• Spacious in the front
• Rivals have bigger boots
• Cramped in the back

How much space is there?

The EX30 may be the new smallest SUV in the Volvo range but it still feels roomy in the driver’s seat. Volvo has done away with most of its classic dashboard layout for the EX30 (more on that later), leaving additional open space to be enjoyed at the front of the cabin.

The airy feel is reinforced by the open area between the driver and the front passenger. As an electric car, there isn’t a transmission tunnel to fill this gap, but Volvo has neatly integrated cupholders that retract into the centre armrest when you don’t need them to leave the space free. There’s plenty of legroom for the driver and the front passenger to sit comfortably, too.

Moving to the rear, the story is. less good. Despite the sloping roofline, headroom remains adequate for adult passengers in the back but, owing to the tapering design of the EX30’s rear end, the amount of room is compromised. While it will fit three children in the back at a push, even two full-sized adults may find themselves uncomfortably cramped.

Taller passengers will likely struggle with the lack of leg and shoulder room, so we’d only recommend the EX30 for short journeys with a full passenger load. There’s decent storage in the rear, however, with large door pockets and a central cubbyhole beneath the front centre armrest.

Boot space and storage

With a 318-litre boot seats up and 904-litre seats down, the EX30 lacks luggage space compared with its rivals. That’s 172/591-litres less than the BMW iX1 and 142/546-litres less than the MINI Countryman electric.

The boot can be opened via a button on the infotainment screen – even the key doesn’t have a button to open it. The space is tight, but the loading lip is at least quite low (at 737mm from the ground), making it easily accessible area. Beneath the boot floor in an additional storage space for your charging cable and other accessories, and there are handy cubbyholes on either side.

There’s plenty of storage space in the front half of the car, with extra-large door pockets and a large folding door storage unit underneath the infotainment screen. There’s a decent amount of storage from the back seat, too. Again, rear seat passengers are given sizeable door pockets and a useful central cubbyhole beneath the front centre armrest.

Is it easy to park?

By virtue of the EX30’s compact shape, in conjunction with the rear park assist camera and front and rear parking sensors that come fitted as standard, it’s a relatively easy car to park.

Visibility is decent, though comprised over the shoulder as the rear windows shrink away into the C-pillars. The rear camera display would also benefit from additional graphics to help guide you in to parking bays or between cars on the street, but overall it’s a pain-free experience.

Safety

• Not yet crash-tested by Euro NCAP
• But we’re expecting good results
• Lots of driver assistance technology

Volvos have long been known for their high safety ratings and the EX30 is no different. It comes loaded with myriad driving aids to help keep you in check, including Volvo’s Pilot Assist that combines adaptive cruise control with steering assistance and lane-changing assistance among others. It’s an effective system that helps to keep you on the straight and narrow, but will also do its best to keep you from changing lanes unless your steering input unequivocally confirms your intentions.

However, we found the driver monitoring system to be intrusive, overwrought and irritating. Volvo has moved its conventional instrument cluster from behind the steering wheel onto the infotainment screen, but the moment you look at it, the system will begin pinging to alert you that you should focus back on the road.

The screen will also begin pinging with a notification to take a break if the facial monitoring system detects that the driver is tired. After a three-and-a-half hour journey, it became clear just how many faces you can pull that would suggest you’re tired, whether it be the case or not.

The EX30 has ISOFIX attachment points on the rear outer seats only, inner driver seat airbags and rear child locks. As of February 2024, the EX30 hadn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP. Based on the historical results of Volvos, it’ll like score well, but we’ll report the findings here as soon as we have them.