{"id":34824,"date":"2025-08-07T16:02:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T20:02:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34824"},"modified":"2025-08-07T16:02:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T20:02:30","slug":"payne-tesla-fighting-volvo-ex30-is-cute-quick-and-range-challenged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/payne-tesla-fighting-volvo-ex30-is-cute-quick-and-range-challenged","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Tesla-fighting Volvo EX30 is cute, quick, and range-challenged"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/em><\/p>\n

The front of the 2025 Volvo EX30 ditches the grille.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne<\/em><\/p>\n

Mi<\/em>dland<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Cubism in the 1910s, surrealism in the 1930s, pop art in the 1960s, installation art in the \u201880s. The art world has seen multiple movements over the last 100 years. So too has the art of the automobile. The post-WW2 jet-inspired tailfin era, muscle cars of the \u201860s, mid-engine \u201880s sportscars, 1990s jelly bean sedans.<\/p>\n

Digital age electric vehicles have given designers a new canvas to paint on. One of my favorites is the 2025 Volvo EX30 that I recently piloted to Charlevoix and back.<\/p>\n

Like its Tesla, Rivian and Cadillac peers, the EX30 has embraced the grille-less fascia and simple, screen-centric interior. And, just as installation art is limited to a specific place, so are EVs best admired as urban vehicles \u2014 as my trip\u2019s charging follies demonstrate.<\/p>\n

My two-tone yellow and black EX30 cutie welcomed me with a smile.<\/p>\n

That is to say, the mouth-like diagonal line through the circular Volvo logo that anchors the fascia. No internal combustion engine, no grille. The fascia is anchored by signature \u201cThor\u2019s hammer\u201d headlights inside a black frame (a theme repeated on the rear facia). EX30 reminded me of one of the colorful characters from the 2005 flick “Robots.”<\/p>\n

Sensing the card key in my pocket, the door unlocked. As its nomenclature implies, the subcompact EX30 is Volvo\u2019s gateway to its EX40 and EX90 EVs lineup \u2014 though you\u2019ll need to adjust your pricing expectations. Stylish subcompact, affordable, premium, internal-combustion-engine SUVs are a thing, including sub-$40K cuties like the Buick Envista, Mazda CX-30 and Acura ADX.<\/p>\n

My all-wheel-drive, $48K EX30 Performance Ultra tester is priced more in line with premium EV compacts like the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Lexus RZ450. All-wheel-drive, panoramic roof, 19-inch wheels, posh materials. Unlike those machines, however, the EX30 has little rear legroom (32 inches) compared to, say, the Tesla at 40 inches. A six-footer can\u2019t sit behind himself. Starting at $54K, the EX40 will buy you four more inches of legroom.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The 2025 Volvo EX30 is Volvo’s entry-level EV starting at $46k. The AWD Plus model shown costs $48k.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Under the airy, panoramic roof, the cabin is beautifully spare. Like Scandinavian furniture.<\/p>\n

Like a Tesla, the interior is anchored by a big screen. Doors are scrubbed of buttons, and essential controls (mirrors, glovebox) are accessed through the screen. Unlike a Tesla, the 12.3-ich display is vertical and the cabin trimmed with classic Volvo touches like silver vertical air vents and door handles \u2014 and a floating console that offers plenty of space underneath for a handbag.<\/p>\n