric vehicle. It is basically a replacement for the V40 model. Its arrival expands Volvo’s all-electric offering to four models.

In looks, this small Volvo is attractive from every angle and my car looked well in its Crystal White exterior, contrasting dark privacy glass, fixed panoramic sunroof, long wheelbase and large 20.5-inch, 5-spoke alloy wheels. It also has a wonderful digital rendition of Volvo’s Thor’s Hammer headlights.

You unlock the car by tapping a flexible plastic card on a tiny circle on the driver’s B-Pillar. Finding it in the dark required light from my mobile phone.

The well designed interior is what you’d expect from Volvo but the overall dull grey look and cold blue material across the dash of my car didn’t give a very warm feel. There are other interior ’room’ options which may look more enticing. The seats can be heated as can the steering wheel. My seat was really comfy and came with lumbar support and memory settings but there wasn’t much rear legroom behind my tall front-seat passenger. There is no transmission tunnel in the back which frees up leg space.

There’s no On/Off button which always makes me uneasy in such cars and the minimalist dash has hardly any switches with almost every basic key function controlled via the huge 12.3-inch Google-powered central touchscreen at a time that some carmakers are returning to providing physical controls on the dash for key functions. It means you have to work through many screens to get at simple controls - like adjusting the side mirrors, blind spot monitors, the radio, volume, connecting your phone. It’s frustrating and annoying, even dangerous to do this while driving. I recommend you set all controls before taking to the road. You also open the glove box and boot through the infotainment screen. You can’t open the boot with the key fob.

The infotainment system controls Apple CarPlay, Navigation with Google Maps, Voice Recognition with Google Assistant, Park Pilot Assist and a 360deg camera with virtual 3D view that works really well giving all-round views of the car when parking.

There’s no speedometer as your current speed is shown on the top right of the touchscreen which means having to glance across often to check your speed. A Head-Up Display on the windscreen would have been a great help in this regard. The current battery charge information is almost impossible to read it is so tiny. The two very small window switches are on the flat of the central console.

Storage areas include big door bins, a large area under the central screen, and a big open area between the front seats close to the floor. There’s a wireless mobile phone charger on the dash and two USB C-type ports front and rear.

Boot space is 318 litres which expands to 904 litres with rear backrests folded down. There’s a flexible load floor, an under floor storage space for the charging cables and the tyre sealant kit. The frunk compartment adds another 19 litres of storage.

On the road, the EX30 proved a really nice car to drive with quite light steering and good acceleration. It handled well, as it’s supposed to, and was easy to park with all the parking aids. But visibility is not great over your shoulder as the rear windows merge into the C-Pillars.

Grades are Plus and Ultra. The long list of standard items includes child locks for rear doors and ISOIX attachments on rear outer seats, front and rear parking sensors, one pedal drive, Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Collision Warning and Mitigation, Volvo’s new generation of Park Pilot Assist that can handle all types of parking spaces for you, and a door opening alert if a cyclist, scooter or runner is approaching from behind if you go to open the door.

Battery options are 49kWh and 69kWh units. Customers can choose from a 272hp Single Motor (RWD) for city owners, a 272hp Single Motor with Extended 476km range for those who need to travel farther (my car); or, for drivers who want performance, there’s a 428hp Twin Motor AWD variant with a 0-100km/h time of 3.6 seconds (€48,883 with grants etc).

You can charge the 49kWh battery at home in six hours; eight hours for the Single Motor Ext Range, or all variants in 26 minutes with a DC fast charger.

The EX30 has yet to undergo crash tests by Euro NCAP but Volvo cars are renowned for their high levels of safety features. It comes with a 3-year/100,000km warranty and an 8-year battery warranty.

PRICES: The range starts from €38,596 including SEAI grant and VRT relief: my Ultra spec car €51,095 including grant and VRT Relief. Annual Road Tax is €120.