Volvo EX30 2025 review: Twin Motor Performance Ultra long-term | Part 1

I have some serious thoughts about Volvo’s third fully-electric model, the new EX30 small SUV.

It’s a good thing, then, that I’m now one month into ‘living’ with the range-topping 2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra for three months as part of this three-part EV Guide long-term review, so I’ve got plenty of time to wrap my head around the zero-emissions vehicle and share my findings with you, dear reader.

First things first, if you only take an EX30 for one test drive at a Volvo dealer, I can’t blame you for not buying one. But I promise if you spend a little bit more time behind the wheel, you will find that after a day or two it’s not nearly as annoying to live with as it initially indicates. Let me explain.

But just before I do, it’s worth noting this initial instalment of my EV Guide long-term review of the EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra is meant to be an introduction, so I’ll resist the temptation to share all of my thoughts on it straight away.

Point being, the upcoming second chapter will cover its design and practicality in detail, while the third and final part will be headlined by my driving impressions and final verdict.

A steep learning curve

Back to my earlier point, the EX30 can easily put itself in the ‘too hard’ basket from the get-go due to its initially overwhelming Human Machine Interface (HMI).

I have the privilege of driving many different cars on a regular basis, so I’m pretty adept at quickly adjusting from one HMI to another, but the EX30 offers one of the most perplexing propositions I have encountered yet.

Why? Well, the EX30 is unnecessarily hard to operate – until you figure it out, at which point you learn to live with its ‘quirks’, mostly.

I’ll expand on this point in the next two instalments of this EV Guide long-term review, but in summary, the EX30 has very few physical controls.

2025 Volvo EX30

Case in point, its 12.3-inch touchscreen, positioned centrally and orientated vertically, teams with its button-less steering wheel to more or less do it all – and that’s a problem.

For example, there’s no instrument cluster, so the speedometer is only awkwardly shown in the top right corner of our right-hand drive EX30’s touchscreen – we can thank Tesla for ‘popularising’ that cost-saving design choice. A windshield-projected head-up display would’ve been a nice compromise.

We can also give the American EV specialist thanks for the side mirror controls being buried in the EX30’s 'Google Automotive' multimedia system, as there is no related physical interface on the driver’s door.

The counter argument, of course, is the average driver doesn’t adjust their side mirrors enough to warrant physical controls, especially if you have a profile saved, but I beg to differ.

2025 Volvo EX30

Keyless entry is another EX30 feature, but its proximity lock and unlock functions gave me so many false positives in my first 24 hours of ownership that I turned them off altogether due to my genuine concern that it would lead to the vehicle accidentally being left unlocked.

That said, the remaining driver's side-only lock control on the door handle is temperamental at best, often not unlocking despite all the right steps being taken. That said, the B-pillar above does have a swipe feature using the key fob that works far more reliably.

Of course, none of that would be much of a problem if the EX30’s key fob had physical controls, but it doesn’t, naturally. In fact, it doesn’t even have an actual key, but I digress.

2025 Volvo EX30

Point being, the aforementioned key fob is just a chunky slab of plastic with a sensor in it and nothing more. That means it took me no less than two weeks to work out how to open the boot without using the full-time touchscreen control. For the record, the answer is there’s a real button hidden in the back tailgate trim.

Another personal gripe is the EX30’s lack of a traditional sound system. Instead, it has a 1040W Harman Kardon set-up with nine speakers, five of which are included in the 'soundbar' atop its dashboard.

I was hoping for a Sonos-style experience, but it sounds too isolated to my ears, no matter how many manual adjustments I make to its EQ, which is a shame because I love high-quality audio. Give me separate A-pillar and front door speakers, please!

But that’s enough ranting for one EV Guide long-term review chapter. Let’s get to what we came here for.

The story on paper

In the Volvo line-up, the EX30 slots in underneath a pair of larger small SUVs, the related and recently renamed EX40 wagon and EC40 ‘coupe’, so it’s the Swedish premium brand’s new entry-level all-electric vehicle.

The EX30 is based on Volvo parent company Geely’s SEA platform, which also underpins the recently launched Smart #1 wagon and #3 ‘coupe’, and imminent Zeekr X wagon, all of which are also small SUVs. The EX30 also finds itself going tyre to tyre with the more established BMW iX1, Lexus UX300e and Mercedes-Benz EQA.

In Australia, the EX30 is available with two powertrain options, dubbed Single Motor Extended Range (rear-wheel drive) and Twin Motor Performance (all-wheel drive), but more details on those in a moment.

The former is available in Plus ($59,990, plus on-road costs) and Ultra ($66,290) grades, while the latter can only be had as an Ultra ($71,290), as is the case with our test vehicle.

