Volvo, what have you done with my Volvo?
My Dad had two Volvos, so I know what makes a Volvo a Volvo. Rugged, certainly. Dependable and comfy like an old sofa that you slouch into after a weary day. You would of course add safety to that list and a reputation for no nonsense function. Cool in a nonchalant boxy way that’s what makes a Volvo a Volvo. All is good with the world when a Volvo is parked in your driveway.
Ponder then, this: the company’s new fully electric small SUV – the EX30 that’s built in Zhangjiakou, China with production aligning with Belgium from 2025. Now to the thorny issue of early adopters. What do they think of it? They are less than impressed. UK’s Autocar reports that customers are now handing their EX30s back to dealers. A string of tech failure has dogged the car with stuffed touchscreens, spurious information displayed, steering column buttons failing and worryingly for a Volvo driver, ADAS safety aids that are simply packing up.
Several of the car’s key functions like headlights, external mirrors and climate controls were rendered inoperable by failed central touchscreens. This highlights the legitimate concern for consumers over the cost saving pursued by OEMs as they centralise frequently used buttons into a plastic screen. It’s a trend that needs to be reversed as one inoperable touchscreen dying out of warranty will be a costly repair and could impact the minimum future value of any EX30. The fact that these are failing after the car is bought is worrying still.
A fellow journalist experienced more EX30 dismay first hand. An inoperable key card failed to open the doors despite swiping the B pillar several times (it’s the first way to open the driver’s door) to no avail. This was down to an inoperable key card. It seems the press was not offered a back up emergency key. And who carries the spare key with them anyway? If it happened to a journalist it too might happen to a customer.
The central touchscreen has caused complaints by many buyers. The centralisation of the screen is a distracting way to access an array of primary functions while driving. The nonsense of housing the headlight controls, exterior door mirror adjustment, climate controls and driving assistance which are located within the screen’s menus is a potential single point of failure.
As for locating the speedometer which is the most frequently watched function in a built up area into the top of the central screen is downright dangerous. Urban accidents happen in split seconds and one glance down left to a confusing screen while avoiding incoming traffic is a recipe for disaster. This represents a confusing message by Volvo, the company depended on by loyal buyers for the best in safety.
Prices in Ireland range from €39,596 for the single motor RWD to the €48,883 Twin Motor AWD (after Government grants). Proof that small SUVs are now expensive is laid bare by the price of my EX30 press car topped out at €51,095.
I wanted to like the EX30 but elements conspired against it. I disliked the unyieldingly hard recycled door cards, an unsettled ride that never was composed as it should be and the constantly overreaching ADAS systems that intrusively warned of impending alerts when none were visible. Add to that tally the fact it never felt spacious inside. For these reasons the Volvo EX30 gets a disappointing 2.5 Stars. A clever car it may be, but on this test it emerged too clever for its own good.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Mark Gallivan, Motoring Journalist