Volvo EX30 review

A Volvo, but not as we know it. It's a smaller car than they've done for decades. And it's also electric-only. Volvo calls it a crossover, but really it's just a tall hatch.

Unless of course you desperately want it to be a crossover. If that's the case, there’s now the EX30 Cross Country with some extra black plastic cladding and suspension that’s raised even further. Only interested in that trim? Click here for its own dedicated review.

Tell me more about the range as a whole…

Well, the most remarkable EX30 is the 422bhp twin-motor version. It's startlingly rapid. The 0-62mph is a 3.6-second kick up the chuff. And it can be bought for a smidge under £41k. This is also the only powertrain that you can have with the Cross Country trim, so that’s a £45k+ car.

The 268bhp single-motor EX30 is much more sensible and has swarms of rivals. The VW ID.3 and Cupra Born are almost exactly the same length, width and height, yet have notably more space. We like the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric and the relatively new but excellent Kia EV3. The EX30 shares a platform with the Smart #1 and Europe’s Zeekr X.

You could have a Hyundai Kona Electric too, or from the Stellantis Group you could look at the mutually related electric Peugeot e-2008, DS3 E-Tense, Jeep Avenger, Vauxhall Mokka or Fiat 600e.

People are getting excited because in its small, 49kWh (useable) battery spec this is a posh Volvo for the price of a BYD or MG. Provided you can manage with less electric range.

Looks good…

Yup. Nothing falsely sporty, despite the startling performance of the top version. It's like a Volvo but smaller. The lights, disciplined surfaces and chunky stance do the trick. At the front there's no grille between the 'Thor's hammer' lights, but the Volvo badge and diagonal stripe help define a face. Proper chunky door handles too, and worth noting that it's always two-tone unless you go for the entry level ‘Core’ trim or black paint on the higher trim levels. Don’t do the latter, because there are some excellent colours available at no extra cost, including ‘Cloud Blue’ or ‘Sand Dune’.

As mentioned, the EX30 sits on an electric-only platform shared with other Geely brands including the Smart #1. So, after being styled in Sweden it was developed in China. But Volvo is unsurprisingly quick to say the EX30 has its own standard of safety. Originally it was built only in China, but since late May 2025 it has been coming out of a plant in Belgium too.

What’s the interior like?

Inside we find a choice of tasteful sets of trim material. For a change none are all-black and none of the seat choices use leather or an impersonation of it.

The interior has some canny storage spaces. As with many flat-floor EVs, they take advantage of the absence of a central tunnel. But it's a bit cramped in the back even for a car that's smallish end-to-end.

Most striking about the cabin is the simplicity. This helps reduce the parts count, making it cheaper and lower-impact to make. Same reason, they say, for the dash having almost no switches. Uh oh. Click on to the Interior tab of this review for more cabin details.

Volvo: smart, safe, sustainable eh?

Yup. The low-CO2 trick of EVs is something this car leans into so far it's almost horizontal. The trim uses recycled materials including the waste from jeans factories, fishing nets, disposable plastic bottles and even chopped-up uPVC window frames. That all saves manufacturing cost and CO2.

Now we hear a lot of this stuff from carmakers and it's often window dressing, but Volvo provides actual figures to show it's significant: more than one-sixth of the plastic in the whole car is recycled, one-sixth of the steel and one-quarter of the aluminium.

The base model has LFP battery cathodes. These use more abundant minerals with less energy-intensive mining and manufacture than the ones in the longer-range, 64kWh NMC battery. The Volvo factory and those of nearly all suppliers use entirely renewable energy.

The audited CO2 footprint of a base-model EX30 out of the factory is only 18 tonnes; not much more than many petrol rivals. The UK electricity it uses to drive for an 8,000-mile year emits about 0.4 tonnes of power-station CO2, where a petrol car would emit 1.8 tonnes from its exhaust. So the EX30's lifetime CO2 is about half that of a petrol.

How does it go?

Even the slow one is quick. Zero-to-62 in 5.7s, and the long-range version is slightly quicker still because the battery can flow more current. For the headline 3.6-second sprint, you need the twin-motor version.

Range is 209 miles WLTP for the base version, then with the bigger-capacity pack in Single Motor Extended Range form you get 295 miles, or 280 miles if you want the Twin Motor Performance.

The steering is quick but numb, the rear-drive traction undramatic. It feels neat and compact, pivoting under you tidily but without engaging you. The ride is well-judged, with controlled damping but good shock isolation. Put it this way, it’s much better than its Smart and Zeekr siblings.

For more, click through to the Driving tab.

How much will it cost me?

Well, it’s on sale in the UK right now with three different trim levels and three battery/motor setups available. Entry level is the basic ‘Core’ trim starting at £31,560 with a £1,500 discount at the time of writing. That can only be combined with the RWD setups.

The mid-range ‘Plus’ trim opens up every possible powertrain, with prices starting at £33,660 for the smallest battery. Your cheapest way into the twin-motor version is with this trim, costing £40,860 before options.

Top spec Ultra trim will set you back at least £41,860 with the single motor and bigger battery, or it’s currently £44,360 to pair that with the twin-motor powertrain.

The EX30 feels strong and refined, with a neat-looking cabin. That'll please Volvo buyers. For the brand image for the money, it looks like a bargain compared with rivals. But really its cabin feels cheaper than a Renault Megane's and the lack of physical buttons really does grate when living with it. It's also cramped in the back. Even the little Jeep Avenger is roomier.

The control-screen system looks good but it's properly annoying to use. The only way it won't distract you is if you have the discipline not to change climate, audio or driving settings on the move. There is one shortcut button on the wheel, but you’ll be wishing there were four or five.

Otherwise though, we really admire the design of this cabin. Not just because of the elegant simplicity, but for the sustainability angle. Bottom-line: unless you're sat in the back, or diving deep into the screen menus just to turn on the fog lights, this is a likeable and admirable car.

The single-motor version with the bigger battery will be the big seller, and that’s lucky because it’s both the best to drive and the most efficient.