Volvo EX30 detailed review/opinion

[SP1959]

75 countries drive on the left (with the drivers seat on the right). According to Wikipedia, thay account for about a sixth of the world's land area, a quarter of its roads, and about a third of its population. (Including the two most populous countries in the world (India and China - home of Geely), and also Australia, Cyprus, Japan, Malta, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, UK and even the US Virgin Islands.) For these people the charging flap is not on the drivers side.



## Always-on car

I agree here.

Just a small note, not too important...China (both Chinas) drives on the right. Actually saying that about the third of the population drives on the left, being true, is a truth taken with a grain of salt. Of that third, almost 95% corresponds to "great India" (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh...) which at the moment I do not believe that its adoption of electric mobility and its charging habits is a problem today. The rest of the list of countries (except the ones you mention) up to those 75...most of them are countries that no one has heard of (with all my respect for its nations and inhabitants, of course.). The 95% of EV sold were in China, Europe, USA and Canada. If you subtract sales in the UK and Ireland, probably you`ll get 90% EV sold in the world are right side driving. This is what a car manufacturer should take into account, in my opinion, of course.

You state that 95% of EVs sold are sold in China, Europe, USA and Canada.

Probably true. But CHINA - probably the greatest market for EVs - drives on the left - as do the EU countries of Cyprus and Malta in addition to Ireland.

[gloucester]

China drives on the RIGHT

[kildare]

To simplify...

Chinese drive on right side of the road and the drivers sits on the left.

[SP1959]

Sorry, I got thst one wrong.

Hong Kong drives on the left, so I assumed China did. I should have double checked before posting.

[kildare]

Volvo EX30 Sales Record

In June, Volvo sold a record number of 12,500 EX30s. It's one of the best-selling Volvo models globally
and one of the best-selling all-electric cars in Europe.

June 2024 Volvo Cars detailed sales results:



https://insideevs.com/news/725580/volvo ... -june2024/

[jblackburn]

Great review!

I'm also coming from a 2020 Model 3 Long Range. And my dual-motor EX30 hasn't yet arrived. I'd add a couple things about the four years with Tesla:

* Tesla Software is brilliant. I think this is the Tesla strong-point. Updates every week or two, without fail with tweaks, new features etc.
* Reliability: No issues in 4 years of ownership. It's an electric car after all, ideally less to go wrong than a petrol. Tesla don't recommend regular servicing unless something is broken, so the car has been near 'free' to run.
* "Self driving": lane assist worked well. I used it on nearly all my motorway drives and it takes a mental load off.
* Dog Mode. Obvious feature when you have a dog

The Tesla did have downsides though:

* Interior quality was poor / basic. As others have said this has probably been improved. But the original californian cars feel cheap to me... Lots of road noise. Panel gaps, doors are cheap compared to European 'solid' feeling doors.
* Boot Panel shelf, unmovable structural shelf being the biggest annoyance when seats are down space not completely usable.
* Uncomfortable seats: I came from a (cheap) Renault Twingo, and the Tesla seats cause me back pain. I suspect this is personal, but the Tesla had a strange bucket shape which just aggravated my back.
* Firm suspension: you feel every bump, nice and sporty, but a real PIA in the long term.
* "Self driving": paid for full self driving that never came (and likely never will).

I've been reading all about the bugs, and am hopeful the car does well enough that Volvo keep investing in improving the software. After the Tesal experience software can really make a great car. On the positive it's great that the EX30s interior quality is brilliant, that for me will be a real upgrade.

[kildare]

* Tesla Software is brilliant. I think this is the Tesla strong-point. Updates every week or two, without fail with tweaks, new features etc.

Tesla refused to use Google AAOS and to send car and driving data to it, and developed its own SO based on Linux, without being confined within Google's AAOS restrictions.
So Tesla doesn't depend on contribution by others and it's free to develop and update the SO as it like.

[Harald]

Great review!

I'm also coming from a 2020 Model 3 Long Range. And my dual-motor EX30 hasn't yet arrived. I'd add a couple things about the four years with Tesla:

* Tesla Software is brilliant. I think this is the Tesla strong-point. Updates every week or two, without fail with tweaks, new features etc.
* Reliability: No issues in 4 years of ownership. It's an electric car after all, ideally less to go wrong than a petrol. Tesla don't recommend regular servicing unless something is broken, so the car has been near 'free' to run.
* "Self driving": lane assist worked well. I used it on nearly all my motorway drives and it takes a mental load off.
* Dog Mode. Obvious feature when you have a dog

The Tesla did have downsides though:

* Interior quality was poor / basic. As others have said this has probably been improved. But the original californian cars feel cheap to me... Lots of road noise. Panel gaps, doors are cheap compared to European 'solid' feeling doors.
* Boot Panel shelf, unmovable structural shelf being the biggest annoyance when seats are down space not completely usable.
* Uncomfortable seats: I came from a (cheap) Renault Twingo, and the Tesla seats cause me back pain. I suspect this is personal, but the Tesla had a strange bucket shape which just aggravated my back.
* Firm suspension: you feel every bump, nice and sporty, but a real PIA in the long term.
* "Self driving": paid for full self driving that never came (and likely never will).

I've been reading all about the bugs, and am hopeful the car does well enough that Volvo keep investing in improving the software. After the Tesal experience software can really make a great car. On the positive it's great that the EX30s interior quality is brilliant, that for me will be a real upgrade.

Your comment surprises me. I didn't try a Model 3, but I was hesitating between the Model Y and the Volvo, and the Tesla surprised me with the feeling of quality, at least apparent quality. Everything was "soft and friendly." It was difficult to find any hard plastic in sight, and the feel was quite premium, really. I chose the Volvo, because of its size (small garage), because cities in Europe have small streets, and because aesthetically I don't like Tesla's exteriors (except for that kind of mercury silver it has). But the general feeling of comfort, spaciousness and quality was quite good. Maybe it was just a first impression...

[andrewex30]

I agree with you. The Volvo interior is all hard plastic that creaks constantly especially now in the heat. The interior of Tesla is all made of eco-leather or fabric, I find it much more refined and durable.

[Maosbaso]

Good list of gripes (and good stuff).

The only two major faults, in my opinion, is the keycard / fob fiasco. It's a dog's breakfast, a total clusterf*%k. Two key fobs needed per car until the digital key works and for eff's sake, put a button on it. Even the dealer said it should have a button on it.

The other is the Reverse / Drive engagement which has nearly caused me a few accidents. It's not how any car I've driven before works (and to be fair, I've not got any EV's to compare against). It is dangerous. On this one, the dealer didn't have any idea what I was talking about - and I honestly think that none of them had driven the car much either.

I've raised both on these with Volvo.