We met the Volvo EX30 during an adventure day back in May. Then we met up with Tom and spent a weekend with him and his car at the Rockhampton and Gladstone electric vehicle displays. “Let me know when you want to do an interview for an article for CleanTechnica,” I said. Well, here it is.
By Tom Sjolund, as told to David Waterworth
Tom tells me: “I’m quite slow in making quick decisions. I started looking at EVs when we installed our first solar system some two and a half years ago. At the time, there was not that much to choose from. There was of course the ubiquitous Tesla that everyone was raving about, the Atto 3 was about to be released, Nissan had been around for years, and there were offerings from Korea and the EU. My primary concerns were affordability, a factory tow rating, design, and a mature manufacturer of quality build.
“My initial first thoughts were Polestar — heaps of power and torque, and a good tow rating. Then I saw press releases for the Volvo C40 and fell in love with the styling — such a beautiful design. This made me look at XC40, which I also liked, but at the time, the single motor was front-wheel drive. A year later, it came out as a RWD or AWD. The AWD was out of my range, but I did like the RWD and came so close to putting a deposit on one.
“Then, there was a lot of noise on the web about the Volvo EX30. Then Volvo had “the reveal” of the car, which I watched. I was smitten. Lots to watch here depending on how much time you have.
“The design and styling has to become a classic in time. The environmental aspects of its production also appealed to me. As it happened, that night my wife and I talked over it and next day we paid the deposit. Nine months later, we had the first one in Queensland. Since then, we have two new friends in our locality with EX30s as well.
“We have lived and enjoyed our EX30 since early May. Our first trip was from the dealership on the Sunshine Coast (Qld.) to home, some 550 km in the rain — arrived at home in the dark (loved the adaptive headlights). We had no problems with charging (I had organized a “Chargefox RFID Card” well in advance). We mainly use a granny charger at home (as we are a retired couple) off our over-the-top solar system, so, when we are at home, our general use of the car is free of cost.”
“We have done two trips to Brisbane and back, about 2,700 km in total. Add in the 550 km, that’s 3,250 km of which we used fast chargers along the way. By a small margin, it still was cheaper than using our fossil fueled car. Currently we have done 8,200 km with the EX30, and of that, 5,000 km has not cost us a cent.
“What do I love about the EX30? Well, just about everything.
“I follow a number of Facebook sites hosting EX30 owners and I just can’t believe some of the complaints about the infotainment system. Like, ‘when can we get Apple CarPlay.’ Who would need it when the Google Automotive system is so good if not just brilliant? Then there are the legislated safety requirements, such as “Lane keeping,” which is a default. If you don’t want it (like me), it’s only two clicks away to turn it off — two clicks and it’s off; another click or two will take the vibration off the steering as well, not a big deal.
“On the other hand, I love the performance and handling of the EX30, even though 99% of the time I drive for economy and range. It is not as efficient as a Tesla because it is not as aerodynamic, but it’s not far off. Not that long ago, when I was younger, I was in a local rally club and competed in rallies and rally sprints, not the best but not the worst. I love being a driver. Once when my nervous wife was not in the car, I gave the Volvo a fang. I turned all the safety controls and driver’s aids off. Oh, man, is this car a go kart or not? Yes, it is, you can come into a tight corner so fast and just turn the wheel and around it goes, slight oversteer but so easily corrected, nothing that would concern any driver. If you wanted to drift, go for it. So easily corrected.
“When my wife is in the car, I leave Pilot assist on. So, even if you come into a corner fast or the car thinks it is too fast, it gives a gentle braking effect. She does not even notice and I stay in the good books.
“Each country that Volvo delivers their cars to have their own specific set off specifications. In Australia, we have two of the three versions available. We have the single-motor RWD in either Ultra or Plus (which I have) and the AWD in Ultra or Plus — all come with the extended range battery (69 kWh, 64 kWh usable).”
