The Volvo EX30’s Secret Weapons Are Premium Audio and a Ton of In-Car Storage
Drawers aren’t the most high-tech EV amenity, but that doesn't make it any less useful.
EVs may be full of mini-fridges and self-driving nowadays, but sometimes high-tech accompaniments are no match for good old-fashioned practicality.
Just ask Volvo, which is continuing its slow drip of teasers for the upcoming EX30 compact electric SUV. In its latest teaser, the automaker showed off a few unseen details ahead of its global debut, the most interesting of which is a peek at the EV’s interior.
A place for everything
Storage abounds inside the EX30’s center console.
Clearly, Volvo is serious about being able to take all your personal items on the go. A center console rendering shows a multi-drawer design that comes with a pull-out phone/cup holder in the front, and a basin in the back for all your rear-seat passenger storage needs.
There’s also a pretty spacious center platform where you can stash a purse or other bag, and what looks like an angled nook for placing your phone. It’s hard to say for sure, but to me, that looks like the ideal spot to integrate a wireless phone charger.
The emphasis on storage makes sense given what we already know about the EX30. Volvo is leaning all the way into safety features, which will most likely appeal to drivers with families. Naturally, carting kids to and fro might mean carting more stuff around, too.
Volvo will couple that emphasis on making the EX30 a family vehicle with tech-focused perks like a new, centralized soundbar. According to Volvo, the EX30 will cluster speakers into one component and therefore free up room inside doors for — you guessed it — more storage.
A speckled design on the dashboard could indicate the use of recycled materials.
The center console and new audio approach weren’t the only things Volvo gave us a glimpse at interior-wise. We also got a look at the automaker’s vision for EX30 infotainment, which includes a tablet-style interface at the center. What’s even more interesting than what Volvo is including here is actually what it isn’t.
A rendering shows that the EX30 lacks any kind of driver’s side readout or digital speedometer, which would put the emphasis on the aforementioned infotainment tablet. If Tesla’s approach to infotainment and in-car UI is appealing to you, this tablet-centric design should make you feel right at home.
And there’s a light bar, of course.
And lastly — to almost no one’s surprise — it looks like the EX30 will adopt many other EVs favorite calling card, a front-facing light bar. What is an EV without a big, bold, LED light, anyway?
A fuller picture
There’s still quite a bit we don’t know about the EX30’s performance, but between the recently announced safety features — a door-opening alert that warns about approaching cyclists and eye-tracking tech that monitors your alertness — and the new interior peeks, we’ve got a decent understanding of Volvo’s vision.
And we won’t have to guess at things like price and primary market for much longer. Volvo is set to reveal the whole compact SUV on June 7.
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