The EX30 suits its front passengers best, while compromises to its size show up in rear-seat and cargo space. Trim quality sacrifices appeal to sustainability, too. It’s a 6 here.
The EX30 measures 166.7 inches long, 72.3 inches wide, on a 104.3-inch wheelbase. About eight inches shorter than an XC40, it’s shorter than a Kia Seltos or a Hyundai Kona, too.
The numbers matter less in front, where driver and passenger have plenty of headroom and 41.9 inches of legroom. They perch on pillowy seats covered in a cloth that includes recycled materials—it’s a harbinger for the rest of the cabin. Heated seats are an option on all versions, but only the EX30 Ultra offers power adjustment. We’d like more tilt to the bottom cushion, but otherwise find the EX30’s main cabin spacious and airy.
Front passengers are surrounded by tucked-away storage in unconventional places. The cupholders pop out from the lower half of the armrest, the power window switches sit atop that armrest, and the small glovebox sits under the center of the console—all cost-effective and effective solutions. The console has more storage under a butterfly lid. A soundbar sits at the base of the windshield, which cuts down on wiring as there are no other speakers.
Volvo has sunk some controls into the EX30’s touchscreen interface, and it’s a multi-gesture affair to access power-mirror adjustments: tap the screen then swipe on the steering-wheel controls, which need to be tuned for finer adjustment.
In back, the EX30’s wind-cheating shape requires a tuck and roll to get inside, since the door cuts are tall but not very wide. The EX30 has 32.3 inches of rear-seat legroom, not quite enough for tall passengers, and toeroom’s at a premium under the front seats. The back seats do get access to the storage bin hidden in the front armrest.
Many drivers will opt to fold down the seatbacks, to convert the EX30’s 14.1 cubic feet of cargo space to 31.9 cubic feet. Another 0.2 cubic feet of front-trunk space awaits under the hood. Maybe you can fit a novel up there.
Now, for that interior. Forget the Orrefors crystal shifters and gray birch wood trim of the classy Volvo SUVs of the past decade. This Volvo harks back to the plastics of the ’70s and ‘80s 240 sedans and wagons that likely could have survived thermonuclear attacks. The Ford Maverick-grade interior gambles that customers will pay a premium for sustainability even as it pushes the boundaries of thrift. Of the four interior themes, the recycled-denim suite subdues the hard plastic surfaces best; the flax-trimmed cockpit ranks as our least favorite. Fit isn’t the question the EX30 poses—finish is, and the interior comes very close to costing the EX30 a point here.
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