2025 Volvo EX30: cool Cross Country, bad window switches and other personal details Techzle.com

MILAN — Volvo calls its new EX30 a “not so big, really big deal.” And while I’m hesitant to succumb to marketing taglines, I have to admit that after spending time with the company’s new electric car in Milan, Italy, Volvo has a point on Wednesday.

When it arrives in the US early next year, the 2025 Volvo EX30 will be another entry-level model for the brand. The base model Single Motor Extended Range costs just $36,145 including a $1,195 destination fee, though the EX30 is not eligible for the updated U.S. federal EV tax credit. Powered by a 69-kilowatt-hour battery, the EX30 will be available with 268 or 422 horsepower – the latter being for the all-wheel drive Twin Motor Performance version – and Volvo expects its subcompact electric car to have a maximum driving range of 275 miles.

All that makes the EX30 quite attractive, and poking around the EV in person really seals the deal. As you’d expect from a modern Volvo, the interior is fantastic – solidly built and lined with a variety of soft materials. From the recycled fabrics to the visually appealing upholstery, the EX30 really punches above its weight in terms of luxury per dollar. Compared to something like a slightly larger Mercedes-Benz EQB, the Volvo looks and feels so much nicer inside.

However, it’s not perfect. Most of the car’s controls are housed in the central infotainment display. But at least the screen is nicely designed and responsive – thanks, Google software. I hate, hate, hate the window switches, which are located on the center console. Volvo took a page straight from Volkswagen’s playbook and installed just two up/down switches, with a haptic “rear” button you have to press to use the same switches for the rear windows. The VW ID.4 has this kind of setup and it’s terrible. For a company that usually does such a good job with ergonomics, this is an unusually bad move.

The rest of the EX30 does? It’s a peach. I personally like the look, and it’s much smaller than it looks in photos – think the Hyundai Kona. The 20-inch aero wheels might be a little too big for such a small car, but that’s just personal preference. I can’t wait to see one in Volvo’s new Moss Yellow exterior color either.

In addition to the standard EX30, Volvo showed the upcoming Cross Country version on Wednesday, and wow, what a cutie. The increased ground clearance, purposeful trim, skid plates and 18-inch wheels wrapped in 225/55 series all-terrain tires really work on this subcompact EV. And Volvo thinks the whole Cross Country style applies well to an electric vehicle.

“I really like the idea of ​​having Cross Country as part of the brand,” Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan told reporters in Milan on Wednesday. “If you have an all-electric car … and you want to go camping for the weekend, in this car you open that tailgate, you put a tent on the back of it, you use the HVAC system to heat or cool the car, you don’t have to worry about carbon monoxide you can run a small refrigerator with it you can charge an electric bicycle with it you can do a lot of things that you could never do because you now have this huge electrical power source that you never had.

The Cross Country will go on sale about a year after the standard EX30, with production expected to start in late 2024. Butch all-rounder or city-slickin’ commuter – based on what I’ve seen of the EX30, this one is sure to be a hit.