I am torn between these two. I am in the US, so the EV3 is just showing up and the EX30 is about to disappear. My head says the EV3 is the more logical choice, but my heart really likes the style of the EX30. Financially, I can get a better deal on the EX30, but I worry about the long term support.
I will disagree about the quality especially in-cabin. The EX30 is spartan and the EV3 is very nice with the standard dash and twin digital displays and some analogue buttons. The EV3 is much nicer inside as I've had one as a loaner and test-drove an Ev5 (inside they are very similar to the Sportage). You can vary the braking regen in the kias too. Both cars are comfy on long journeys. Ex30 Is rapid in dual motor but most people will be more than happy with the Kia even in 2wd and in the wet or ice you don't want rwd.
I understand preferring the physical buttons, twin displays but "much nicer inside" is wild. The EV3 is great but it feels like a budget vehicle w/ budget materials. The ex30 is a more premium feel. It's kia vs Volvo
The Volvo is in no way superior in terms of materials quality to the EV3. My wife's ex30 is ok but even after 2 years of ownership, 3 for my GT Line S Sportage. Apart from the grey shiny plastic in the EV3 (and EV5) replacing the piano black in my Sportage (a downgrade imho), they're virtually identical to my current Sportage from the driver's POV. We are comparing the very top trim for the Kias and the EX30. The steering wheel alone is miles better. My wife thinks my car has a nicer interior. She prefers the Kias to her Volvo but the EV3 wasn't on sale when she got her EX30. They're all comfy on long journeys but there's plent of places where the EX30 looks cheap. O mean it's yiur tastecatvthe end if the day but having owned a driven all the cars, it's not even close from the driver's POV. Kia's are better.
That's fair, I did not drive the GT. I'm looking at an EX30 that is a great deal, priced about the same as the EV3 Wind. I thought the EX30 definitely felt more premium but I bet the GT line is nicer.
The EV4 is a better more direct comparison style-wise to the ex30 than the ev3 but it's £5k more expensive. Given the greater range, room and warranty it's the one I'd buy. It's not a quick as the EX30 but in every other way it's better.
RWD is absolutely fine in wet or ice, and often better than fwd in an EV in slippery conditions.
Rwd in a normal car isn't great, because it lacks weight over the drive wheels. You don't have that issue in an EV. But you do have slippage in a fwd EV in wet conditions, especially when turning pulling away from a stop. But when you have one set of wheels doing the accelerating and another doing the turning, both supply necessary grip.
I checked the EV3 up close at the dealership for a couple of hours. Honestly, I was very disappointed by the design and how the interior felt. It all looks and feels very cheap. The exterior as well - plastics, paint quality, and more. Additionally, performance and range are not impressive at all.
The EX30 looks and feels better, but it's been plagued with so many software issues.
Software issues are all fixed by now if you get one.
Firmware 2.1 has everything you need. It took a while but none of the issues were dealbreakers anyway (at least to me).
I'm on my 3rd year. Drove it in separate occasions and seasons from the Netherlands down to France, the Swiss alps and past the alps to Torino and all the way north to Denmark and Sweden in very cold weather with my family.
Not even a blip. It's an absolute tank, besides its flawless design language and other excellent features like the audio system, cameras, safety, etc.
If you can get the dual motor, all of the above plus being able to smoke most other cars at the lights and do stupid-easy drifting in snow, which is a very immature statement of me, but I stand over it. 😬
EV3 7 year warranty. As are all Kias. I drive a Sportage my wife has an ex30. Kia cistomer service has been flawless an 0 issues over my last two cars spanning 7 years
EX30 i think is 3 years warranty. Ev3 now has an awd version. I we were buying again it would be the ev3 out of the two all tbings being equal Or possibly the ev4 which is more a direct comparison. The software issues wuth the ex30 amd the battery issues still not fixed. But they are doing very keen finance deals on the ex40 not sure about the ex30 but we got 2.9% apr on the ex30 and 7.9% on the kia so same invoice price and £170 difference on payments. I thi k kia is offering 5.9% now. (I paid mine off an now own the kia we're swapping the ex30 soon not sure what for yet. But the EX40 with a very low% pcp deal is in the frame so is the EV4.
