The 2025 Volvo EX30 Trades Hope For Disappointment

2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Ultra

Price: $62,100 CAD

Colour: Cloud Blue

There was a time not too long ago when Battery Electric Vehicles were regarded as the transportation of the future. Tesla (regardless of what you think of their cars) had proven you could make a proper BEV that people would buy. It offered decent range and, mostly, felt similar to what we had been driving for generations. The world had finally turned the corner and was ready to abandon their horrid gas-guzzling, world destroying internal combustion cars and we were headed toward a zero-emission utopia future. Cut to a couple of years later and we find ourselves dealing with the inevitable correction that has stalled the progress (and as a result the sales) of the BEV revolution. One of the biggest obstacles to widespread adoption of EV’s has always been cost. In a world besieged by the ever-increasing cost of everything, the brutal escalation in new car pricing in the last 4 years has been particularly punctuated by the cost of EV’s. Since their inception they have always carried a premium that has made it a difficult choice for a lot of drivers. When Volvo announced the all-new EX30 last year they hailed it as a revolution in the BEV game. It was framed as a truly affordable BEV you could actually afford if you were a normal person. Feel free to check my math, but a starting price of $57,000 CAD is the exact opposite of affordable. It’s actually brutally expensive. What happened to the EX30 that would provide a path to that utopian electric future Volvo promised us?

I know it’s the special preserve of older people to complain about the price of everything. It’s how we roll and you can’t make us stop. Sometimes our complaints do make some sense however. Even by contemporary standards, $57k is a lot to pay for a small hatchback. If you were to finance it over 4 years (I know most people finance over longer periods but we shouldn’t have to), your payment is over $1300/month… for a small SUV. When the EX30 was launched Volvo said they designed it with the idea of making it less expensive. The pricing of the EX30 is nearly identical to the pricing of the old XC40 Recharge. There are no obvious financial savings of this vehicle so what was the point of abandoning the XC40 (which was a very decent car), and give us something far inferior? This defies all kinds of logic and common sense.

Let’s move on from pricing for a moment. How is the EX30 as a vehicle? Well… not great. Everything about the EX30 is designed to save money by stripping away equipment and quality. The plastics (I know they’re recycled but that’s no excuse) are rough, thin and cheap feeling. Every bit of functionality is operated through the center infotainment screen which makes small adjustments an incredible inconvenience, particularly when driving. The power window controls are in the center console and only have two switches for the windows on either side. Want to lower the windows in the back? You need to hit a button to send the signals to the rear and then lower them from there. Good luck finding that button while driving in traffic as you try and get a wasp out a rear window before it stings you in the eye and you crash and die in your horrid Volvo EV.

Objective judgement of the 2025 Volvo EX30 finds this vehicle wanting. It’s a shameless cash grab wrapped in a message of economy and sustainability. It costs way too much and gives you so little in exchange. The cynicism on display here is revolting. Volvo is a favorite of mine among all carmakers. Their vehicles have always held a special place in my heart. There’s no room in there for anything like the EX30.

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