The Volvo EX30 has spawned a jacked-up, off-road-focused model that has become the first EV and first SUV to use Volvo’s Cross Country badge.
Compared with the standard version, the EX30 Cross Country has been raised by 19mm, is fitted with chunky front and rear skidplates, can be optioned with mudflaps and is shod with 720mm all-terrain tyres.
The electric SUV’s five-link rear suspension has also been softened to cope with bumpier, off-road terrain, as well as handle muddy tracks, “ankle-deep” snow and highways, claims Volvo.
Despite this 'all-roads' positioning, the EX30 Cross Country is not a “hardcore” off-roader but is instead aimed at “weekend explorers”, said Volvo. “Cross Country is about helping you access nature on nature’s terms - not conquering it,” added the Swedish firm.
The EX30 Cross Country sports a more rugged look than the standard car, with a blacked-out front grille and bootlid, slightly more sculpted front and rear bumpers and blackened arches.
It can also be optioned with 19in alloys, although these can only be shod with road tyres. Other options include a roof-mounted kayak holder, roof-mounted tent and stowable towbar.
The interior of the EX30 Cross Country is the same as the standard car's.
It is available only in all-wheel-drive guise “from launch”, said Volvo, indicating a single-motor variant could adopt the Cross Country tag in the future. As with the standard EX30, the 4x4 set-up draws power from a 69kWh battery, which feeds two motors for a combined 422bhp and offers 264 miles of range.
“We launched our first Cross Country car over 25 years ago and this concept of durable and all-weather cars is core to the Volvo brand,” said CEO Jim Rowan. He added that the EX30 Cross Country has been created because “we know that more and more people are seeking ways to get closer to nature”.
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Too expensive for what is really a chinese car.