My Volvo EX30 – CleanTechnica

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We met the Volvo EX30 during an adventure day in May. Then we met Tom and spent a weekend with him and his car at the electric vehicle shows in Rockhampton and Gladstone. I said, “Let me know when you want to do an interview for a CleanTechnica article.” Well, here it is.

Written by Tom Sjölund, as told to David Waterworth

“I’m very slow to make quick decisions,” Tom tells me. “I started looking into EVs when we installed our first solar system about two and a half years ago. At the time, there wasn’t a lot to choose from. There was of course the Tesla that everyone was talking about, the Atto 3 was coming out, Nissan had been around for years, and there were offers from Korea and the EU. My main concerns were affordability, factory tow rating, design, and a mature factory for high-quality construction.

“My first thoughts were the Polestar – lots of power and torque, good towing rating. Then I saw the Volvo C40 press releases and fell in love with the design – such a beautiful design. That made me look at the XC40, which I also loved, but at the time, the single-engine was front-wheel drive. After a year, it came out as a rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. All-wheel drive was out of my league, but I loved rear-wheel drive and was very close to putting down a deposit for one.

“Then, there was a lot of buzz on the internet about the Volvo EX30. Then Volvo did the ‘reveal’ of the car, which I saw. It blew my mind. There’s a lot to see here depending on how much time you have.

“The design and style should become a classic over time. I also liked the environmental aspects of its production. As it happened, my wife and I talked about it that night and the next day we paid the deposit. Nine months later, we had our first EX30 in Queensland. Since then, we have two new friends in our area who also own EX30s.

“We’ve been living and enjoying our EX30 since early May. Our first trip home was from the dealership on the Sunshine Coast (Queensland), about 550km in the rain – we got home in the dark (loved the adaptive headlights). We’ve had no problems charging (I had arranged a Chargefox RFID card in advance). We mainly use Grandma’s charger at home (as we’re a retired couple) from our solar system, so when we’re home, our general use of the car is free.”

“We did two trips to Brisbane and back, about 2,700km in total. Add to that 550km, and that’s 3,250km of which we used rapid chargers along the way. By a long shot, it was cheaper than using our fossil fuel-powered car. We’ve now done 8,200km in the EX30, and of that, 5,000km didn’t cost us a cent.

“What do I love about the EX30? Well, pretty much everything.

“I follow a number of Facebook sites hosting EX30 owners and I can’t believe some of the complaints about the infotainment system. Like, ‘When can we get Apple CarPlay?’ Who needs it when Google Automotive’s system is so good if not just great? Then there are the legislative safety requirements, like ‘lane keeping,’ which is default. If you don’t want it (like me), it’s just a couple of taps to turn it off – two taps and it’s off; another tap or two will remove the steering vibration too, which isn’t a big deal.

“On the other hand, I love the EX30’s performance and handling, even though I drive it 99% of the time for economy and range. It’s not as efficient as a Tesla because it’s not as aerodynamic, but it’s not far off. Not long ago, when I was younger, I was in a local rally club and competed in rallies and rally races, not the best but not the worst. I love being a driver. One time when my nervous wife wasn’t in the car, I gave the Volvo a tusk. I turned off all the safety controls and driver aids. Man, is this a kart or not? Yes, it is. You can go into a tight corner really fast and turn the wheel and spin, there’s a slight slip but it’s easily corrected, nothing that would worry any driver. If you want to drift, do it. It’s easily corrected.

“When my wife is in the car, I leave the driver assistance system on. So, even if I go into a corner too fast or the car thinks it’s too fast, it gives a nice braking effect. She doesn’t even notice it and I stay in good shape.

“Each country Volvo supplies to has its own specification. In Australia, we have two of the three versions available. We have the single-motor rear-wheel drive version in either Ultra or Plus trim (which I have) and the all-wheel drive version in Ultra or Plus trim — all with an extended-range battery (69kWh, 64kWh usable).”

