SMALL VOLVO, BIG VIBE

A quick, calm, city-first luxury EV earns its stripes in Jaipur.

- Dhiram Shah

I first clock the stance.

Shrunk, squared, and upright, the EX30 looks like it was carved by a Copenhagen furniture maker who moonlights in a wind tunnel. In Jaipur, it turned the city into a moving puzzle rather than a stress test. I threaded my way through the Pink City lanes where cows share right of way, did quick squirts on the Jaipur–Ajmer Expressway, then climbed toward Amer. Light steering and tidy dimensions made U-turns and last-second exits easy, while on open tarmac it settled into a relaxed lope and smoothed out scruffy surfaces better than I expected for something this compact.

Under the skin, India gets the Single Motor Extended Range. The 69 kWh battery feeds a rear motor rated at 268 bhp and 343 Nm, good for a claimed 0 to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds and a top speed capped at 180 km/h. What really mattered to me was the shove from 20 to 80 km/h. The EX30 feels properly urgent in that band, which is where most of us overtake.