Showroom lure or good deal?
Just like the Opel Kadett decades ago and the Tesla Model 3, you could just come across the Volvo EX30 on almost every street corner. The EX30 is already available from €36,795 and is therefore even less expensive than, say, a considerably smaller Opel Corsa Electric. But, what’s actually in it, on or on such an entry-level EX30? In this episode of Back to Basics we find out.
To start with the good news: for an electric crossover from a brand that describes itself as premium, the Volvo EX30 is an absolute price packer. As a Core, it is already from €36,795 and for that amount you will certainly not be sent home with window winders and steel wheels. And then you can also receive a €2,950 purchase subsidy. Before we look at what the Volvo EX30 Core has to offer, let’s take a quick look at the various versions in which you can order it.
Core: 344 kilometers range, 0-100 km / h in 5.7 counts
The Volvo EX30 is available in the Netherlands with various powertrains. The starting price of €36,795 applies to the EX30 Single Motor in Core version. The EX30 Single Motor is the variant with a 51-kWh LFP battery (49 kWh net) and a 272 hp and 343 hp powerful electric motor on the rear axle. Yes, electric horsepower for less than 37 grand. The 136 hp and soon 156 hp Stellantis EVs cannot compete with that. After all, the entry-level EX30 sprints to 100 km / h in 5.7 seconds, can charge up to 134 kW quickly and offers a – less impressive – range of 344 kilometers. The EX30 Single Motor is also available as a more fully equipped Plus (€39,795).
Volvo continues to offer the EX30 as a Single Motor Extended Range. It has the same 272 hp electric motor as the Single Motor, but thanks to a larger 69 kWh battery pack (64 kWh net), it can travel 480 kilometers. It is available as a Core (€41,495), Plus (€44,935) and as an Ultra (€47,995). With the Twin Motor Performance variants, Volvo combines the 69-kWh battery with two electric motors with a combined 428 hp, good for a 0- 100 sprint in just 3.6 seconds and a range of 460 kilometers. For the Plus you pay €49,995, for the Ultra €52,995.
18-inch alloy is standard on the Core.
Especially inner color
There is quite a lot to choose from, both motor-wise and in terms of the versions. In this Back to Basics we naturally focus on the basic version: the Volvo EX30 Single Motor Core. If you don’t want to pay extra for anything, you can choose from just one paint color: Vapor Gray. This gray shade is the only free color. For Chrystal White, Onyx Black and Cloud Blue you have to pay an extra €795. The sparkling Moss Yellow is just as expensive, but reserved for the Plus and Ultra versions. Steel wheels with caps? Forget it. The entry-level EX30 has standard 18-inch alloy wheels. These slippers are the only wheels you can get on the Single Motor. For 19 and 20-inch wheels – each of which has a different design – you have to go to the Plus and Ultimate versions.
The loafer always has this fabric finished with blue parts.
And that inner color? It comes from the standard ‘Indigo’ interior that Volvo folds into the EX30. This consists of cloth/Nordico seat upholstery, finished with blue parts that Volvo calls ‘Denim inlay’. Furthermore, the ventilation grilles and the ‘plateau’ that runs across the entire width in the middle of the dashboard, together with parts of the door panels, are finished in blue. Other combinations of colors and fabrics are possible, but these are ignored by the Core.
Equipment
The cheapest Volvo EX30 still offers quite a bit. LED headlights are standard, as are electrically operated, folding and heated exterior mirrors and rear parking sensors including a reversing camera. The list of standard gadgets continues with a laundry list of passive and active safety systems. Safe Space Technology, a radar and a camera that monitors the environment, as well as smart adaptive cruise control with Traffic Jam Assist, traffic sign recognition and Curve Speed Adoption that adapts the speed of the cruise control to a curve to be taken. An active lane assist? Standard. An extensive range of collision prevention systems that not only send signals, but can also actually make steering movements? From the party. The same goes for systems such as Intersection Auto Brake, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and so on.
Volvo EX30 Core: blue accents and a spacious screen as standard …
The Core version also offers a 100W audio system with five speakers, a DAB + radio, two USB C ports, wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity and extensive Google software including navigation. All this, like the climate control (1 zone), can be operated via a 12.3-inch touchscreen that is centrally located on the dashboard. Pre-conditioning so that you can pre-cool or heat the EX30? Standard. Just like two Digital Key key cards and the option to use your smartphone as a car key. There are also illuminated storage compartments in the door panels.
… which also contains quite a few (Google) functionalities.
A heat pump is not available on the EX30 Single Motor with the smallest battery, regardless of whether you go for the Core or Plus version. If you go for the Single Motor Extended Range, you always have a heat pump, just like with the Dual Motor versions.
For things like an electrically operated tailgate, Pilot Assist, a Harman Kardon audio system, an induction charger and climate control divided into two zones, you have to be, just like for Park Assist, more extensive ambient lighting and an automatically dimming interior mirror with the Plus versions. The Ultra adds a panoramic glass roof, power front seats with memory function for the driver’s seat, 360-degree cameras and a 22 kW on-board charger, as well as Park Assist Pilot that allows the EX30 to park independently.
Options
Of course you can improve the equipment of the Core version without immediately going for a higher equipment level. For example, you can get dark tinted rear side windows for €395 and for €360 you not only get a heated steering wheel, but also heated front seats. The accessory guide with perks that can dress any version of the EX30 includes the Protection Pack (€380) which includes plastic mats, bumper strips and lockable wheel bolts. You will also find the Comfort Pack (€288), which includes sun protection for the panoramic roof, a neck pillow, a luggage net and a storage bag for your charging cable. These accessories can also be ordered separately. In the same accessories guide we find various types of luggage boxes (€700 to €1,250) and the necessary load carriers (€250) and even ski racks with rails (€250). An electrically retractable towbar costs €1,195 and Volvo even offers bicycle carriers for both the towbar (€700) and the load carriers (€150). Also special: for €120 you get a harness from Volvo with which you can attach your dog to the belt.
Conclusion
Will you get off badly in the Volvo EX30 Single Motor Core? Absolutely not. A compact electric crossover for this money and with a comparable powertrain can hardly be found with any other brand, and the equipment seems more than adequate. Of course there is always room for more indulgence and a standard 22 kW on-board charger would be nice, but Volvo offers other versions for that. The Core version is anything but ‘sparing’.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl