Volvo has a new entry-level SUV on the way. The official launch is scheduled for June 7, 2023, but for now Volvo seems content to trickle out information bit by bit. Okay, we’ll play along: Here’s what weve learned so far about the all-electric 2024 Volvo EX30 SUV.
The EX30 Will Be Volvo’s Smallest-Ever SUV
The EX30 Will Have a Tesla-Style Center Screen
Like the Model 3 and Y, the Volvo EX30 will concentrate all information on a central, 12.3-inch, portrait-oriented display screen; it appears there is nothing above the steering wheel save a small pod for the cameras. That’s … interesting. Futuristic? Perhaps, but we also know it as a way to reduce parts count between left- and right-hand-drive versions, which makes the car less expensive to produce. (To the same end, Volvo has moved the glovebox under the center screen and the power window switches to the center console. On the upside, this should free up storage space in the door pockets.)
One detail that intrigued us: The driver will be able to blank out all but the most vital information for distraction-free driving, particularly at night. This reminds us of Night Panel as employed by Volvo’s former rival, Saab. A adapted from the company’s fighter jets, Night Panel shut off the instrument lights on all but the lower quadrant of the speedo and illuminated any gauges that needed attention.
There’s a Little C30 in the EX30
We wondered whether there might be some significance to the “30” in the name—we were thinking about the long-defunct C30 coupe—when patent images of the XC30 leaked online and showed our intuitions to be true. The drawings show that the EX30 will have a more rakish roofline than the boxy EX90 and XC40 Recharge. Our hope is that the sporty styling will translate to the driving experience as well.
The Volvo EX30 Has a Soundbar
Yep, just like your home stereo, the EX30 has a full-width speaker array that spans the dashboard, which (among other things) reduces wiring and parts count and simplifies the door structure.
The Volvo EX30 Has Big Safety Improvements
Volvo is identified (and obsessed) with safety, and no surprise there are some improvements in the EX90. The current City Safety system will apply the brakes if a car is about to turn left into the Volvo’s path; now it will also brake for cross traffic about to blow through an intersection. The car will sound an alert if you’re about to open a door in front of an oncoming cyclist, and there’s a new airbag on the inboard side of the driver’s seat that will reduce head and torso injuries in a side impact.
The Volvo EX30 Is Clean (Even for an EV)
“Carbon footprint” is a hot new buzzword, and there’s more to it than the elimination of tailpipe emissions. For the EX30, 25% of the aluminum, 17% of the steel. and 17% of the plastics and used in its production are recycled. The factory that builds the EX30 uses climate-neutral electricity sources, and 95% of the EX30’s Tier 1 suppliers have committed to do the same by 2025. And when the EX30’s day of done, 95% of its content is designed to be recyclable.
We’ll share more details as they trickle in, and we’ll cover the reveal when it happens on June 7.
Read the full article here