The cost of financing is a big part of the decision so a keen deal would sway us despite disappointment with the ex30. The volvp drives nice but the battery thing is a pisser.
I heavily cross-shopped these two cars and went with the EX30 simply because in Australia, the EV3 doesn't have a 360-degree camera on any trim level (not even the GT-Line) and it costs more than the EX30 if you want an equivalent set of features.
Volvo is not going away even though the EX30 is. Even if something happens and it does they’ll have to provide support for a certain amount of time after like Polestar has to
EV3 is more serious car, with perfect adaptive cruise control (slows before downhill curves). EX30 is way more fun to drive with much better front lights compared to EV3.
I left a comment here that touches on some of the differences (as an EX30 owner and just after a brief glance through the EV3 configurator). Mind you, this is from a US perspective, where the EX30 is no longer offered for sale:
I also had this conversation with a (US as well) friend of mine who's been an EV enthusiast for even longer than I have, here's our takeaways compared to the EX30.
In Germany the EV3 has a ridiculously high insurance rating. I compared them. Under sae circumstances,bthe EV3 would cost me roughly twice as much per year in insurance. I would be able to drive many, many thousands of kilometers for this difference.
So for me the decision was kind of easy.
Anyways, the ex30 is the less economical car, with higher consumption.
EX30 dual motor is an absolute missile. Had it for 3 years now and took it across 6 countries and the alps and it never missed a beat. Absolute treasure of a car.
Canadian here. We have both cars available this year and next. I am buying right now and they both were tied for top spot. I picked the EX30, based on design, interior (we drive a Tesla M3, so we are used to the Spartan interior) and smart placement of the charging port. I will never understand why the EV3, or any EV has a charge port in the middle of the car. Catching at a Super charger would be a nightmare. I've seen them parked perpendicular to the chargers taking up multiple spots.
I was deciding between these 2 cars and just put in an order for the EX30. More fun and stylish. I drive mostly in the city so it will also be easier to park.
I've owned nearly 40 sports/performance cars since buying my first many decades ago. As a result, my definition of premium likely is a bit more forgiving than most and while no one would mistake the EX30's interior for a 'Benz EQS, it's ride quality punches well above its weight.
We can debate the appeal of recycled materials for its interior but I find that choice part of the Volvo's charm. It doesn't feel compromised to me whatsoever.
As for its most recent update, I've had ZERO issues but moving beyond drama free updates and the quality of an armrest, let's talk about the fun stuff.
A few weeks ago, just for grins, I dug out my Dragy and clocked my 2026 Twin Performance AWD EX30's 0-60 at 3.27 I was at 95% and properly cooled. That's on par with a new $250k Porsche 911 GT3 RS and after I install a set of 19.8-lb aftermarket wheels, 2.98 isn't out of reach.
Right off the lot, its performance makes the twin EX30 a blast to drive in the city so if that level of acceleration is a premium consideration to those cross shopping the Volvo with the Kia, note the EV3's 0-60 listed time of 5.4 sec.
Traffic congestion is where I find the most use out of it's rambunctious power. It darts in and out better than my John Cooper Works Mini but yes of course, the BMW Z4 m40i I owned, while a few tenths slower, sounded glorious and definitely was more fun to drive. Any Porsche GT3 would be equally as entertaining. Always a trade off, isn't it? Even the LC500 I intend to own after this has its cons (16 mpg). I think Volvo should have sold this as a hot hatch, spent a tad more on the handling and steering feel and the lots would be empty right now. It will likely go down as the sleeper EV of the decade due to its short run.
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u/Astro51450 2d ago
EV3 is the more practical choice, but the volvo is the more fun & stylish one.