Iain Curry’s best electric car of 2024: Volvo EX30

December 28, 2024December 27, 2024 Iain Curry 2120 Views 0 Comments car of the year, EV coty, volvo ex30

Had to really think about this one. There’s been no runaway standout, but I’ve landed on Volvo’s EX30.

Not because this Swedish-ish SUV’s hugely game-changing, but because it’s a damn good package.

Value’s strong, it looks superb, offers a decent drive experience and I dig the overwhelming interestingness of the eco-heavy cabin.

It boils down to being an EV I could see myself owning.

I’d pick the entry-level, single motor Extended Plus with its ample performance and 462km range.

It’s priced at about $66,000 drive-away with five years complimentary servicing, but I’ve spotted a number of ex-demos for under $60k in the traffic, plus one with 10km showing for $57,490 on the road.

That’s a lot of very pretty car for the dollars.

There are many other small SUVs costing five figures less, but the Volvo still looks, feels and smells like a premium brand. The same-sized internal combustion XC40 being basically the same price helps the EX30 EV’s case.

Shoppers considering a BYD Atto 3, Cupra Born, Hyundai Kona Electric or even Tesla Model Y would be wise to first sample this little Volvo.

With 200kW and 343Nm it sprints to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds, proves a fun thing to punt through turns with its rear-drive layout, has oodles of active safety and is up there with the most delightful, easy and quiet vehicles to live with in town over good surfaces.

A TV-like Harman Kardon soundbar offers sound quality that’s off the charts – call it cliched, but good grief ABBA has never sounded better – while a 12.3-inch portrait screen with Google Built-in feels bang up to date in the minimalist IKEA-fantasy interior.

I don’t love the fact it’s made in China, nor too much reliance on controls through the centre screen (including adjusting mirrors, really?!), while rear seat and boot space are decidedly average.

But just look at it – a chunky, funky, angled work of art.

The EX30’s a firm contender as my ideal second car for zero emission daily driving duties.

Biggest EV surprise of 2024: electric Ford Supervan Transit

I’m a motorsport tragic, and quite frankly EVs can bugger off away from my beloved sport and focus on cleaning up day-to-day personal transport instead. I want my race cars noisy, shaky and stinky.

But I can’t shy away from an EV racer’s abilities, despite their obvious battery life limitations. From the Nurburgring to Mt Panorama, Goodwood to Pikes Peak, electrification and shit tonnes of downforce are helping lap records tumble into the hands of EVs.

This year I passengered in Ford’s 1500kW/4000Nm(!) quad electric motor Supervan 4.2 Transit, able to crack 100km/h in under two seconds.

At the controls was a young Kiwi racer who hs since been confirmed in an F1 race seat at Red Bull for 2025, alongside some chap named Verstappen.

The uber-talented Liam Lawson seemed almost as bewildered as I was at this slab-sided Ford’s abilities. Aside from its outright speed, new levels of corner limpeting were discovered, while giant ceramic brakes backed by the van’s 600kW regenerative performance ensured my head was literally in my lap each time Lawson stood on the anchors.

My innards remained scrambled and confused for the rest of the day, while months later, I’m still not sure my neck’s fully recovered from the many g-forces it suffered.

Perhaps I’ll be even more surprised in the future. These hyper EVs are still in their relative infancy after all. Just how much quicker will they go?

The EV I’m most looking forward to in 2025: Renault 5

What’s something Chinese EV brands don’t have? History, heritage, and a sexy back catalogue waiting to be mined.

Here’s where Renault has played a blinder with its reborn 5 in electric form.

The original French 5 was an absolute revelation from its 1972 launch. A no-nonsense, smartly packaged and beautifully shaped little hatch that sold by the millions.

It was a people’s car that can do the same again as an EV. And Renault is absolutely right to revive it. In contrast, a brand like Jaguar is intent on abandoning its previous greatest hits for a clean slate in EV world. We’ll see how that pans out.

So the Renault 5 isn’t yet locked in for Australia in 2025, but dammit they best get busy.

Legacy brands are in all sorts of bother at the moment, partly down to the ever-growing popularity of strong value, highly equipped Chinese offerings.

So Renault must not miss a genuine free hit.

Renault Australia: Get the 5 in your showrooms plus vite, s’il te plaît, and make sure it can be bought for a dollar number starting with 4.

Then I’d be getting excited, and possibly even my wallet out.

Best of all, we can expect a hot hatch Alpine version to follow, as well a Porsche-baiting rear-drive 375kW Renault 5 Turbo 3E to thoroughly melt the hearts of we kids of the Eighties.

2026 Renault 5 Turbo 3E. — Get excited: Renault 5 Turbo 3E electric super hatch.

← Toby Hagon’s best electric car of 2024: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

Iain Curry

A motoring writer and photographer for two decades, Iain started in print magazines in London as editor of Performance BMW and features writer for BMW Car, GT Porsche and 4Drive magazines. His love of motor sport and high performance petrol cars was rudely interrupted in 2011 when he was one of the first journalists to drive BMW's 1 Series ActiveE EV, and has been testing hybrids, PHEVs and EVs for Australian newspapers ever since. Based near Noosa in Queensland, his weekly newspaper articles cover new vehicle reviews and consumer advice, while his photography is regularly seen on the pages of glossy magazines.