South Africans are slowly taking up battery electric vehicles, but for now and probably the foreseeable future, sales are likely to continue trickling in and it’s unlikely that there will be a groundswell any time soon.
The reasons are well documented and we’re a sceptical bunch at best and even more so, budget conscious in an economy that’s not exactly on fire.
EVs are expensive and we have large distances that we travel adding to range anxiety. Despite improvements in charging infrastructure we’re not there yet, many people tow and EVs don’t like that and despite having the lights on for the past few months, we’re not out of the woods yet, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Last year just under a thousand fully electric vehicles were registered which is up 85.46 percent year on year, admittedly from a low base.
Volvo says that its XC40 Recharge was the top seller with 16.6 percent of the market while this year the single motor EX30 has been the best local seller so far with 281 units sold by the end of quarter two, making it almost one in every three electric cars sold in South Africa in the first four months.
Which brings us to the EX30 Plus Twin Motor Performance.
They weren't joking about the performance part, with 315kW and 543Nm it manages to get to 100km/h from a standstill in 3.6 seconds, putting it in supercar territory. That’s pretty impressive for R1,055,900.
With a solid grill, Thor lights and well designed lines it’s certainly striking as many people commented when seeing it for the first time.
Just as they weren’t kidding about the performance part, when they describe the interior as minimalistic it’s not an understatement, and it’s made from a mixture of recycled and environmentally friendly materials.
There’s pretty much only a steering wheel and a 12.3-inch vertical touchscreen that controls everything.
And when I say everything, it is everything and that’s where things get a bit weird and you keep on asking yourself why?
I’m sure the crew that signed it off will provide an explanation but whether they have actually spent time with it on a daily basis, I’m not so sure.
All your information is displayed there; speed, range, temperature and everything else you need while driving.
Which at a push I suppose you could live with but when the sensor behind the wheel that monitors you continually frustratingly pings, bongs and warns you that you’re being distracted while making adjustments by a system they designed, then a few choice words slip easily off the tongue.
It is possible to disable it via the touchscreen but it defaults to the original setting once the car switches off, on its own as you close the door and walk away.
If another car gets too close to you or roads are being repaired and there’s a spider’s web of lane paint (welcome to South Africa) it will constantly beep.
Adjusting the side mirrors becomes an IT session by having to go into various menus selecting it and then moving them by using the directional buttons on the steering wheel. Even the cubby hole is opened via the screen.
The roof is essentially tinted glass, which wasn’t so bad in winter, but I reckon in a hot African sun, the air conditioning will be working overtime.
Manufacturers talk about User Experience (UX) and I would love to meet the control group they employed and have a chat with them.
There are a couple of other anomalies you have to get used to like the window buttons in the centre armrest and a separate button to activate the rear windows and then using the same buttons to open the windows at the back.
The drive though is really good and like all EVs the instant torque remains entertaining so passing slower traffic simply requires a hard right foot and they’re quickly and very quietly dispatched with.
Thanks to its low centre of gravity and twin motors it’s a keen participant when it comes to the twisties.
Using all that torque and driving it hard obviously has an impact on the battery and range, which I found out after my partner was involved in an accident in Randburg.
It meant I had to race through from Pretoria and then back again on the N1 and N14 with little opportunity for regeneration. Fortunately the battery stood at 94 percent when I left but afterwards realised that there wasn’t enough juice to get back home and then to the airport for an early morning flight the next day.
So I was a lonely late night figure in an empty basement parking lot at Irene Mall with not an open shop in sight to at least buy a coffee on a cold winter evening.
Volvo claims a range of up to 460 kilometres but after an hour or so it showed 318 kilometres at 100 percent.
I get that we need to look after the environment and that alternatives to fossil fuel are inevitable, but I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps the EX30, despite its good looks, blistering acceleration and fantastic handling, needed a bit more thought before coming to market.