Volvo EX30 Dual motor ER or RAV4 PHEV GR Sport?

[Nick72]

Currently have R4P 2021 top spec as a company car. Replaced every 3 years with a new car of choice. I pay nothing as part of the salary sacrifice system and significant company contribution. BiK tax only about 7%. I only pay for fuel for personal mileage.

So I now have a dilemma. Set for putting the order in for a replacement company car in January against a GR Sport PHEV. Some extra widgets we don't get are on the GR sport Model as far as I can gather and the 10 to 15% stiffer suspension can probably work for me.

BIt this new Volvo EX30 has turned up. Dual motor form is 420+ hp (0 to 60 in 3.4s) and 300 mile range. For about 42k which is significantly less than the GR Sport R4P and at 2%? BiK tax. That range could work for me. Slightly smaller than the R4P but not a lot in it. 

Now have a dilemma and awaiting future reviews of the Volvo.

What do you think folks?

https://www.volvocars.com/uk/cars/ex30-electric/?&&gclid=CjwKCAjw4ZWkBhA4EiwAVJXwqe55HV5HNtizaQtx_yV-RoRpoWu_hTQipwLMJs71fTwFs7ilfNhj5BoCAtIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[TonyHSD]

+1 for the Volvo 👌 

Company car, faster, full ev, super high tech, you already had a Toyota RAV4, definitely the Volvo if it’s me. 👍

[Strangely Brown]

I guess it depends whether you want a Japanese car or a Chinese one?

[Cyker]

My rule of thumb there is, knock about a third off the range; If you can live with that range, and also charge at home, then it's a good shout.

 

[philip42h]

By chance I took a look at the EX30 the other day. An Ultra, Twin motor would have most of the toys I might want and would set me back around £45k. But it seems to be built to a budget and lacks memory seats - a feature that I want really ...

It's way faster than I want, let alone need, and has a realistic range of around 225 miles (EVDB) between recharges - compared with around 500 miles for a RAV4 hybrid. I just don't see the two as 'comparable'.

A better comparison would be between the EX30 and the bZ4X - and with a little more range (30 miles more) and rather less money (maybe £10k cheaper) the EX30 looks quite attractive.

[Gray86]

For the 3.5 second 0-60 you need the performance model. The long range is 5.something 0-60. Looks like a bit of a bargain compared to other EVs 

[Nick72]

2 hours ago, Strangely Brown said:

I guess it depends whether you want a Japanese car or a Chinese one?

That does put me off of I'm honest. It's the reliability and level of testing but then again I'll just give it back if it's problematic. Did that with the Peugeot PHEV. Japanese preferably.

[Nick72]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

My rule of thumb there is, knock about a third off the range; If you can live with that range, and also charge at home, then it's a good shout.

 

Yep, motorway winter driving is the key measure for me. If that exceeds about 210 miles I'm in with a shout.

Got a 7.4kW wall box.

[Nick72]

2 hours ago, philip42h said:

By chance I took a look at the EX30 the other day. An Ultra, Twin motor would have most of the toys I might want and would set me back around £45k. But it seems to be built to a budget and lacks memory seats - a feature that I want really ...

It's way faster than I want, let alone need, and has a realistic range of around 225 miles (EVDB) between recharges - compared with around 500 miles for a RAV4 hybrid. I just don't see the two as 'comparable'.

A better comparison would be between the EX30 and the bZ4X - and with a little more range (30 miles more) and rather less money (maybe £10k cheaper) the EX30 looks quite attractive.

Has to be a R4P comparison for me since that's what I've got and is the main future option. My longest business trip where I really don't want to stop and hope for recharge is about 190 miles. Personal trips to lakes and back plus pooling around for a week is about 220 summer miles. So the 500 miles on the R4P is not relevant for my needs. It's helpful of course.

[Nick72]

1 hour ago, Gray86 said:

For the 3.5 second 0-60 you need the performance model. The long range is 5.something 0-60. Looks like a bit of a bargain compared to other EVs 

Yep, long range dual motor version.

[AJones]

Personally I'd go for an EV of some form based on having run a PHEV for a while, got comfortable with public charging, that there's suitable charge points on the journeys I make and routes I use, so I could be confident I could make the EV work.

That said, I wouldn't choose any make/model of EV which hadn't been on sale for at least several months, with a good set of independent real-world range tests in all conditions to back-up (or not) the claimed range and to confirm initial reliability of the model.

If it was an option I'd be strongly considering a Tesla of some form purely because of the access to their Supercharger network.

[Cyker]

Is this actually a Volvo then or is it a re-engineered Geely model?

 

[philip42h]

31 minutes ago, Nick72 said:

Has to be a R4P comparison for me since that's what I've got and is the main future option. My longest business trip where I really don't want to stop and hope for recharge is about 190 miles. Personal trips to lakes and back plus pooling around for a week is about 220 summer miles. So the 500 miles on the R4P is not relevant for my needs. It's helpful of course.

And the comparison for me would be the RAV4 hybrid ... I'm retired so some days the car doesn't go anywhere but a typical local round trip is less than 10 miles. Once or twice a month I go on a longer round trip of about 100 miles. And for all of that an EV would be just fine - an EX30 would more than cover it and be a better size for me these days (i.e. half a size smaller than the RAV4).

But, tomorrow I need to complete a 300 mile round trip - I'll fill the car as I set off in the morning and still have plenty of fuel by the time I get back home. An EX30 wouldn't do that for me - very close, but no cigar. So I won't be switching until either the available EVs and supporting infrastructure mean that I can do a 500 mile round trip without a second thought or concern or i get so old that I no longer want or need to take longer trips ... 😉

But, you are absolutely correct - the suitability of any EV will depend very much on an individual circumstances and needs.