To put that pricing into perspective, the Smart #1 ranges from $54,900 to $67,900 with the same powertrain options, yet it comes with a digital instrument cluster.

It’s a similar story with the Zeekr X, which stretches from $56,900 to $64,900 and adds a head-up display to its list of standard equipment.

That said, there’s no denying the EX30 seriously undercuts its more established rivals, with the the iX1 starting from $78,900 for the eDrive20, the UX300e from $80,720 for the Luxury and the EQA from $84,900 for the 250, all of which aren’t AWD.

And despite some of its notable exclusions, the EX30 comes with a long list of standard equipment beyond the inclusions I’ve already mentioned, with the Plus kicking off proceedings with dusk-sensing LED lights, rain-sensing wipers, black side mirrors with auto dimming and puddle lights, 19-inch alloy wheels, a black roof spoiler and a power-operated tailgate.

2025 Volvo EX30

Inside, in-built Google Maps satellite navigation and digital radio feature alongside wireless Apple CarPlay support, which was conveniently introduced as part of a recent over-the-air update for the aforementioned Google Automotive multimedia system. The interior also features wireless smartphone charging, dual-zone climate control and ambient lighting.

Having just received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating under the 2024 protocol, the EX30’s safety highlights include six airbags (dual front, side and curtain) and front autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with intersection assist and pedestrian and cyclist detection.

2025 Volvo EX30

There’s also lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control with highway assist, road sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, active front and rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention monitoring, high-beam assist, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors and a door opening alert.

The Ultra on test here adds a panoramic sunroof, rear privacy glass, a heated steering wheel, power-adjustable front seats with heating (but no cooling), rear AEB, park assist and surround-view cameras.

2025 Volvo EX30

Better yet, the Twin Motor goes a step further with 20-inch alloy wheels. Most are desirable inclusions if you ask me.

But what else is missing altogether? A vehicle-to-load (V2L) power outlet to run larger electronics and that’s about it. Not too shabby, then.

Worth noting five exterior paintwork options are available for no extra cost, with my test vehicle finished in the desirable 'Cloud Blue'. It is a lovely colour “inspired by the cold air of snowy Swedish winter landscapes”, according to Volvo.

2025 Volvo EX30

Four no-cost interior upholstery and accent combinations are also on offer, with my test vehicle fitted with the 'Indigo' option, which features 'Textile & Nordico' coverings and denim trim. Basically, it’s got up to four shades of blue if you opt for the matching ambient lighting.

When it comes to aftersales support, the EX30 comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with the battery covered by a separate eight-year term. It also gets five years of roadside assistance. All three are on par for the premium segment.

Outstandingly, servicing is free for the first five years or 150,000km, whichever comes first. Intervals are set at every 24 months or 30,000km, with the former bang on what you’d expect from an EV, while the latter is pleasingly longer than the norm. Nice.

The EV of it all

The aforementioned Single Motor Extended Range powertrain option features a 200kW/343Nm rear-mounted electric motor that enables a brisk 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.3 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Twin Motor Performance ups the ante by adding an electric motor to its front axle for combined outputs of 315kW of power and 543Nm of torque, which help to lower its triple-digit dash duration to a supercar-scaring 3.6 seconds.

That’s BMW M3 straight-line performance for less than half the price – not bad!

2025 Volvo EX30

Both powertrain options come with a 1600kg braked towing capacity and a 69kWh NMC battery pack (64kWh useable), which can be charged from flat to full in eight hours using an 11kW AC charger with a Type 2 plug. It’s good for an overnight charge, then, if you’re lucky to have a wallbox at your disposal.

Alternatively, a 10 to 80 per cent charge takes just 28 minutes using a publicly available 175kW DC fast charger with a CCS plug – that’s been my preferred method as I live in an apartment building without private charging options. It’s worked well.

When it comes to WLTP-rated driving range, the Single Motor Extended Ranger delivers up to 476km, while the Twin Motor Performance pays the dual-motor all-wheel drive price with up to 450km on offer.

2025 Volvo EX30

In the real world, though, my Twin Motor Performance averaged 17.9kWh/100km over 643km of driving predominantly within city limits, during which one-pedal regenerative braking was enabled the vast majority of the time.

That equates to a driving range of about 358km, which is 20 per cent short of its WLTP rating but not surprising given my heavy right foot.

I will endeavour to have more measured inputs in month two and three – maybe. Either way, given the level of performance on offer, that’s quite a reasonable result for a city-focused electric car.

And with that comes the end of my introduction to the 2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra. See you next month for a deep-dive into its design and practicality in part two of this EV Guide long-term review.

Acquired: October 28, 2024

Distance travelled this month: 643km

Odometer: 6451km

Average energy consumption this month: 17.9kWh/100km