Source: Edmunds Archive: Ghost
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.
Recap: What we bought
Vehicle: 2025 Volvo EX30 Twin Motor Ultra
Price as tested: $48,395
EPA-estimated range: 253 miles
Edmunds EV Range Test result: 256 miles
Whoa, it's quick
"We clocked a 0-to-60-mph time of 3.6 seconds, which matches a Porsche 911. That's insane. The dual-motor powertrain is so unnecessary for a car this size." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
"Why? Why is this car so quick? I would have so much preferred Volvo spent that extra money and time on one-pedal braking calibration or ride quality or four real window switches up front instead of two switches and a 'rear' toggle that only works about 20% of the time. I won't lie, there were a couple moments when I launched the Volvo away from a stoplight for fun or used the extra power to squeeze through a gap, but I would way rather have a car that's good to drive than one that's just quick. Feels like yet another case of Volvo trying to copy Tesla and not getting the point. People ignored how janky those cars were at first because they had some cool features and crazy performance. We're past that now. Even if it got to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds, I still wouldn't buy one of these over a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or a Tesla Model Y." — Duncan Brady, script writer
Mixed range results, poor regenerative braking
"How's the range? Not great! The EPA estimates that a Twin Motor Performance like ours should be able to go 253 miles on a full charge. I've had trouble getting that in my real-world driving. Highway driving, in particular, seems to really take a chunk out of range, more so than other EVs I've driven recently. Approximately 200 miles is all it's good for." — Brent Romans, director, written content
"Brent (and others) have had issues with the EX30's highway-only range. But in a mix of city and highway driving, this thing isn't bad. The EPA estimates the Twin Motor Ultra should get 253 miles, and we got 256 on the Edmunds EV Range Test. Of course, a cheaper Single Motor model got 279 miles, and since the Twin Motor's performance isn't really necessary, I'd for sure go with the former." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
"Heads-up if you're susceptible to motion sickness. The Max one-pedal drive mode on the Volvo EX30 made me queasy as the driver. I can only imagine what the passengers might feel. Normal mode was totally fine." — Ron Montoya, manager, consumer advice
"Our EX30 is easy to park. Much of that quality comes from its petite size. It's shorter and more maneuverable than most other EVs. On the Plus trim, the EX30 also comes with parking sensors, so you can better understand how far away you are from obstacles. The top-level Ultra trim like our test car also has a surround-view camera system so you can actually see nearby curbs and how you're fitting into parking spots. The EX30 and the Fiat 500e are likely your best choices if you want an EV that's compact and well suited for fitting into tight city parking spaces." — Brent Romans, director, written content
"The EX30 is small, but it's not too small. I can fit my wife and 5-year-old in the EX30 without cramping anyone, and the trunk is fine for day-to-day needs." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
We loved the design, inside and out
"Interior design is terrific. The plastic trim with bits and pieces from the shop floor is a brilliant way to inject creativity and contrast to an inexpensive material — it's like confetti. The seats are as beautifully sculpted as they are comfortable. The air vents up front are sculpted such that they'd look appropriate on an '80s post-art-deco organ. Even the scratchy plastic door cards are textured, like they're made of chopped-up bits of waste plastic. And are these real metal door handles?" — Duncan Brady, script writer
"I really love the design of the car. The art deco industrial-style door handles and minimal interior look very cool. I personally liked the speckled dash and minimal piano black. Even the exterior is very cool to me." — Alex Rodriguez, video editor
"The best thing about this car is that it's cute. The handsome exterior and quirky interior make me willing to forgive a lot of this car's many, many, many, many, many problems." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
The EX30 had tech problems galore
"Oh man, this infotainment system is inconsistent. When I enter the car, sometimes the audio system kicks on to whatever I was listening to last, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes wireless Apple CarPlay connects immediately, sometimes only Bluetooth works, and sometimes the system doesn't recognize the presence of my phone at all. And sometimes CarPlay goes black while I'm using it, and the infotainment system restart procedure refuses to work. When I got into the EX30 for the first time, I was delighted to see a new infotainment system from Volvo, as the last-gen version that you see in its older cars is seriously buggy. It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same." — Cameron Rogers, manager, written content
"Because you have to use the touchscreen for everything in the EX30, no matter how fastidious you might be about keeping it clean, it will look gross and smudged. And it looks like this in multiple kinds of light. I don't know if it's the glass roof (which needs a sunshade), the angle, the size of the screen, or just the glass, but it's a bad look." — Kurt Niebuhr, manager, vehicle testing
