► Volvo EX30 Cross Country is here
► A butched-up, more SUV-alike vibe
► Body cladding and styling changes
The new Volvo EX30 Cross Country follows in a decades-old tradition, whereby the Swedes take their most popular models and winterise them for the famously tough Arctic winters.
Volvo was one of the first brands to popularise the soft-roader look with the original V70 Cross Country and latterly XC70 models, alongside Subaru’s tougher Legacy and Forester and Audi’s Allroad estates. Now the Swedes are applying the same thinking to their smallest electric crossover, the Volvo EX30.
Volvo EX30 Cross Country: tough mudder
This is a largely cosmetic exercise, but this time Volvo is adding in some actual off-roader-influenced options to equip this Cross Country with some go-anywhere creds. It will be sold as a twin-motor AWD model.
The EX30 Cross Country can be ordered with 18-inch all-terrain tyres, as pictured, to give it the scrambling skills to keep going where summer tyre-shod SUVs may slither to a halt. And all CC models come with a higher ride height for better obstacle avoidance.
Note also the front grille (above), which has ‘artwork showing the topography of the Kebnekaise mountain range in Arctic Sweden – an inspiration for many of our designers.’ It’s all very postmodern.
The boss explains the rationale of Volvo’s Cross Country models
‘We launched our first Cross Country car more than 25 years ago, and this concept of durable and all-weather cars is core to the Volvo brand,’ said Jim Rowan, Volvo Cars’ CEO. ‘In Sweden we face harsh winters, but we also like to make the most of them by getting out and exploring our amazing nature, even when it’s minus 20 Celsius outside. That’s why we want to deliver a fully rounded experience, not simply a car, to our EX30 Cross Country customers.’
This explains the roster of pretty serious options pictured, including a roofrack, mudflaps and other accessories more normally found on tougher breeds of Land Rover or Land Cruiser.
UK pricing and timings will be confirmed in due course.