The fully electric Volvo Cross Country: 'It's a beautiful car to drive'

Swedish carmaker Volvo (now Chinese-owned) describes its EX30 Cross Country as "a not-so-big, big deal".

And motoring journalist Melinda Ferguson tends to agree with this description.

As its competitors in this all-electric midsize SUV crossover segment, she names the MINI Countryman, BMW X1 andMercedes-Benz EQB 350.

"It is a Cross Country, so it's a car that would do really well on gravel but nothing too extreme, whereas with the MINI I've felt I could go up a few mountains with that."

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Ferguson highlights how quick the Volvo Cross Country is - she managed to go from 0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, enjoying the sense of "instant power". The engine delivers 315 kW and 543 Nm of torque.

It provides pretty decent range of 400 km. "I'm using it as my in-town ride for December; I don't even want to think about charging out of Cape Town. But it is such a pleasure, instead of putting huge amounts of money into a tank, you put your card in at a charging station, paying significantly less with an electric than you would in petrol or diesel."

In line with the subtle style of Swedish design, the Volvo is a beautiful car inside and out, says the motoring journo.

Minimalism rules in the cabin, with a user-friendly Google-powered 12.3 inch touch screen and environmentally-friendly material covering the seats.

Boot space is a generous 400 litres, expanding to 1,000 litres with the back seats down.

The one feature Ferguson was not happy with is the time it takes to set the air conditioning, which entails a sequence of swiping.

The Volvo Cross Country comes in at over R1 million, with a price tag of R1,650,000. This does include perks like two years of complimentary public charging, and the installation of a grid cars charger in your home. This is in line with its rivals, she says.

Ferguson gives the car a rating of 8.5/10, down from what would have been a 9 if not for the "cumbersome" aircon feature.

To listen to Melinda Ferguson in conversation with Sara-Jayne Makwala King on CapeTalk's Weekend Breakfast, click on the audio link below: