New Volvo EX30 Cross Country 2025 review: a strange range-topper
The relaunch of Volvo’s rugged Cross Country brand is a good thing, but the EX30 falls short of the mark
Verdict
The EX30 Cross Country really is a niche offering and while it’s not designed to be a big-seller for Volvo, we couldn’t help feeling disappointed by the fairly mundane tweaks made to the standard car to create this off-road electric SUV. There’s plenty here to make us excited to see what the future holds for the Cross Country sub-brand, however.
The Volvo EX30 might be the smallest car the Swedish firm makes, but we think it’s the firm’s best work - as evidenced by the EV picking up the Small Premium SUV of the Year title in the 2025 Auto Express New Car Awards. Aiming to add another string in the EX30’s bow, Volvo has added a new range-topping Cross Country variant.
It’s been 25 years since the brand introduced the Cross Country badge to its line-up with the Volvo V70 XC. In the UK at least, this rugged, off-road-biased trim level vanished from sale a few years ago, but Volvo has decided to revive the sub-brand, and the EX30 marks the first time that the Cross Country badge has featured on an electric car.
In effect, the name spawned the XC-badged range of SUVs that have become such a success for Volvo, so despite this being the first Cross Country-branded electric car, it makes sense for the EX30 to bear the name. Aiming to do its tradition proud, Volvo says the EX30 Cross Country is “engineered for tackling rougher surfaces” and to back up this claim, the car comes with several tweaks to promote its off-road ability.
If you think the Volvo EX30 Cross Country looks familiar, you’d be right, because the production car is indistinguishable from the prototype model that was revealed alongside the EX30 back in 2023. Just as we saw with that car, there’s distinctive black panelling at the front and rear, made up of a tough foil over the painted surface; the front also features an image of Swedish mountain Kebnekaise with its coordinates included. In addition to this, there are a set of matt-black plastic wheelarch extensions, a plastic front skid plate, and the Cross Country name embossed on the rear pillar and beneath the rear bumper.
You can also customise the Cross Country with a few accessories to make it look like it's ready for the great outdoors. These include a massive Volvo-branded roof rack, mud flaps and an electric towbar.
Unfortunately, there are no changes to the Cross Country inside. Like the regular EX30, the 12.3-inch portrait-orientated touchscreen dominates the dashboard, although feedback from EX30 owners has already made Volvo improve the 360-degree camera so that it can work without the car going into gear, as well as introducing extra voice-command functionality and the Apple CarPlay. The Cross Country’s interior is offered in two colour combinations; Pine features Volvo’s wool and Nordico upholstery, while Indigo is made of recycled denim material for a dark blue and purple colour scheme.
Priced at £47,060, the EX30 Cross Country is based on the £44,860 Twin Motor Ultra. The need for a dual-motor output makes sense given the Cross Country’s off-road ambitions, but it’s surprisingly powerful too. Like the standard EX30 Twin Motor, it has 422bhp and 543Nm of torque, and although the Cross Country is 0.1 seconds slower from 0 to 62mph due to those rugged tweaks, it still dashes off the benchmark sprint in a very punchy 3.7 seconds. There’s also the same 69kWh battery (64kWh usable), but if the optional off-road tyres are fitted, the Cross Country’s range is reduced and you can expect around 230 miles from a charge. With the standard tyres you’ll get 264 miles, according to the official WLTP cycle.
The benefits of the Cross Country version over the regular Twin Motor are that Volvo has made the EX30 slightly more capable off road. Firstly, the Cross Country’s ride height is raised by 19mm – made up of 12mm from a fresh chassis set-up, and 7mm from a new set of wheels. These are 19 inches as standard, but you can also specify chunky off-road tyres on 18-inch rims. Like the old V90 Cross Country, the EX30 Cross Country gets new wing mirrors due to the difference in driving position. The Cross Country’s steering, five-link rear suspension, spring rate and damping have also been adjusted to a softer setting to deliver what Volvo calls a “relaxed and comfortable driving experience”. There’s a hill descent control mode too, though this is also available on the standard EX30.
When we first drove the EX30 Cross Country, we tried it out in snowy and icy conditions on a frozen lake. Admittedly, this won’t be the environment most buyers will find themselves in, yet thanks to studded tyres (but no other modifications), the Cross Country gave a good account of itself. The jacked-up EX30 made light work of some small snow banks, but its snow tyres should take the credit for our positive off-road experience.
Despite the chunky tyres – which you’d expect to have a negative impact on refinement – the Cross Country still dampened exterior noise effectively, which bodes well for its on-road performance. Our only gripe – and again, it’s not something that’ll trouble most buyers – was that the electronic stability control is never truly off, taking power away from both axles if there’s excessive steering angle or tyre slip.
More recently we tried the EX30 Cross Country on the road with summer tyres. The EX30’s keen driving dynamics are just as apparent on the Cross Country version, with steering that’s quick if a little uncommunicative, and stonking straight-line pace (until the motors ease off at motorway speeds). There’s also generous levels of grip, resulting in a slightly greater amount of body roll than in the regular car, thanks to that lifted suspension; push hard and you’ll find the front breaking away without much fuss.
It feels like Volvo doesn’t want you to fiddle with the driving modes (or ‘characteristics) because they’re embedded within a few menu layers in the infotainment system. While there’s no obvious ‘Sport’ or ‘Normal’ modes to pick from, you can change up the steering feel via three settings, although we found them all rather light. There’s also a one-pedal drive mode that increases the brake regeneration – and does so quite smoothly, we should add.
Volvo expects Cross Country versions to make up less than 10 per cent of total EX30 sales in the UK, but we’ve been told that shouldn’t deter the firm from making more Cross Country models. What we’d like from future electric Cross Country offerings is a more distinct off-road character, which the EX30 Cross Country somewhat lacks.
| Model: | Volvo EX30 Cross Country |
| Price: | £47,060 |
| Powertrain: | 64kWh battery 2x e-motors |
| Power/torque: | 422bhp/543Nm |
| Transmission: | Single-speed, all-wheel drive |
| 0-62mph: | 3.7 seconds |
| Range: | 264 miles |
| Size (L/W/H): | 4,233/1,567/1,837mm |
| On sale: | Summer 2025 |
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