"This Android-based system is possibly the most irritating and endless setup process I've ever experienced. Even after signing into my Google account, I'm still having to set up tons of things. And not everything works seamlessly! For example, my podcast app doesn't communicate with itself across platforms unless you pay a subscription, which I ain't gonna do, so I just wind up using Bluetooth audio for that. I've also said yes to what feels like eight hundred permissions, but the car still won't read text messages to me. I have to give some permission to Google Assistant, which I can only do while parked, and I never remember because the issue only comes up in the middle of my drives! I have never, ever driven a car that has asked so much of me just to get to a basic level of functionality. Every single other car I test these days is pretty much plug and play for what I'd call an acceptable level of usability." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
"I'm happy to embrace new technology when it improves our lives, but this Volvo does the opposite. Sure, EX30 owners would eventually learn the car's quirks, but no quirk-comfort will change the silly driver monitor behavior. Tesla's everything-in-the-screen design ethos also bothers me, but at least it's easier to use, with things like Car Wash mode just a couple taps away on a Model 3. There's a simple solution: Bring back buttons. BMW has a touchscreen-heavy interface but still provides buttons that instantly pull up commonly accessed features, such as changing driver's aid settings. So, Volvo, if you're listening, start with a few extra buttons. Heck, even the Model 3 has separate switches for the rear windows." — Keith Buglewicz, manager, written content
Using this car day to day was infuriating
"The Volvo's driver fatigue monitor is hilariously sensitive. It triggers the second you yawn, warning you that maybe you ought to pull over and take a rest. But it can't really tell the difference between a yawn and other facial movements. Stretching my jaw? Triggered. Singing along to music? Triggered. I started making it a game to see what I could do to set off the system. Also, for a car with all its controls buried in the touchscreen, the sensitive driver attention monitor ought to be a warning to itself. I can't possibly navigate to the setting I want and adjust it without the car yelling at me that I'm not paying attention to the road." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
"It's annoying that you can't save driver assistance preferences to your individual profile. Instead, I have to turn off the driver attention monitor and lane keeping assist every single time I start the car." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
"The key fob is the most frustrating thing about this car. There are no buttons, so I'm solely relying on the sensors knowing I'm near the car. And they never did. I always had to tap the fob on the pillar to let me in, and even that was not a quick action, needing multiple attempts to actually unlock the door." — Alex Rodriguez, video editor
"I think the EX30 might have the most annoying headlight toggles of any new car. If you want to switch from auto to on/off/parking, the steps are as follows: Go into the car settings menu, click on exterior lighting, when the screen pops up, select the setting you want, confirm the selection with the 'OK' button on the steering wheel, click 'close' on the setting screen. This is so annoying, and god help you if you need to try and do this while driving — say, when entering a daytime headlight section of a forest or desert road." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
"The lack of physical gauges behind the wheel made driving feel like guesswork, and the constant driver reminders were more naggy than helpful — especially the 'pull over if tired' message that popped up immediately after I started driving." — Luke Huisman, video editor
"There are two — yes, two — separate menus for the climate controls. One is for the temperature, heated seats and heated steering wheel, and the other controls the air conditioning, recirculation, fan speed, which vents the air blows out of, and the defrosters. Why?!" — Nick Yekikian, senior editor, news
"The EX30 reinforces my desire for on/off buttons in EVs. I get in, press the brake, and the EX30 is technically 'on,' but I can't turn any of the driver assistance features on or off or adjust some vehicle settings, because it's not 'running,' just 'on.' Similarly, exiting the car, there's no way to shut things off. I got out of the car and had a conversation with a friend about 10 feet away, and the EX30 stayed on the whole time, draining battery. Why can't I just turn the car off?" — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
"If ever a car was begging for a proper gauge cluster, it's this thing. The little gauge readout on the center screen looks really tacked on and is small enough that it's not super useful. Then there's a stretch of this flat, black foam-like material right in front of you, so you just see that when you look through the wheel. Even worse, it attracts dust like crazy, and because it's rough, you can't just wipe it down. So not only do you not get your useful gauge cluster, you get something that's going to be more and more annoying to look at over time as it gets dustier." — Will Kaufman, manager, video
"The EX30 is easily the worst-executed, least intuitive, and most extraordinarily frustrating car I have ever had the displeasure of living with. Not only that, but it is so distracting the whole thing borders on dangerous, and I do not understand how Volvo — the company that invented the seat belt and has been so relentlessly obsessed with safety over the last 60 years — could sign off on something so unfinished and actually sell it to real people. I hate this car." — Nick Yekikian, senior editor, news
