Can Volvo’s smallest car make a big impression? That’s what we’re hoping to find out in a six-month test of the EX30, freshly ensconced on our long-term test fleet.

Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range RWD Ultra

List Price: £43,295 | BiK 3% | Range 296 miles | On fleet range N/A | Efficiency N/A

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.