Volvo EX30 Review: A stylish, sustainable, and surprisingly quick compact EV for the city
- We recently drove Volvo's smallest electric vehicle, the EX30. Here is how it performs on our Indian roads.
Check Offers After making a big impression in the global market, Volvo’s smallest electric SUV has arrived in India. The EX30 takes the brand’s signature Scandinavian design and shrinks it into a city-friendly, all-electric package aimed squarely at younger buyers and first-time EV owners. It’s Volvo’s bid to shake up the compact EV segment — but beneath the stylish exterior, there’s a lot to unpack.
How’s the design of the Volvo EX30?
The Volvo EX30 carries forward the brand’s signature Scandinavian minimalism, scaled down to a compact, city-friendly footprint. At the front, the closed-off grille and signature Thor’s Hammer LED headlights give it a clean yet instantly recognisable face, while the sculpted bonnet and smooth body lines create a sense of understated sophistication.
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The high beltline and squared-off roof add a touch of SUV toughness but there is no plastic cladding on the sides. At the rear, vertically oriented LED tail lamps echo Volvo’s larger SUVs, tying the EX30 into the family design language. However, this time, they are split. Compact in size but confident in stance, the EX30 looks every bit the modern premium EV. It does manage to grab attention when it is out on the roads.
Interior and Features
Step inside and the EX30 reflects Volvo’s growing focus on sustainability and simplicity. The cabin uses recycled and renewable materials, from denim fibres to flax and wool blends, while the uncluttered dashboard centres on a large vertical touchscreen running Google-powered Android Automotive. This minimalist approach looks fresh and modern, but the lack of physical buttons means even basic functions like mirror adjustments require a trip through the menus, which may divide opinion.
Space in the front is generous, but the rear bench is tight for taller passengers, and there is also a lack of under thigh support. This reinforces its role as a city-friendly SUV rather than a long-distance family hauler. It can only accommodate four occupants at once. Cargo capacity is modest at 318 litres, expandable to 904 litres with the seats folded, plus a small frunk of 7 litres where you can store the portable charger.
The quality overall is quite good, with metal door handles that feel satisfying to use and have a weight to them. The steering wheel is squircle, to which I adapted quite quickly; I was not expecting that. The centre console is cleverly designed with integrated twin cup holders. There is also a space below it where you can place your mobile phones or other bits.
The window switches are placed in the centre, which is an unusual place, but what is even more unusual is that to operate the rear windows, you have to use a button, as the typical switches are not present. There are no rear AC vents on offer, but that should not be an issue as we were driving in temperatures of just around 40 degrees, and the AC was keeping up easily. However, ventilated seats would have been a good addition considering the climate of our country.
Driving Experience
In India, we will get only the single-motor rear-wheel drive version. The motor is capable of producing 272 bhp of power and a peak torque output of 343 Nm. Volvo claims that the EX30 can accelerate from a standstill to 100 kmph in 5.3 seconds.
As soon as you get in the driver’s seat, all your issues will be gone because of the way the EX30 drives. The performance is brisk, and it accelerates hard as there is no engine that requires spooling up. You press the throttle, and the EX30 just shoots. In fact, because it is rear-wheel drive, the rear wheels just break traction and start spinning, but not for long, as the ESC kicks in and straightens out the tail.
Even at triple digit speeds, the compact EV feels confident, composed, and there is minimal body roll. Show it a corner and it would stick to the line. However, we did notice that the brakes would start fading away and would require a bit more pressure. To improve this, you can turn on one-pedal drive, which enables the regen. Speaking of regen, it kicks in gradually, and the car would also come to a halt automatically.
The highlight of the driving experience is without a doubt the suspension of the EX30. It absorbs everything by which I do mean everything. We were mostly driving on the highways with big potholes, and not once did the EX30 flinch. It handled those potholes like a champ with only minimal thud traveling back to the cabin.
Range and battery
Volvo is using a 69 kWh battery pack for the EX30. It has a WLTP-claimed range of 480 km, and in real life, it should be able to deliver around 400 km.
Safety and Technology
Safety remains a Volvo hallmark, with a full suite of driver-assistance systems fitted as standard, including adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and collision avoidance. Semi-autonomous driving via Pilot Assist and an advanced self-parking function further boost convenience.
The infotainment system integrates Google apps, wireless Apple CarPlay, and over-the-air updates, although the absence of Android Auto is missed. However, we didn’t notice any software glitches. Another thing that is sorely missed is the absence of a driver’s display. This means that the driver needs to continuously look over to the infotainment system to even just check out the basic things. The least that Volvo should have done is offer a heads-up display for the driver. The brand is offering a Harmon Kardon sound system that consists of 9 speakers, and it consists of a sound bar that is placed on the dashboard and a sub-woofer that sits in the boot. The sound quality is good, but there are vehicles out there that cost less and have a better sound quality.
The EX30 comes with an NFC keycard, which is a bit messy to use. Yes, it does add to the convenience in the form that it is slim and can be carried in a wallet, but it hampers with the keyless operation. You would first need to place on the B-pillar to unlock the car and then on the wireless charger to start the car. And it does not work every time, you have to keep doing it so if you are charging your phone, then you would have to remove it. In a day and age, where the key never leaves your pocked and you can just sit, drive away, and exit the vehicle, the NFC key card does feel like a bit of a hit and a miss.
Verdict
Overall, the Volvo EX30 stands out as a stylish, sustainable, and surprisingly quick small crossover SUV that offers serious value in the premium EV space. It isn’t perfect — rear passenger space is limited, and the heavy reliance on the touchscreen can be distracting — but it captures the essence of what many buyers want in their first electric car: clean design, strong performance, everyday usability, and the reassurance of Volvo’s safety credentials, along with heavy reliance on sustainable materials . In a soon-to-be crowded electric market, the EX30 proves that small can indeed be mighty.
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