Volvo EX30 Cross Country review: Light off-roading now in electric form

Volvo’s Cross Country badge has been around since 1997, identifying its high-riding off-road variants such as the XC70 Cross Country. Traditionally, the Cross Country badge has only been applied to ICE products but now it introduces its first electric model: the Volvo EX30 Cross Country, promising more capability for the smallest Volvo on the market.

Priced at $69,990 plus on-road costs (that’s around $79,000 drive away, depending on location), the Cross Country sits at top of the EX30 tree in Australia, above the regular EX30 models. The least expensive EX30 is priced from $59,990 +ORC, but the Cross Country adopts the equipment from the upper-spec Ultra ($66,290 +ORC).

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Equipment gracing the EX30 Ultra includes 19-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED lighting, rain-sensing wipers, a panoramic glass roof, dual-zone climate control, textile and synthetic leather upholstery, heated and electric front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 12.3-inch touchscreen with inbuilt 5G, Google integration for Google Maps and access to the Play Store to download apps, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 1040W Harman Kardon sound system and all the safety features you’d expect from a Volvo.

For $3700 above the Ultra, the Cross Country then adds off-road styling features such as the black plastic front and wheel arch mouldings, front and rear skid plates, a dual-motor all-wheel drive drivetrain and 19mm-raised suspension. Fun fact: the front plastic panel is a topographical map of the Kebnekaise mountain range in Arctic Sweden. Cool!

The regular EX30 is a really fun thing to punt around. It’s got a tight chassis and nimble handling, though can be a bit firm around town. So how do the off-road changes affect the Cross Country? In good news, it’s actually better to drive. The slightly softer suspension for off-road duty has made the EX30 more comfortable, but it’s still fun to drive. The steering doesn’t give much feel, but its body control is tight.

How about the extra 18mm of ground clearance? Well, 190mm in total is hardly going to send the Volvo EX30 Cross Country over the Himalayas, but it’s enough for its intended missions on gravel road, snow and light off-roading. We drove it over gravel, mud and below-average roads and it didn’t have any trouble, though those wanting more serious off-road chops will need to look elsewhere.

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For its arrival, Volvo Cars Australia has tweaked the EX30 line-up so that the Cross Country is now the only variant available with the dual-motor all-wheel system. Where the standard single-motor EX30 makes a still-strong 200kW, the dual-motor adds a second front axle motor for a frankly ridiculous 315kW of power and 543Nm of torque, enough for an insane 3.7-second 0-100km/h time.

The Volvo EX30 Cross Country uses a 69kWh battery for a claimed 427km WLTP range, which is around 30km less than the equivalent non-Cross Country EX30. The battery charging is impressive for a 400-volt architecture at a maximum of 175kW. A 10-80 per cent charge takes around 28 minutes or fast enough to be done during a quick lunch break before returning to the road. In our test, we achieved 20.6kWh/100km for energy consumption, which is a big improvement on electric Volvos of the past, but could still be better.

The cabin of the EX30 is distinctly un-Volvo in many ways. For starters, in a very Tesla move, there’s no speedometer in front of the driver. Secondly, the minimalist interior appears to be a cost-saving move – there are no buttons on the inside of the doors, for example, and the window controls are in the centre console. And then there’s the touchscreen…

It’s a 12.3-inch unit with 5G connectivity and runs Google software, including Google Maps for the sat-nav and the Google Play Store to download apps such as Spotify and YouTube. It also has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and its graphics are crisp and bright as well. A good start, then.

But almost every feature in the EX30 Cross Country is controlled through the touchscreen, including the headlights, safety systems, seat settings, mirror adjustment, climate control and 360-degree camera.

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Plus, look at it for more than five seconds while driving – which you need to do in order to use it – and the driver monitoring system blares at you to look ahead. For the company that’s known for Swedish sensibility, it’s a big shock to the system. Sure, once you learn it and everything is set to your preferences, it’s fine, but should there be the learning curve? We’re not sure.

In better news, the materials in the EX30’s cabin are partly recycled, the storage is excellent, as is front seat comfort, and the punchy Harman Kardon sound system is unique in that it only uses a soundbar underneath the windscreen and there are no other speakers inside the car. Pretty cool stuff, in our view.

The EX30 Cross Country does lose some marks for practicality. Sure, it’s quite a small car and the company has definitely carved out as much space as possible, but it should be a little bigger considering its asking price. Rear seat room is tight for six-footers, while the 318-litre boot is also pretty small. It opens up to a more useful 1000L with the rear seat folded, plus the small six-litre front boot, but small families are better off with the larger EX40 or competitors such as the Skoda Elroq.

In some ways, the Volvo EX30 Cross Country is one of the best small electric SUVs around thanks to its strong performance, fun driving dynamics, good quality interior and long list of standard equipment. The Cross Country adds some more appeal in that you can cover rougher terrain, while the ride quality is more comfortable than the regular EX30 and the off-road design cues add more character. It’s also now the only variant offering the super quick dual-motor set up in the EX30 range.

Volvo EX30 Cross Country specifications:

EX30 Cross Country rivals:

Skoda Enyaq

Kia EV3

Mini Aceman