Is Volvo's EX30 the best small electric SUV?

There it was, basking in the general acclaim for its new battery-powered soft-roader - the EX30 - when suddenly things went a bit, well, Pete Tong if we’re being honest.

First up, there was the announcement that the company’s estate models - the cars that built the Volvo brand in the UK - were being withdrawn. The S60, V60 and V90 were abruptly removed from the firm’s online ‘configurator’ last August because sales had slumped.

Not to worry, said Volvo, everyone wants an SUV these days and our models are class leaders.

Then, in June, Volvo did a massive U-turn and said the V60 and V90 estates would be reintroduced to the UK market less than a year after they left.

Apparently as soon as the Volvo estates were withdrawn demand for new ones shot right up. Who’d have thought?

Volvo hailed the reintroduction of two new petrol models as a victory for people power and all was well.

Until August, when Volvo shocked us again when it announced it was abandoning its target to transition all its models to electric power by 2030 and sticking with a mixture of battery, hybrid and petrol powered vehicles.

Explaining what was clearly a massive policy shift, Volvo’s Chief Executive, Jiman Rowan said: “We are resolute in our belief that our future is electric. However, it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear, and customers and markets are moving at different speeds.”

This bombshell left me with mixed feelings.

I’m a fan of Volvo’s big internally combusted estates, but if the future’s anything like the EX30 SUV then we have nothing to fear from all-electric power.

The EX30 is Volvo’s first small premium SUV but it’s actually quite a big deal.

For starters, with a list price beginning just south of £30,000, the compact Volvo has achieved price parity with petrol rivals. The cheapest Range Rover Evoque - a much older design - will set you back nearly £10,000 more.

By offering two choices of battery tech - a cost-effective lithium iron phosphate pack or a lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt set-up which offers more range - Volvo has an EX30 to suit your lifestyle.

Want to keep costs to a minimum and not bothered about long journeys? That’ll be the lithium iron phosphate version for you. Need the range and high performance to cover large distances? No problem, sir, let me show you the lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt EX30.

Volvo sent the latter for testing and I really was impressed.

It says the single-motor, extended-range option gives you a range of up to 298 miles between charges, but we did slightly better. In perfect warm conditions it was possible to coax nearly 325 miles out of the EX30 before a recharge was necessary.

And when you do need to give the power pack a tickle it will go from 20 to 80 per cent charged in less than half an hour.

To drive, it’s surprisingly nimble. Volvo has concentrated the weight as low to the ground as possible so the EX30 doesn’t wobble around corners.

In fact, it feels born to navigate the urban sprawl. The compact dimensions mean you can nip into spaces that larger SUVs wouldn’t look twice at and the nippy electric motor means keeping up at the traffic lights Grand Prix is a cinch.

It’s very quiet and relaxing, especially on the motorway where the EX30 cruises at 70mp with plenty in hand.

Naturally, there’s a lot of safety tech, including a warning system that tells you if you are about to open your door in the path of a cyclist or runner.

It will even park for you. The new Park Pilot Assist will identify any available parking spots around you. Then, once you’ve tapped the one you want in the new 3D user interface, the feature will operate the accelerator and brake as well as the steering. It can handle all types of parking spaces, including parallel, curved, perpendicular and diagonal fishbone-style, making parking in tight spaces a breeze.

Volvo is also very chuffed about its new touch screen interface.

It worked closely with tech partners such as Google, Apple and Qualcomm to deliver ‘the best possible user experience’. But I’m not so sure.

In common with the prevailing trend, Volvo has removed switches and buttons on the fascia by moving their operations to the large touch-screen interface. This has been going on for several years across the industry but Volvo has probably taken it to the logical extreme.

Apart from the steering wheel and indicator stalks there are almost no physical controls at all. Everything is operated and controlled via the screen.

Maybe I’m biased - because I make no bones about my dislike for touch-screens - but it seems to me that things have gone too far when you can’t even open the glove box without delving into the on-screen interface.

But this is the only blot on an otherwise perfect record of delivery and after a week on test I felt I had begun to acclimatise to the touch sensitive interface. I think I’d always grumble when I had to use a menu to get at the glovebox, but I could probably live with that.

And in every other respect the EX30 is a cracker.

The seats are beautifully comfortable, the driving controls (what there are of them) are well placed and visibility is very good.

There’s enough room for all the family and even the boot is a decent size.

Other small premium electric SDUVs will no doubt arrive in the next couple of years, but the baby Volvo has set the bar very high indeed.

It’s the perfect answer to the company’s annus horribilis.

AT A GLANCE:

Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range RWD

Price: £40,045 as tested

Rear wheel drive electric motor

Max. power: 272bhp

Max. torque: 343NM

Performance: Max speed 112 mph/ 0-62mph 5.3 secs

10-80% 153kW charging time: 25 minutes

Real world range: 300 miles