Volvo EX30 review: This £34k pocket rocket is a 'green' SUV looking to rival Tesla

• e-mail

For a car firm that extols safety as its core value, Sweden's Volvo has just launched a pocket-rocket compact family crossover that offers supercar performance combined with a green persona.

The new EX30 is Volvo's smallest ever SUV but the most powerful of its three pure electric powertrains allows it to accelerate from rest to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds.

Yet as a Swedish Tesla-rival built in China, prices for the first EX30 versions to reach the UK begin from £33,795, with a future entry - level trim to start from £31,000, making it the cheapest Volvo on the market.

Bosses say it offers a new, lower entry point to the Volvo range and provides an electric car option for approximately the price of an equivalent petrol or diesel combustion-engined car.

So should you place an order now? Well, there is one major flaw that irked us when we got behind the wheel for the first time... 

Pocket rocket: The new EX30 packs a punch and could rival Tesla - Ray Massey (pictured) puts it through its paces

The EX30 has three electric powertrains with varying degrees of oomph, range and acceleration.

During its global launch in Spain we drove two versions of the EX30 – the Single Motor Extended Range and the Twin Motor Performance – out on fast-flowing open roads, snaking around serpentine hills, as well as navigating busy urban traffic in vibrant downtown Barcelona.

The third, which we didn't drive, is the base level Single Motor. Top speed for all models is restricted electronically to 112mph.

Initially there are just two trim levels – Plus and Ultra – though an entry level Core will follow later. 

Range-topping Ultra is available only for the higher-powered Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor Performance options.

I first drove the top of the range Twin Motor Performance model in the pinnacle Ultra trim level riding on 20-inch wheels and in a sober, minimalist exterior shade called vapour grey, with an environmentally-friendly and largely recycled interior trim called mist.

It looks very smart, modern, minimalist, and spare. There are shades of its sibling Polestar EV – especially in the boxy rear light cluster.

But it's the interior that really grabs you – both from the well thought out lay-out, features and design to the environmentally-friendly recycled fabrics, materials and clever touches.

However, there is a significant niggle concerning the controls for a manner of functions without any 'hard buttons' - see what's it like to drive below.

Nifty: We put the new Volvo SUV through its paces in Spain - both on rural roads, and urban

The Plus versions come as standard with a 12.3-inch central touchscreen with built-in Google functions and wireless smartphone integration using Apple CarPlay.

There's also a Harman Kardon premium audio system with a new soundbar that extends across the width of the dashboard.

Two-zone climate control has an air-purification system and uses an energy-saving heat pump, while the heated front seats and steering wheel help with quick and efficient warming. 

A rear camera and front and rear parking sensors help the driver safely manoeuvre tight spaces.

My effortlessly swift Twin Motor Performance model had a 69kWh battery driving two electric motors developing a total 428 horse-power that allowed it to accelerate with super-car levels of performance from 0 to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds and with a range of 280 miles.

Controls: Almost all functions need to be sorted with the central control panel with no 'hard buttons'

Fast DC charging (153kWk) to 80 per cent takes 28 minutes while domestic AC charging to 80per cent takes 11.5 hours. Maximum towing weight is 1,600kg.

The calmer but no less engaging Single Motor Extended Range model has the same 69kWh battery, charging time and towing weight, but a lower 272 horse-power and the longest range of 296 miles, with 0 to 62mph acceleration in 5.3 seconds.

The entry-level Single Motor version has a 51kWh battery but the same 272 horse-power as the extended range model. It accelerates from 0 to 62mph in 5.7 seconds with a range of 214 miles.

Fast DC charging (134kW) to 80 per cent takes 26 minutes while AC charging to 80per cent takes 9.5 hours. Max towing weight is 1,000kg.

Luggage capacity on all models is 318 litres with the seats up and 904 litres with the rear seats folded.

Great to drive: Its perky and precise - but the need to carry out controls via the display screen won't be for everyone

What's it like to drive - and what's the big problem?

The Volvo EX30 looks great, is a delight to drive and is both perky and precise around town.

Out on fast-flowing road there's plenty of power, especially when overtaking, and it handles twisty mountainous bends with aplomb and grip. It's certainly no slouch.

The most powerful twin-motor version has scintillating performance. But given that most people will be using it for trips around town or family jaunts, the slightly calmer single motor version that I drove seemed perfectly adequate and quite refined.

But there's a fly in the ointment. 

Whether for reasons of cost – or to emulate the Tesla-like fashion for simplicity – nearly all key controls are carried out via a 12.3-inch display screen sitting in the centre of the dashboard, with no 'hard controls'.

This means you have to turn your head away from the road to carry out some of the most basic safety functions - and that includes setting the side-view wing mirrors.

