Volvo has postponed the launch of the EX30 in the U.S., but it's been on sale in Europe for months now to rave reviews. Then again, maybe it's a plus that American buyers have more time for the bugs to get ironed out.
Friend of the site Kyle Conner, of the Out of Spec Reviews YouTube channel, had the chance to sample an EX30 dual-motor in Germany, and he had mostly good things to say about it.
He praised it for its design, its compactness and how well the interior was assembled. He even found stylized depictions of Sweden in the cover for the front trunk and in the removable storage bin from between the front seats—this is an endearing Easter Egg, which gives the car a bit more character.
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The Volvo EX30's US Arrival Is Uncertain But It Doesn't Seem Ready
Volvo was sure it was going to sell the EX30 in the US, but now it's backtracking on its initial plans since it would be too expensive to import the crossover from China where it's currently manufactured. There also appear to be some software and tuning glitches that need to be ironed out before it can be truly great.
He did find that for his driving position, space in the back is quite limited, although he just about fits. The EX30 seems a bit too small in the rear, so it's not ideal for use as an Uber, but it should be able to accommodate four people in relative comfort. It’s pretty practical for such a small crossover, with a frunk with enough space for charging cables and a roomy 11.4 cubic-foot trunk with a generous 2.2 cubic-foot underfloor storage compartment. Fold down the rear seats, and the load volume expands to almost 32 cubic feet.
Volvo has managed to get a lot of passenger and cargo room from a vehicle with a small 104-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 166.6 inches. The expansive panoramic glass roof that Kyle’s top-of-the-range tester had contributed to the feeling of airiness inside the cabin, especially for rear occupants.
On the move, the EX30 still feels impressive. The only negative that Kyle points out while driving in the city is that the one-pedal driving doesn’t seem to have enough regeneration when you lift off. The ride is also a bit on the firm side, but this pays dividends when you take this car to a twisty road, where it should keep body roll in check.
When he reaches a road with some tighter turns, Kyle says the car’s steering isn’t especially good at transmitting what the front wheels are doing. It has the same amount of resistance both when driving normally and at the limit of grip, making it tricky to gauge how close you are to the grip limit when driving spiritedly.
The car is very quick in a straight line thanks to 422 horsepower combined from its front and rear motors, which can propel it to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. It’s a smaller car with more power than the electric C40 and XC40 Recharge, so it’s quicker than its bigger crossover brothers.
But then things take a turn.
Not long after he gets onto the mountain road and throws the car around a few bends, it suddenly shuts down while in motion. He was able to limp the car to a safe spot to pull over, but even after shutting it off and restarting the car, it was still showing errors.
Kyle reached out to Volvo whose official response about the issue was that it was “a temporary, isolated error that we have not seen on any other EX30 cars” and that it was being investigated further.
Volvo still has time to fix these software issues before it reaches U.S. shores, which it might in 2025 after production starts at the manufacturer's factory in Ghent, Belgium to avoid the hefty import tariff on Chinese-made cars.
It's still one of the EVs that we're most excited to see reach the States along with another affordable small crossover, the Kia EV3.
