2025 Volvo EX30: What's It Like to Live With?

Volvo's subcompact EV joins us for a 20,000-mile test

2025 Volvo EX30 driving
  • We've added the electric Volvo EX30 to our One-Year Road Test fleet.
  • The Volvo promises a lot of features and performance for the price.
  • Will it charm us over the next year?

Electric vehicles continue to proliferate into every niche imaginable, and the 2025 Volvo EX30 fills a small — literally — but pivotal hole in the brand's portfolio. Slotting in size below the electric EX40, and the rest of the company's lineup for that matter, the EX30 is one of the least expensive Volvo models you can buy right now. The diminutive Volvo's U.S. release was initially delayed while the company sorted out production issues, but now that it's here, we purchased one for our One-Year Road Test fleet.

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2025 Volvo EX30 driving

What we bought and why

The EX30 is billed as an entry-level luxury EV, but make no mistake, it brings the goods. The base price is about what you'd pay for a Tesla Model 3 — or, at least it was; the current political situation may change that dramatically. Our EX30 is a well-equipped Ultra trim, with a price of $47,895 when you include the $1,295 destination charge. The good news is that this price includes pretty much everything you'd want, including a full suite of advanced driver assists, a solid-sounding Harman Kardon audio system, a panoramic glass roof and a bunch of other features many other European manufacturers make you pay extra for. The sole option we chose was the $500 Climate package, which adds heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. Less than $50,000 for a loaded European luxury electric vehicle, even a tiny one, is pretty good.

The EPA says the EX30 can go up to 261 miles on a charge, but that's for the yet-to-be-released single-motor version. Our test car's twin motors produce a combined 400 lb-ft of torque, enough to drain the 69-kWh battery in 253 miles while delivering 0-60 mph times in the mid-3-second range. Volvo also says the EX30 can charge at a rate of up to 153 kW, replenishing the battery from 10% to 80% in just 27 minutes. Testing that claim, and seeing if it holds true over the long haul, is part of what we'll be doing with our Volvo.

While the EX30 is smaller on the outside than a Mini Countryman, this Volvo is clever with its interior space. There's plenty of headroom for taller drivers, and although it'd be a tight squeeze in the back with three across, two should be reasonably comfortable. The cargo area is one spot where the little Volvo's larger European rivals have a clear advantage, but even though there's a little less than 13 cubic feet behind the rear seats, it's a useful shape and easy to access and there's some additional space under the adjustable floor.

Save as much as $6,036 with Edmunds

2025 Volvo EX30 pricing in Ashburn, VA

Edmunds suggests you pay

2025 Volvo EX30 front seats

Every time a new EV comes along, the headlines are all about bigger size, more range and, of course, more money. The EX30 is about the same size and range as the departed Chevrolet Bolt EV, bucking that trend by being one of the smallest electric cars on the market, and with a range that's far behind most modern electrics. Instead, the EX30 encourages its buyers to be smart about charging, and in exchange they get a small, fun, premium-branded and surprisingly quick car that's perfect for day-to-day driving in the city. It could be a winning formula; Chevrolet managed to sell more than 140,000 Bolts in the U.S., albeit at a much lower price. A yearlong road test will determine if the EX30 remains compelling or if size really does matter.

Instrumented testing results

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2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Ultra
Edmunds test results
Enginedual electric motors
Power422 hp
Torque400 lb-ft
Transmissionsingle-speed automatic
Drivelineall-wheel drive
Edmunds observed range256 miles
Weight4,190 pounds
0-30 mph1.6 seconds
0-45 mph2.4 seconds
0-60 mph3.5 seconds
0-75 mph5.0 seconds
Quarter mile11.8 seconds @ 112.1 mph
Lateral grip (200-foot skidpad)0.86 g
60-0 mph braking120 feet
Sound level at idle40.5 dB
Sound level at 70 mph63.8 dB
Sound level at full throttle67.7 dB
Price as tested$48,395


2025 Volvo EX30 driving

How's the Volvo EX30's range?

  • EPA-estimated range: 253 miles
  • Edmunds' observed range: 256 miles
  • Odometer: 7,606 miles

What did we learn?

In the year that we owned our 2025 Volvo EX30, its logbook registered a disproportionately large number of negative comments. Sure, it was quick and cute, but living with this car day to day was a nightmare. From tech quirks to major usability issues, the EX30 simply felt like a half-baked effort — something so uncharacteristic for Volvo. And while several over-the-air updates helped things along the way, they couldn't resolve the fact that, from a user experience standpoint, the Volvo EX30 was flawed from the start. Here's what our staff had to say.

Our EX30 is as quick as a Porsche 911

"The EX30 ripped off a 3.6-second 0-60 mph run — the exact same time as a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet we tested on the same day. Even if you don't put the EX30 in its performance all-wheel-drive setting, just getting in and mashing the throttle results in a 3.9-second sprint. That's massively quick for such an unassuming electric crossover. Then again, it does have 422 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque." — Steven Ewing

Click here to read the full story.

2025 Volvo EX30 touchscreen

A software update fixed our EX30's most annoying problem

"When we last checked in on our cute little Volvo EX30, it was incessantly beeping due to a road sign notification feature that could not be turned off. To put this annoyance into context, it's a 22-mile drive from my home in northeast Los Angeles to Edmunds HQ in Santa Monica, California, and over the course of that drive, the EX30's infotainment system sounded its 'bok' chime 27 times. That's 54 notifications in one daily commute. You can see how that'd get real old real quick." — Steven Ewing

Click here to read the full story.

Volvo EX30 vs. Tesla Model Y

"With both the Tesla and the Volvo taking up residence in our garage as part of our One-Year Road Test program within the past few months, we felt compelled to put them into a head-to-head battle for supremacy. Yes, there's a big difference in size between these two, but when you look at how much they cost, there's some overlap because you can actually buy an entry-level Model Y for roughly what our EX30 costs." — Brian Wong

Click here to read the full story.

The Volvo EX30 is an absolute tech nightmare

"Hey, Volvo, what happened? Your interiors used to be so smart. They were quirky in a way that made them easy to use. Remember the climate controls with airflow buttons in the profile of a person? So clever! Tap the head, torso or feet for where you want the airflow to go. It was so intuitive and nicely designed that Hyundai even copied it exactly at one point. 

"This history makes me that much more frustrated with the 2025 Volvo EX30 in our One-Year Road Test fleet. On paper, I should like this little EV, and I'll admit it's nice to drive. The range is fine for an around-town car like this, and it has enough power to make knowledgeable Porsche drivers look the other way at stoplight drag races. The tidy exterior dimensions make it perfect for city living. I love the seats, and the cargo space is better than you'd think for something you can probably three-point turn inside a two-car garage. The problem is the tech." — Keith Buglewicz

Read the full story here.

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by

Steven Ewing is Edmunds' director of editorial content. An automotive journalist for more than half of his life, Ewing's been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and he was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. He's also contributed to publications like Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and more. Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. From testing prototype cars in the Arctic Circle to spilling a beer on a Formula 1 driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (oops), he's always got an interesting story to tell.

edited by

Jake Sundstrom has worked in the automotive industry since 2017. He has written hundreds of car-related articles. Jake is currently a features editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to National Hot Rod Association publications. When he's not driving cars, he's eating takeout inside of them (probably burgers, burritos or pizza).

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