“One thing that that was missing in the Australian spec was the electronic tow wiring module. We all love to tow in Australia, Volvo has made a mistake here. The EX30 is more than capable of towing, having a tow rating of 1,400 to 1,600 kg depending on the model. So, I had to get an aftermarket towbar (fully compliance EU) and have it installed and wired up. It cost a lot all up but I am very happy with it. The car is not worried when reversing up to the hitch, I can see both the tow ball and the caravan hitch in the reverse camera view. The car will autobrake as I get close; a bit more power overcomes this, love it.
“As an aside, my first car was a Vauxhall Viva back in 1972. To make it handle, I had to put a bag of cement in the boot. My next car was a Holden Torana (basic 138 engine/3 speed on the column). Loved it. Then a Morris (2.6L, 6 cylinder), a couple of Alfetta’s, a Renault R16 (awesome car), a Fiat X19, an Alfa Sud (Gold Cloverleaf). The Alfa Sud was awesome and the closest in terms of handling to the EX30. Actually, I loved them all in their own special ways. Along the way, we have had a Toyota Celica (the wife’s car), a Nissan Pulsar turbo, a Ford Focus ( a great car, good power, handles great, stiff as a surfboard). Finally, a Holden Colorado crew cab diesel, great towing vehicle which towed our 2.6T van around OZ for over 100,000 km.
“But, you know what? I’d never go back to a fossil fueled car ever again. Why would you when you have such a reliable, economical vehicle as the Volvo EX30 EV?”
Just when Tom thought he answered all my questions, I though of more. “Have there been any interesting reactions to the car?” He told me these vignettes:
“I came out of Bunnings to 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 in behind to have a good look. It’s stunning, love the colour (Moss Yellow).’”
“I was parked at Emu Park when a young man came up to me and asked ‘are you Tom?’ I said yes. He asked, “Is that EX30 yours?” Anyway, I showed him and his wife the car and now they are the 3rd owners of an EX30 locally.” Well done, Tom.
“My wife, Alison, was followed through Yeppoon by a LandCruiser, and into the carpark at the shopping centre, they stopped and had a chat. He loved the car and had to know everything about it.”
“I took a friend up to the top of Mt. Archer (600+ meters climb). It’s a winding road with a 40 km/h limit, but I gave it a bit of a squirt on the steepest section. He was so impressed, but what impressed him most was going back down. I did not have to touch the brakes once, as the car used gravity to put another 3% back into the battery all at the 40 km/h speed limit.”
“My sister and her husband in Melbourne have an old petrol Volvo XC40 with a Polestar chip. They are really taken with the EX30.”
At this point, I told Tom that we had plenty for a great article, but he asked me to delay publication until he had completed a tow test and could give me more data.
“Yesterday, I hooked up the caravan to the EX30 and headed off to Byfield National Park — about a 112 km round trip. The car handled it so well, much better than with the Colorado, such a comfortable ride.
“A few weeks ago, I drove up with just the car to visit Tim McLennan and his family, who are electrekking around Australia in their Kia EV9. The Volvo EX30 registered about 15kW/100km. With the van attached, I got 28kW/100km, which was better than I expected. This would give me a range of about 230 km when towing. I’m happy with that.
“Our caravan is only small but has everything you would want. Aircon, hot water, fridge, toilet & shower, induction hotplate, air fryer, and soon with Starlink (no more carting around a sat dish). The power system on the van is 1×430W panel on the roof (that’s all we could fit there), plus another panel on the back on the van which folds out when camping, so a total of 860W of power which is connected to a Victron MPPT charger which chargers a nearly 5kWh LFP battery bank. Attached to the battery is a 3000W inverter giving us 240V power.
“During our stay we heated up the hot water system and had a shower, we heated up precooked food in the air fryer for dinner. In the morning, we had our tea and coffee from the induction hotplate, Alison had her cooked egg and toast all using battery power. When we got home, the batteries were still at 70%. We got home with a 230km range.”
Tom reminds me: “I love EVs no matter the make. Road transport contributes about 10% to emissions.” The future looks bright, electric, and sustainable. We can travel there in style and comfort with the Volvo EX30.
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Author David Waterworth
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