Style vs. Substance: The 2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance AWD Ultra

The 2025 Volvo EX30 is here in the United States.

It was unveiled to the public a little over two years ago in Milan, Italy. Having been fortunate enough to visit that beautiful city once, I can see why it was a hit there. Milan is a style and fashion capital. And the EX30 is extremely stylish.

Plus, Italians love fast cars---and the EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra (our tester) is the fastest-accelerating Volvo ever. Zero to 60 in 3.4 seconds. Yes, it's electric and yes, that kind of off the line oomph does come with a price. Range per charge is 253 miles, which is on the low end of average these days. Charging (on a DC fast charger) is reasonably quick, though, with Volvo citing 26.5 minutes to go from 10% to 80%.

Volvo calls the EX30 an SUV. I mean, I guess...but on the outside, it's slightly smaller than a Volkswagen GTI, which is a four-door hatchback and has 19.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second-row seats while the EX30 has 14.1.

Even if you fold that second row, the Volvo's cargo space is 31.9 cubic feet to the VW's 34.5.

The EX30 has 6.5 inches of ground clearance to the GTI's 4.7, but 6.5 doesn't buy you much in terms of SUV-ness.

Nor does the (lack of) legroom for rear seat passengers. That's 32.3 inches, which is compact car territory and once again lags the GTI, which at 35.1 inches, I described in my June 18 review as "adequate".

Volvo swears that its glass roofs (also featured on other EVs it makes) are tinted to provide protection from glare and UV radiation. It's also supposed to keep the interior from getting too hot. It was 74 degrees in Stockholm today. It's 100 where I live. Getting in the EX30 when it's been parked most of the day is deeply unpleasant. The steering wheel is too hot to touch. Yeah, you can ask the climate control for 70 degrees, and you'll get it, but it's fighting the heat of the cabin and more sunrays coming through the glass roof---which does not have a sunshade.

As I mentioned in my review of the 2023 Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Ultimate two years ago ("Swedish Tanning Secret"), I got a sunburn driving it to and from work (40 miles roundtrip). And as I disclose in that review, I'm a melanoma survivor.

Is a shade (or full photochromic glass, which turns opaque) too much to ask?

I have been very critical of Volvo for years for its habit of burying way too many functions in the center touchscreen. The 2025.5 XC90 I reviewed in April has a new screen that at least reduces the number of taps it takes to get somewhere, and it's a vast improvement.

But for the EX30, Volvo chose to put everything---everything---in the center screen.

Want to set up the automatic headlights? It's in the screen. Adjust the mirrors? In the screen. Adjust ambient lighting? In the screen. Adjust the sensitivity of the rain-sensing windshield wipers? In the screen. Open the glove box or the rear hatch? In the screen. Lane keeping aid? One pedal driving? The driver alert (more on that in a moment)? In the screen.

And that's just page one. There's a batch more on page two.

That driver alert I mentioned? It chimes at you and mutes the audio system (more on that in a moment) if you look anywhere other than straight ahead for two seconds (onethousandoneonethousandtwo), which you have to do because---everything is in the screen.

And proof that somewhere a Swedish sadist works for Volvo: The driver alert resets every time. So every time you drive the car, you either need to live with it or defeat it...in the screen.

Finally---the audio system.

Volvo breaks new ground with the EX30's audio system---it is the first in-vehicle use of a soundbar, not unlike the ones used in home theater applications. There are six speakers inside the soundbar, one in the lower part of each rear door and a subwoofer in the cargo area.

In the EX30 Twin Motor Performance AWD Ultra, it's part of a 1,040 watt Harman Kardon system. The drawback here is that while other premium vehicles are offering a dozen strategically-located speakers throughout the cabin to deliver actual surround sound, the Harman Kardon sound bar has to use digital effects to simulate that.

For example, I like my music relatively pure. If there's a "reference" or "studio" setting to an audio system, I'll select that. Tone controls or equalizers are set flat.

So when I got in the EX30, I set the surround control to the minimum setting----and it took a stereo recording straight down to mono. If there was separation there, I wasn't hearing it.

Ouch. Time to tinker.

It took some experimentation, but I finally arrived at a sound profile that made Steely Dan's "Black Cow" sound like Steely Dan's "Black Cow" should sound. Your ears may vary.

The base price of the 2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra AWD is $46,600 ($47,895 including destination). The EX30 is built in China, with 100% parts content from China.

The tariff picture is hard to predict from day to day, but it is possible that the price at your dealer could be considerably higher by the time you read this. A 30% tariff, for example would add $13,980 to the base price before destination.

Standard equipment, beyond what I've mentioned already, includes 19-inch wheels, dual front and rear USB ports (total of four), inductive smartphone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay, two-zone automatic climate control with an air quality system, a power-operated tailgate, a black rear spoiler, ambient themed illumination, front and rear parking assist, a 12-volt power outlet in the cargo area, auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors, power front seats with power lumbar support for the driver, tinted windows, a 360-degree surround view camera, and a robust suite of active safety features.

The only extra-cost option on our test vehicle was the Climate Package (heated front seats and a heated steering wheel) for $500, so the as-tested price of the 2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Performance Ultra was $48,395.

Volvo's press office probably thinks I've been pretty rough on the EX30. But the lack of a sunscreen for the glass roof, the overly fussy screen-based controls and the low-ish range are choices Volvo made.

Having been blessed to spend a few weeks in Europe over the last three years, I think this would be a great car to have over there (where it's sometimes cooler, often cloudier and trips are generally shorter---the controls would still be a downside).

At $48,395, it's likely to be a tough sell in much of the United States of 'Murrica. If the administration sticks to its guns and the EX30 gets hit with a 30% tariff it's suddenly a $62,000-plus vehicle. That could kill a car that really just needs some tweaks.

[UPDATE: I wrote this a couple of weeks ago. This morning, we know that Volvo is dumping its S90 sedan, and 2026 could be the last year it will import its V90 and V60 Cross Country wagons to the U.S. Reports are the company will focus exclusively on SUV models, and while that would normally include the EX30, Volvo says it also intends to "prune" its zero-emission lineup and focus instead on mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid models like the XC90 T8 AWD Ultra I reviewed in April.]