First impressions of our new Volvo EX30 long-termer. By Natalie Middleton

Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range RWD Ultra

List Price: £43,295 | BiK 3% | Range 296 miles | On fleet range 220 miles | Efficiency 3mpkWh

Report 2:

“Woah…” That was pretty much what I was left thinking after hopping into the driver’s seat of our new EX30 long-termer in the wake of turning down a handover from the Volvo delivery driver (you know you’re in for a premium experience when they’re called a ‘Brand Ambassador’) and heading out from the drop-off lane at the train station in the nearby city.

I knew the gear selector and park brake are on the right-hand-side steering wheel stalk, the glove box is only opened via a button on the 12.3-inch central portrait touchscreen and that the car powers down automatically after you walk away with the key fob. But that was it.

Therein followed a quick learning experience; that the window controls are on the central armrest (ditto in the rear), that I wouldn’t be able to adjust the wing mirrors until I was stopped (via the touchscreen, it turns out) and that I really wasn’t sure where the wipers were (on the left-hand-side steering wheel stalk with the indicators). This is quite a radically different driving experience to match the radical looks.

But by the time I got home some 10 minutes later, I was zipping around like I’d been driving the car for days and quite happy behind the wheel.

The youngest Middleton, meanwhile, was more than happy to be picked up in front of his school mates in the Volvo – and quickly playing with the settings (he found the wing mirror controls!), adjusting the ambient lighting and linking to his Spotify account. And days on, both junior Middletons are still enthralled by the EX30 interior.

Interestingly, they were also rather enthralled when I first found a stretch of empty open road to stretch the baby Volvo SUV’s legs and partially test its acceleration capabilities (0-62mph in 5.3 seconds!). A car to end teenage complaints about family road trips!

Report 1:

Volvo’s recently revealed c.£70k ES90 electric saloon may be turning heads as the brand’s technological flagship but our new longtermer is a little more mainstream and certainly more accessible.

A challenger to models such as the Hyundai Kona Electric, plus the Kia Niro EV and EV3, it may be Swedish in spirit and its minimalist looks – including Volvo’s iconic Thor’s hammer LED headlamp design – but it sits on the modular Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform developed by Volvo parent firm Geely and also used for new models such as the technically linked Smart #1.

It’s also decidedly futuristic in design, both inside and out, while tying in nicely with the EC40, EX40 (formerly the XC40 Recharge) and the top-rung EX90 and incoming ES90.

Notably, it also comes in with a very competitive £32,850 lead-in price for the entry Single Motor version in Core trim.

Ours is kitted out in the top Ultra grade and comes in at £43,360 OTR, sadly putting it in scope of the VED expensive car supplement, but with an extensive list of equipment that means there’s zero options on our model – everything, from the panoramic sunroof to the Harman Kardon Premium Sound system and the 20-inch five-spoke diamond-cut alloys come as part of the Ultra spec.

We’re also in the mid-range Single Motor Extended Range RWD powertrain, which marries up the 272hp rear motor also used in the Single Motor version but with a larger 69kWh battery for an official 296 miles of range (versus 210 for the entry model). To my mind, a range of around 300 miles is where you can really start to relax, even for longer journeys, although it’ll be interesting to see how it translates in real life and with my predominantly suburban mileage.

The figure I’m most excited about though is the 5.3 seconds for the 0-62mph time. That’s certainly not the profile for our typical long-termers and definitely one we’re looking forwards to testing out on the open road.