Volvo argues drivers will do that only once – before they set off. But my experience is that there are times when you do need to give them a tweak. And you then have to scroll through on-screen menus to do it.

Price: The first EX-30 versions that will reach the UK begin from £33,795

Why not a simple mechanical knob for such a safety critical function from a firm that has safety in its DNA? Anyone else you might forgive. But Volvo is a byword for safety with a stated aim to make its cars fatality free. This will not make it easier.

This is Money checked, and there won't be head-up display. So you have to turn your head away from the road. There is voice control. But that's far from a perfect option.

This screen is also needed to control all manner of other features with no other option. That includes opening the glovebox, setting the heating and air con, the audio, lights, heated seats and wiper sensitivity.  

Memo to Volvo: just because you can do something, doesn't mean you have to. Motorists are human beings. This issue was also the subject of much vigorous discussion with Volvo techies and executives among those on the launch.

The EX30 is the Swedish car firm's first small premium SUV and the third successive Volvo to be offered as a fully electric car only, following on from the C40 and EX90, and is hailed as a 'cornerstone' of its further electrification ambitions.

In environmental terms, the new EX30 contains 25 per cent recycled aluminium, 17 per cent recycled steel, and 17 per cent recycled plastic and is designed to have the smallest CO2 footprint of any Volvo car to date.

It is built around a special 'sustainable' platform, developed by Volvo's Chinese parent company Geely Holding, which also own's Britain's Lotus, Polestar, and London black cab manufacturer LEVC.

It will be manufactured in China at Geely's Zhangjiakou plant.

The EX90s's 'green' roots 

Upholstery for the upper part of the seats is produced using a 3D knitting process that knits only the required area to reduce material waste. 

Much of the dashboard is made out of ground plastic waste from discarded PVC window frames and roller shutters. 

Textile mats are made by recycling discarded fishing nets while the car's carpet is made from 100 per cent recycled plastic (PET) bottles.

The grain on the door panels is reproduced from a granite stone found the lakeside town of Mariestad in southern Sweden.

Inside, customers can choose between four different interior designs, or 'rooms', each with a different combination of recyclable and renewable materials, including breeze, indigo, mist, and pine. 

This includes using 'upcycled' denim fibre - usually a waste product of recycling jeans - in the dashboard.

The slim metal door handles have real heft and weight to them.

A home cinema-style soundbar below the windscreen covers the full width of the dashboard and thus removes the need for speakers in the doors, which also frees up storage space.

The soundbar cleverly carries the indicator noise - which is based in the sound of breaking twigs to echo the EX30's green credentials - across the dashboard from the centre to the left of the cabin if you're turning that way, and vice versa when manoeuvring right. 

The central glove compartment is designed to be easily reachable by both driver and front-seat passenger. 

A removable storage box in the rear section of the central tunnel console is designed to be washed clean and is accessed via the rear passenger compartment.

A pair of small storage pouches within the larger rear seat pockets are designed so that passengers in the back can store their phones securely without sliding down out of reach.

The flexible load floor in the boot can be moved in a one-hand manoeuvre to be flat or to reveal lower level, with a

A variety of interior ambient light themes inspired by Scandinavian landscapes shift slowly in tone and shade,

Versatile central storage areas between the driver and front-seat passenger include: a hidden illuminated storage compartment underneath for small items; and a sliding and extendable cupholder drawer that can store one or two cups or be slid back for extra storage.

Safety

An advanced suite of active safety features helps protect occupants, and those around it.

This includes a system to prevent the driver and passengers opening their door into the path of passing cyclists approaching from behind.

Optional driver support includes a new generation of Pilot Assist which provides adaptive cruise control with steering assistance to help keep the car safely within its lane, and helps you to change lanes when indicating and allows more space for comfort when passing large trucks. 

There's also a new generation automated Park Pilot Assist.

Cross country

Also in the pipeline to order from next year is a rugged EX30 Cross Country variant designed for customers who want a more rugged and adventurous small electric SUV. 

It will include a range of bespoke features, including a raised ride height, black trim front and rear, front, side and rear skid-plates, plus the option of special wheels and tyres.

Buyer profile: Volvo predicts the majority will buy an EX30 as a second car, drive fewer than 31 miles a day, and have access to home charging

Who will buy it?

Volvo says seven out of ten buyers are expected to be 'conquest sales' from rival manufacturers, the majority from the small SUV segment, who might otherwise consider an Audi Q2, Jeep Avenger, Mini Countryman or Smart.

It predicts the majority will buy an EX30 as a second car, drive fewer than 31 miles a day, and have access to home charging.

The Volvo EX30 really is a great car – but with one significant flaw. I hope someone at Volvo is looking in the wing mirror to see how they might rectify it.