Volvo has come up with a winner with their smallest SUV, the EX30 which I spent a week with and as each new day dawned I came to like it more and more. Volvo certainly have high hopes for this model as it comes well equipped and extremely well put together.
The new EX30 is fully electric and with new models entering the market almost on a daily basis, this member of the Volvo family will have to fight off stiff competition and one of their aces is competitive pricing and Volvo claim that by 2030 all of their range will be EVs. Currently there is a growing demand for compact, fully electric premium SUVs and looking ahead we can expect offerings from the likes of Porsche.
To the heart of the EX30, there are a choice of three powertrain options and two different battery types; for urban dwellers who spend a good deal of time in town or the city, thus shorter distances are travelled, a single-motor option with an LFP battery. The LFP standard-range battery, which uses lithium iron phosphate chemistry, is more cost-effective and less resource-intensive to produce, meaning it is the best option if you do not require maximum range. The Single Motor Extended Range with an NMC extended-range battery features lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt, and produces its energy more efficiently than the LFP variant. This single-motor, extended-range option gives you a range of up to 480km (298m) between charges. For those in our midst, myself included, who desire performance, the Twin Motor Performance were the NMC battery has an additional second e-motor. This all-wheel-drive model provides 315kW (428hp) and takes you from rest to 100kph (62mph) in 3.6 seconds, worthy of note, it is the fastest-accelerating car to come from Volvo. The extended-range Twin Motor model has a charging capacity of up to 153kW, while the standard-range car has a capacity of 134kW; good news you can charge your battery from 10 to 80 per cent in just over 25 minutes.Down the years one thing has been given priority by Volvo- safety and no surprise it is well equipped to keep driver and passengers safe; one example, a special safety feature for bikes that helps to prevent so-called ‘dooring’ accidents by alerting you when you are about to open your door in front of a cyclist, or a runner. This is the first Volvo to include a new generation of Park Pilot Assist which handle all types of parking spaces, including parallel, curved, perpendicular and diagonal fishbone-style, making parking in tight spaces a breeze. This system will identify any available parking spots and once you have tapped the one you want in the new 3D user interface, the feature will operate the accelerator and brake as well as the steering. While you supervise the parking process, the screen shows the distance to objects such as cars, walls and bollards in metric or imperial figures. To date this is the best system I have encountered. The modern car is packed with tech and this Volvo excels in this respect and those who love their technology will certainly approve. An iPad-like screen is very much the command centre and I must admit does take some getting used to, however by the end of the week I had it sorted and I did enjoy. Thankfully such actions as wipers, indicators and lowering of the front side windows are manual. I know that some will say that Volvo may have gone too far with the use of the large screen.
Summing up, this is a well-appointed compact SUV, packed with on-board goodies and in the handling department, it delivers a good drive with a rather firm suspension set up, which may not please all.
