Volvo EX30 hands-on — The closest thing to a Tesla you can buy in South Africa

MyBroadband recently attended the launch of the Volvo EX30 in Johannesburg and could not help but draw some parallels to what will likely be its biggest rival in overseas markets — the Tesla Model 3.

The EX30 is South Africa’s third most affordable passenger electric vehicle (EV), behind the GWM Ora (R686,950) and BYD Atto 3 (R768,000).

While all three companies are technically Chinese-owned, Volvo carries significantly better brand recognition in South Africa, with a history dating back multiple decades.

It is also highly reputed for its emphasis on safety, with one of its most significant contributions to the industry being the invention of the 3-point seat belt.

Although Tesla has not launched in South Africa and is much younger, it also enjoys significant popularity as an EV brand.

In a January 2024 poll asking MyBroadband readers from what brand they would buy an EV, Tesla was second only to Toyota.

Tesla attracted 18.16% of the 2,836 responses recorded for the Elon Musk-owned company compared to 18.83% for Toyota.

Volvo could leverage some of the EX30’s similarities to the Model 3 to tap into this appeal and improve its ranking as the fifth most popular brand behind Volkswagen and BMW.

While other publications have speculated that the EX30 could compete heavily with the world’s best-selling car — the Tesla Model Y, such a comparison is not fair because the Model Y is a substantially larger car, although it is also an SUV.

There are several reasons why the EX30 could prove to steal more sales from the Model 3 sedan than the Model Y.

Firstly, the cars compete in the same price bracket in overseas markets where both are on sale.

In Tesla’s home market — the United States — the Model 3 carries a starting price tag of $35,990.

The entry-level Volvo EX30 is priced at $34,950 in the US for a model with 64kWh of useable capacity.

South Africa, the UK, and Europe get a more affordable EX30 model with a 49kWh battery.

In the UK, this entry-level EX30 is priced at £33,795, substantially undercutting the £39,990 starting price of the Tesla Model 3.

While their basic shapes are different, the EX30 and Model 3 are somewhat comparable in terms of interior space.

While the Model 3 is longer and slightly wider, the EX30 is higher.

Overall, the Model 3 is the more spacious option, but both are suitable for single people, couples or small families.

However, the EX30 has the benefit of the more trendy SUV shape and height, which has proven popular in South Africa due to bad road conditions.

The similarities become more evident in the extensive suite of tech and driver-assistance features, making the cars appealing to young people and more safety-focused drivers.

This is coupled with minimalist designs focused on cutting down manufacturing costs.

Both cars have a large display in the dashboard’s centre, which combines driver and infotainment data — including everything from speed, range, and energy efficiency to air conditioning, back and front boot (froot) controls, and navigation.

The EX30 has the benefit of physically adjustable air vents for quickly changing the direction of the air while driving.

However, just like on the Model 3, the only physical buttons on the dashboard are on the steering wheel.

The most recent version of the Model 3 also got rid of the stalks for indicators, lights, and wipers, and replaced them with buttons on the steering wheel.

The EX30 has retained its stalks for lights and wipers but simplifies in other departments.

Volvo has reduced the wiring running in the car’s doors by placing the window opening and closing buttons for the front and back in the centre of the vehicle.

In addition, the entire sound system is fitted in the front of the car, with a large strategically-placed Harmon Kardon soundbar spread over the car’s width underneath the windscreen.

According to several reviews that include Carwow’s Matt Watson, the audio quality and volume are excellent despite not having speakers in every door or other places in the car.

That is likely down to virtual surround sound technology, which creates the impression that sounds emanate from areas without speakers.

While the entry-level Autopilot system in the Tesla Model 3 is likely to be more advanced than the EX30’s driver assistance features, the latter’s is still very impressive, even for the entry-level model.

It comes fitted with adaptive cruise control and safety sensors around the car as standard.

For easier control of features that might require tapping through menus, the EX30 also has voice controls supported by Google Assistant, while Tesla uses its own dedicated operating system.

The table below compares the specifications of the entry-level and top-end EX30 and Tesla Model 3.