[Nick72]

8 minutes ago, philip42h said:

And the comparison for me would be the RAV4 hybrid ... I'm retired so some days the car doesn't go anywhere but a typical local round trip is less than 10 miles. Once or twice a month I go on a longer round trip of about 100 miles. And for all of that an EV would be just fine - an EX30 would more than cover it and be a better size for me these days (i.e. half a size smaller than the RAV4).

But, tomorrow I need to complete a 300 mile round trip - I'll fill the car as I set off in the morning and still have plenty of fuel by the time I get back home. An EX30 wouldn't do that for me - very close, but no cigar. So I won't be switching until either the available EVs and supporting infrastructure mean that I can do a 500 mile round trip without a second thought or concern or i get so old that I no longer want or need to take longer trips ... 😉

But, you are absolutely correct - the suitability of any EV will depend very much on an individual circumstances and needs.

I see where you're coming from and I'd definitely prefer 500 miles. 300 in the long range dual motor version is just about on the edge. So I have some doubts. 400 and it would be a definite.

[Nick72]

20 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Is this actually a Volvo then or is it a re-engineered Geely model?

 

Volvo but I imagine a lot of preexisting Geely stuff.

[Nick72]

29 minutes ago, AJones said:

Personally I'd go for an EV of some form based on having run a PHEV for a while, got comfortable with public charging, that there's suitable charge points on the journeys I make and routes I use, so I could be confident I could make the EV work.

That said, I wouldn't choose any make/model of EV which hadn't been on sale for at least several months, with a good set of independent real-world range tests in all conditions to back-up (or not) the claimed range and to confirm initial reliability of the model.

If it was an option I'd be strongly considering a Tesla of some form purely because of the access to their Supercharger network.

It's good advice and yeh I think I need to see several user reviews about range and other issues. 

Tesla dual motor model Y I looked at and a friend has one. Ground clearance too low for me and way too pricey. Tesla in the process of opening up their charger network to other brands. 

[ernieb]

After looking at the information available and knowing something you've shared of you driving and lifestyle I'd still go for the R4P. Lots of factors but I think you might find the range in the winter months frustrating. There are some people now selling bZ4X cars because of the poor charging infrastructure and the range/charge availability.

Remember your Peugeot. The Toyota may not be the latest and greatest but it based on a well developed car that has evolved and in the end if the fuel light comes on there will be a garage a few miles away that will take minuets to fill the car.

[AJones]

40 minutes ago, ernieb said:

After looking at the information available and knowing something you've shared of you driving and lifestyle I'd still go for the R4P. Lots of factors but I think you might find the range in the winter months frustrating. There are some people now selling bZ4X cars because of the poor charging infrastructure and the range/charge availability.

It's a trade off, if you like running on electric then the PHEV brings its own frustrations of needing to start up the engine and burn petrol on those longer journeys, knowing that if you'd got a full EV you could have done the whole journey on electric but it brings the certainty of never worrying about fueling or range. You can always fall back on the engine, albeit you're then running on petrol rather than electric.

Full EV gives all electric driving, cleaner and greener than a PHEV and you can now access rapid chargers that you cannot with most PHEVs, but with more dependence on the charging network and depending on your budget/choice and the particular EV you pick, with potential constraints around range and winter performance.

[ernieb]

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Based on a Geely platform.

Interesting read:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/opinion/new-cars/how-has-volvo-made-ex30-so-cheap

[kucyk]

21 hours ago, Nick72 said:

Slightly smaller than the R4P but not a lot in it. 

Slightly smaller? 🤔 Looks like Yaris Cross to me 🙃

[Nick72]

12 hours ago, ernieb said:

After looking at the information available and knowing something you've shared of you driving and lifestyle I'd still go for the R4P. Lots of factors but I think you might find the range in the winter months frustrating. There are some people now selling bZ4X cars because of the poor charging infrastructure and the range/charge availability.

Remember your Peugeot. The Toyota may not be the latest and greatest but it based on a well developed car that has evolved and in the end if the fuel light comes on there will be a garage a few miles away that will take minuets to fill the car.

That is exactly it. I keep thinking about the Peugeot nightmare and Toyota's robust reliability.

[Nick72]

2 hours ago, kucyk said:

Slightly smaller? 🤔 Looks like Yaris Cross to me 🙃

It's about the interior volume which is only slightly shy of the R4P. Externally yes, it's small but the EVs have the edge here.

[Nick72]

5 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Based on a Geely platform.

Interesting read:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/opinion/new-cars/how-has-volvo-made-ex30-so-cheap

Good piece thanks Frosty!

[Cyker]

12 hours ago, ernieb said:

After looking at the information available and knowing something you've shared of you driving and lifestyle I'd still go for the R4P. Lots of factors but I think you might find the range in the winter months frustrating. There are some people now selling bZ4X cars because of the poor charging infrastructure and the range/charge availability.

Remember your Peugeot. The Toyota may not be the latest and greatest but it based on a well developed car that has evolved and in the end if the fuel light comes on there will be a garage a few miles away that will take minuets to fill the car.

Funnily enough it's the fact that Toyota rarely field the latest stuff that I trust them more with; I've come to associate New with Untested, and am happy to let other people be the Beta testers of new stuff while I wait for all the kinks to be found and worked out.

This is especially true in the software world at the moment (Seriously, every time Microsoft, Google or Apple change something they some how make it worse. It's truly amazing - Just when we think something couldn't be worse they find a way!)

I was a bit worried about the engine in my Mk4, since it's a totally new one (And the last time I had a car with the first version of a new engine in it, i.e. the 1.33 Mk2, it just reinforced my aversion to new things with how bad it was!), but so far it's been good... and long may it stay that way!