A few interesting details regarding the new Volvo EX30 that hasn’t gotten much media attention.
Following its international unveiling last year, the Volvo EX30 has finally recently made its way to Malaysia. This latest EV offering from the Swedish automaker is incidentally also its smallest model to date, with its comparatively titchy starting price of RM 188,888 reflecting its entry-level positioning.
Though small it may be, a quick poke around it during its launch event still revealed for there to be quite a few interesting points of note with this EX30, with what is listed below being just 7 of the lesser-publicised ones.
1. Frameless Side Mirrors
The exterior side mirrors are very swanky frameless units, which incidentally are very similar to those that were first seen on the Polestar2. And according to Polestar’s promotional material back then at least, by minimising the size of the enclosure around the glass, they were cut the overall volume of the mirror unit by 30%, which improves the car’s aerodynamic performance.
2. Window Switch Weirdness
The front and rear window switches are in the centre console. And there’s only two window switches up front, with any control of the rear windows from the front requiring the press of the ‘rear’ button in between the two front window switches.
3. Central Glovebox
There is no glovebox directly in front of the front passenger seat, but instead it is right below the centre screen. What more is that the glovebox opening is controlled only from the centre screen, which will be oh so great for daily tactile usability and long-term ownership prospects…
Handily, the EX30’s centre console is quite ingeniously designed. Right below the glovebox is a handy shallow tray draw-bridge type cover, while right behind that and directly below the centre armrest is another deeper removable container. The armrest in turn houses a slide-out tray cum twin cupholder compartment.
4. Hidden Moose Motifs
There are plenty of cute moose icons hidden along the inner plastic linings of various compartments, like on the removable tray beneath the centre armrest and on the frunk cover for instance, to remind one of Volvo’s Scandinavian roots. Funnily enough though, the EX30 itself is currently only made in China, with production in Europe and local assembly in Malaysia only set to start next year.
And on the subject of neat hidden diagrams meanwhile, the EX30’s tailgate also features a neat ‘Will It Fit?’ cargo capacity guide for the (admittedly tiny) boot.
5. Sounds of Scandinavia
The Volvo EX30 introduces 5 different Ambience themes for its interior ambient lighting, which further comes with accompanying soundscapes to really get occupants into the mood of the moment. The 5 (distinctly Scandinavian-feeling) Ambience themes available are: Archipelago, Nordic Twilight, Midsummer, Northern Lights and Forest Bath.
6. Steering Wheel Configurable Button
The configurable button on the EX30’s steering wheel only has two configuration options to choose from: screen view (which switches the speedo display between calm and standard modes) and one-pedal driving on/off.
7. A Sports Mode Buried Within The Menus
Buried within the vehicle settings of the flagship Ultra Twin Performance variant of the Volvo EX30 is a Performance All-Wheel Drive mode that ‘prioritises performance over range’. And having launched this e-crossover with this mode activated, to this writer’s butt dyno at least, it did indeed feel that there is some basis behind the EX30’s claimed century sprint time of 3.6 seconds.
