The Volvo EX30's adventurous twin

The Volvo EX30's adventurous twin 

EVs and the adventure segment have yet to truly cross paths, but the brand that inspires trust through safety and reliability has decided to encourage its clients to take the road less travelled. It's not the first time that we have seen an adventurous Volvo, but it seems the design team has taken up exploring in recent times, and its new passion for nature is reflected through its special editions. With the likes of the adventurous XC90 Adventure Beast gracing our roads recently, Volvo has taken a second look at their pocket rocket called the EX30 and injected it with some adventure add-ons.

The EX30 is one of the few EVs that makes sense; it's affordable, rapid and stylish with a more youthful direction, but what might appear as a gimmick for the abundant tarred roads of Europe might make this the perfect EV for South Africans. This particular EX30 is called the Cross Country, and it adds a few touches to create a jack-of-all-trades kind of car.

It re-envisions the Cross Country name which Volvo first used in 1997. It’s a project designed to focus on the well-rounded nature of the brand's vehicles. In CEO Jim Rowan's words, "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.” And with an ever-growing demand for crossover, and to an extend electric vehicles, I guess it was only a matter of time before we got a rugged EV from Volvo.

At its core, the EX30 remains fairly standard, with minor changes to the ride height and 18-inch all-terrain tyres to help tackle the more difficult terrain that would likely damage your average city SUV. Of course, as a special edition, there is a new darker paint colour for the front and rear bumpers, along with front and rear skid plates to protect the undercarriage and wheel-arch protective panels.

So better ground clearance, tyres, some protection from rogue vegetation and a consistently minimalistic design sum up the EX30 Cross Country, and considering its already impressive all-wheel-drive system and healthy amounts of torque, it feels almost reminiscent of some iconic rally-inspired performance cars. It's fast, nimble, and now dirt-ready, so it's bound to be a blast on the gravel, and it's well protected too, which all sounds rather exciting.

At this moment, it hasn’t been confirmed for the South African market, but if we consider Volvo's local rollouts with the likes of the XC90 Adventure Beast, it seems likely that we may receive a couple of these models. And it makes sense. South Africa is a country full of both the best and worst roads in the world, and the EX30 Cross Country looks like it would be comfortable on both. My only concern is the battery life, which proved to be less than impressive on the dual-motor variant. But for a day drive out into the bush, this quick little SUV with a few dirt-conquering additions makes it an EV South Africans could get behind.

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