Volvo EX30 Cross Country: full UK pricing, specs and ice drive review

Pricing for the new Volvo EX30 Cross Country has been revealed, with the jacked up, off-road-biased version of the firm’s smallest EV starting from £47,060. 

It’s been 25 years since Volvo introduced the Cross Country badge to its line-up with the V70 XC. In the UK at least, this rugged, off-road-biased trim level petered out, and in the end none of the brand’s range was offered in Cross Country guise. It’s back for 2025, though, with the EX30 marking the first time that the Cross Country name has featured on an electric car. 

Available to order now, the EX30 Cross Country is ‘engineered for tackling rougher surfaces’ according to Volvo. To back up this claim, the car comes with several tweaks to promote its off-road ability over the previous range-topping EX30 – and the car the Cross Country is based on – the £44,860 Twin Motor Ultra.  

The Volvo EX30 Cross Country might look familiar, because this production car is indistinguishable from the prototype model that was revealed alongside the EX30 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. Alongside this 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. 

It’s not all show, though, because the Cross Country’s ride height is raised by 19mm – 12mm from a fresh chassis set-up, and 7mm from new set of wheels. These are 19 inches as standard, but you can also specify chunky off-road tyres on 18-inch rims. As with 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”.

Being based on the most powerful EX30, the Cross Country comes only with the dual-motor set-up. That means it has the same 422bhp and 543Nm of torque, although the Cross Country is 0.1 seconds slower from 0 to 62mph than the standard Twin Motor due to those rugged tweaks (albeit in a still very punchy 3.7 seconds). There’s also the same 69kWh battery (64kWh usable), but with the optional off-road tyres 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. 

A few accessories will be available to customise the Cross Country, and these include a massive Volvo-branded roof rack, mud flaps and an electric towbar. Inside, it’s business as usual with the same cabin as the regular EX30, meaning a 12.3-inch portrait-orientated touchscreen dominates the dashboard. Volvo has already introduced all the over-the-air updates the regular EX30 has received since it’s been on sale, with upgrades to its Google-based infotainment system. 

Feedback from EX30 owners has led to features such as the 360-degree camera being able to work without the car going into gear, extra voice-command functionality and the addition of Apple CarPlay. The interior is offered in two colour combinations; ‘Pine’ includes Volvo’s wool and ‘Nordico’ upholstery, while ‘Indigo’ features recycled denim material for a dark blue and purple colour scheme.

The Cross Country name, in effect, 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 – and something other than an estate or saloon – it makes sense for the EX30 to bear the name. 

Volvo expects Cross Country versions to make up potentially less than 10 per cent of total EX30 sales in the UK, but that shouldn’t deter the firm from making more Cross Country models.

Joakim Hermansson, the product lead for the EX30, hinted to Auto Express earlier this year that there could be a future for the Cross Country nameplate beyond the EX30, telling us that “Cross Country isn’t going anywhere”. The most obvious model to gain the Cross Country branding next would be the upcoming EX60. It’s unlikely we’ll see a more rugged version of the firm’s flagship EX90, given Volvo’s own tongue-in-cheek nickname of it being “a lounge with four wheels”. 

Volvo EX30 Cross Country review

We’ll give the new Volvo EX30 Cross Country a proper drive in the coming months, but at the reveal of the car in northern Sweden we got the exclusive opportunity to try it out on a frozen lake. It’s safe to say this driving experience isn’t what the typical UK EX30 Cross Country buyer will come across on a daily basis, but fitted with studded tyres and no other modifications, the Cross Country gave a good account of itself. 

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The EX30’s keen driving dynamics are just as apparent on the Cross Country version, with responsive if a little uncommunicative steering, precious little body roll (despite the extra ride height) and a ride that felt very well sorted. 

Our only gripe – and again, it’s not something that’ll trouble most buyers – is that the electronic stability control is never truly off, taking power away from both axles if there’s excessive steering angle or tyre slip. 

There are no direct rivals for the EX30 Cross Country, with Volvo producing a rather niche electric crossover off-roader, but the extra ground clearance will certainly come in handy should you decide to take the Cross Country off the beaten track. 

This jacked-up EX30 made light work of some small snow banks, but its snow tyres are the ones to take the plaudits for our off-road experience. Despite the chunky rubber – which you’d assume to have a negative impact on refinement – the Cross Country still dampened exterior noise effectively, boding well for its on-road performance. 

Verdict

The EX30 Cross Country isn’t designed to be a big-seller for Volvo, but it should bring some excitement back to the outdoorsy trim level that threatened to fade away with a whimper. At first glance it appears to suit the EX30, so we’re keen to see what the future holds for more all-electric Cross Country offerings.

Specs