We drove the Volvo EX30, a small and capable nice guy who will teach you to like electromobility – Garáž.cz

That’s not a road, that’s a roller coaster! In the hills behind Barcelona, ​​we came across a small valley and a road section that was definitely not created just for traffic, but mainly for fun. The asphalt here undulates wildly like an angry snake, constantly twisting to one side and immediately to the other, alternately rising and falling, in short, it does everything possible, it just doesn’t stay still and straight for a moment.

I don’t have time to think if we didn’t miss the ticket booth, the cotton candy stand and the balloons at the beginning of the section, but the tracks don’t go here, so we probably won’t meet the roller coaster train here in the opposite direction. So I can lie down without fear to turn the steering wheel and dance on the pedals of the Volvo EX30. And the little Volvo obviously likes it too – it enthusiastically throws itself into and out of corners at full throttle, only to slow down again into the next wing.

It’s in its element here, which is quite suspicious when it’s actually an electric city car. It could easily lose ground under its feet – it could lean and wobble in corners, go soft on the brakes or lose breath under the gas, lose confidence on horizons or in compressions… None of this happens. The EX30 listens to instructions from the steering wheel, can tighten the track under the gas, and shoots on the straight to obediently slow down before the next wing. The little EX30 feels confident, as if it was born for these roads.

At the same time, you will see him far more often on city streets, in front of schools and playgrounds or in parking lots near offices and malls. The EX30 was designed for the city and feels like a fish in water here. It’s compact so you can easily squeeze in anywhere, it’s nimble so you can take advantage of every nook and cranny in traffic, it’s quiet and comfortable, helping to calm the pulse of the driver and the whole crew, it’s easy to see and most of all, it makes you feel safe.

The EX30 is currently the safest Volvo, thanks to a state-of-the-art sensor platform it covers the widest range of possible scenarios – it can now prevent a collision when turning left, it can automatically avoid an obstacle at the roadside and warns you not to step under someone’s wheels after stopping or shoot a cyclist by opening the door. And since the modern city is more like a wild jungle, we have (not entirely willingly) tested all these security improvements and they really work.

And the new evolution of Pilot Assist, i.e. a driving assistant that facilitates driving on motorways, also works. In addition to more accurately maintaining speed and driving in a lane, it can also automatically change lanes or increase the distance from a truck that will stick to you from the side (or drive too hard to the dividing line in the opposite direction). There is also greater reliance on Park Assist to park perfectly in both longitudinal and transverse parking spaces while avoiding all obstacles – which you can check on the panoramic view of the cameras projected on the central display.

It also displays driving information in the upper bar, which you would otherwise find on the display directly in front of the driver. However, it is completely absent in the EX30 – Volvo explains this by the greater airiness of the cabin, but certainly cost savings also played a role in this. The main reason, however, will be the inspiration from Tesla, so even in the EX30 you will find almost no physical controls: you can set the air conditioning on the display, you can set the distance of the adaptive cruise control on the display, you can set the rear-view mirrors on the display, even the buttons for the hazard lights and opening the center box can be found there .

It will take some time to digest, but it probably won’t take long, because the whole system is quite intuitive and clear. The fact is that this cleaning and centralization made the cabin nice and airy – the excellent architecture and material concept (using a whole range of natural and recycled materials) stand out more, there was also more space for storing smaller and larger objects (the whole solution of the center console is simply brilliant ).

But take into account that, despite the overall maturity, the EX30 is small in stature, so an adult will only feel comfortable on the back seats for shorter distances, and the trunk with a volume of 318 liters (of which 61 liters is under the double floor; additional storage space under the front hood it is only suitable for charging cables) although it is sufficient for a holiday, but not for a large family with a pram. Therefore, the EX30 will most often fulfill the role of the second car in the family.

If that all sounds too good to you, that’s because this car is really good. Volvo obviously put a lot of care into it and it paid off. The EX30 is a really cool compact SUV that enjoys city traffic, but certainly won’t get lost outside of it either. Above all, it is a car that could really convince you to give electromobility a chance…

Especially because Volvo offers it on the Czech market at prices that compete with cars with internal combustion engines. You can buy the basic version (single engine) in Core equipment (no bare-bones, it could be enough for most people) for already 869,000 CZK, the version with an extended range will cost 994,000 CZK, and for a high-performance four-wheeler you will pay 1,144,000 CZK (because it is available available only from the higher equipment Plus). It is not exactly cheap, but within the segment it is a very interesting offer.