“One thing missing from the Australian spec was an electronic towing harness. We all love towing in Australia, and Volvo has made a mistake here. The EX30 is more than capable of towing, with a towing rating of 1400-1600kg depending on the model. So I had to source a tow bar from the aftermarket (fully EU compliant) and have it fitted and wired. It cost me a lot overall but I’m very happy with it. The car doesn’t have any qualms when reversing to the tow hitch, as I can see both the tow ball and the caravan hitch in the reversing camera view. The car will brake automatically when I’m approaching; a little bit of power overcomes that, which I love.

“By the way, my first car was a 1972 Vauxhall Viva. To make it easy to handle, I had to put a bag of cement in the boot. My next was a Holden Torana (basic 138/3 speed column-drive). I loved it. Then a Morris (2.6 litre, 6 cylinder), two Alfettas, a Renault R16 (a great car), a Fiat X19, and an Alfa Sud (Gold Clover Leaf). The Alfa Sud was great and the closest thing to an EX30 in handling. In fact, I loved them all in their own ways. Along the way, we had a Toyota Celica (my wife’s car), a Nissan Pulsar Turbo, a Ford Focus (a great car, good power, great handling, solid as a skateboard). And finally, a Holden Colorado double cab diesel, a great tow vehicle that pulled our 2.6 litre truck around Australia for over 100,000 kilometres.

“But, you know what? I would never go back to a fossil fuel car. Why would you do that when you have a reliable, economical car like the Volvo EX30 EV?”

When Tom thought he had answered all my questions, I thought about more. “Have there been any interesting reactions to the car?” He told me these short stories:

“I came out of Bunnings onto the EX30 and there was a woman looking around the car. As it was, I knew her from some work I did at the local university. She said, ‘I saw the car and just had to pull over to get a good look. It’s stunning, I love the colour (moss yellow)’.”

“I was parked in Emu Park when a young man approached me and asked ‘Are you Tom?’ I said yes. He asked ‘Is this your EX30?’ Anyway, I showed him and his wife the car and they are now the third owners of a local EX30.” Well done Tom.

“The Land Cruiser followed my wife Alison through Yeppoon, they pulled into the car park of the shopping centre, stopped and chatted. He loved the car and had to know everything about it.”

“I took a friend to the top of Mount Archer (600m). It’s a winding road with a speed limit of 40km/h, but I pushed it hard on the steepest part. He liked it a lot, but what impressed him most was the return down. I didn’t have to touch the brakes once, as the car used gravity to return another 3% to the battery, all at 40km/h.”

“My sister and her husband in Melbourne have an old petrol Volvo XC40 with a Polestar chip. They were very impressed with the EX30.”

At this point, I told Tom that we had enough to write a great article, but he asked me to hold off on publishing until he completed the pull test and could provide me with more data.

“Yesterday, I hooked up the caravan to the EX30 and headed out to Bayfield National Park – a round trip of about 112 km. The car handled it very well, much better than the Colorado, and the ride was very comfortable.

“A few weeks ago, I drove just to visit Tim McLennan and his family, who are touring Australia in their Kia EV9. The Volvo EX30 was clocking in at around 15kWh/100km. With the car plugged in, I got 28kWh/100km, which was better than I expected. That should give me around 230km of range when towing. I’m happy with that.

“Our caravan is small but has everything you could want. Air conditioning, hot water, fridge, toilet and shower, induction hot plate, air fryer and soon with Starlink (no more hauling a satellite dish). The power system in the van is 1 x 430W panel on the roof (that’s all we can fit there), plus another panel in the back of the van which folds up when camping, so a total of 860W connected to a Victron MPPT charger which charges a 5kWh LFP battery pack. Connected to the battery is a 3000W inverter giving us 240V power.

“During our stay, we heated the hot water system and took a shower, and heated up pre-cooked food in the air fryer for dinner. In the morning, we had tea and coffee from the induction hob, and Allison had her own boiled eggs and toast on battery power. When we got home, the batteries were still 70% charged. We got home with a range of 230 kilometers.”

“I love electric cars, no matter what type,” Tom reminds me. “Road transport accounts for about 10% of emissions.” The future looks bright, electric and sustainable. We can travel there in style and comfort with the Volvo EX30.