[KRS_SN]

Like the geely version of xc90 became ubiquitous I wonder if this EV is next for our roads from volvo. I'm liking what I see inside and out.
https://youtu.be/HnkD9YfCJ44

[DB118D]

Autocar absolutely slated the UI saying it's dangerous

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by DB118D

Autocar absolutely slated the UI saying it's dangerous

whatcar,auto express, car and driver,car wow, top gear, parkers etc all seem to give it 5/5 or 4.5/5 or 8/10. Autocar is the only one to give it 2.5/5. Matt prior seems to hate the all touchscreen approach for the score which is probably understandable.

[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by DB118D

Autocar absolutely slated the UI saying it's dangerous

As did Mat Watson - he nearly crashed it trying to switch between mirrors & nav on the exit to Barcelona airport

Seems to like the performance/drive, less keen on the interior but overall seems to really like it.

No matter how good the rest of the car is, the UI would be a deal breaker for me. What's the problem with a small number of critical functions being controlled by physical switches? If it's illegal to be distracted by a phone in the car, how is this different? Seems that no matter how many reviewers, safety experts etc raise the issue, it has no discernible impact on how in-car controls are being developed these days.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Blacktemplar

As did Mat Watson - he nearly crashed it trying to switch between mirrors & nav on the exit to Barcelona airport

Seems to like the performance/drive, less keen on the interior but overall seems to really like it.

No matter how good the rest of the car is, the UI would be a deal breaker for me. What's the problem with a small number of critical functions being controlled by physical switches? If it's illegal to be distracted by a phone in the car, how is this different? Seems that no matter how many reviewers, safety experts etc raise the issue, it has no discernible impact on how in-car controls are being developed these days.

Should you be swapping between mirrors and nav when moving? The safety experts would say that you can set the nav before you leave and use voice controls to do pretty much anything you need. Maybe its a generational thing and us oldies need to get with the times and learn to use modern techniques...

Or maybe its a crap design, but I suspect there will be no going back now. Either way this is on my list to consider in a couple of years time plus, along with the Fisker...

[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Should you be swapping between mirrors and nav when moving? The safety experts would say that you can set the nav before you leave and use voice controls to do pretty much anything you need. Maybe its a generational thing and us oldies need to get with the times and learn to use modern techniques...

Or maybe its a crap design, but I suspect there will be no going back now. Either way this is on my list to consider in a couple of years time plus, along with the Fisker...

Arguably not, but I think he was making the point that small things that shouldn’t be tricky or distracting have become so as a result of the seemingly inexorable drive towards one centralised control panel for everything.

In this specific example, the door construction is designed to be simple & straightforward to manufacture and replace, so doesn’t contain any of the usual gubbins like mirror or window switches.

There’s no central speedo display on the EX30 and no HUD so you need to keep glancing at the central display to check speed - in the review, the attention checking software pinged because he seemed as by if he was losing concentration, rather than glancing at the Speedo regularly.

Small stuff, but given how unaware many drivers seem to be of their surroundings as it is, this kind of technology doesn’t feel like a forward step.

As you say though, us old fogeys will just have to move with the times and park our Luddite tendencies - probably in a charging bay…,

[crAbb]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

Like the geely version of xc90 became ubiquitous I wonder if this EV is next for our roads from volvo. I'm liking what I see inside and out.
https://youtu.be/HnkD9YfCJ44

Interesting to see the recent Volvo research on EVs. Apparently, one would need to drive one of their EVs for seven years, before the environmental impact is less than an equivalent ICE vehicle.

[DB118D]

Originally Posted by DB118D

Autocar absolutely slated the UI saying it's dangerous

This was a bit hit and run from me when in the middle of something else

Autocar's criticism stems from everything being behind the touchscreen. Looking at the videos posted, and whilst i understand the touchscreen frustration, I'm not sure you should be adjusting things like mirrors on the go

For transparency, I drive a Tesla and everything is touchscreen. I've had zero issues with it but I'm not adjusting things on the move

[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by DB118D

This was a bit hit and run from me when in the middle of something else

Autocar's criticism stems from everything being behind the touchscreen. Looking at the videos posted, and whilst i understand the touchscreen frustration, I'm not sure you should be adjusting things like mirrors on the go

For transparency, I drive a Tesla and everything is touchscreen. I've had zero issues with it but I'm not adjusting things on the move

It seems to be a general frustration with the EX30 for most reviewers - not dissimilar to the initial reviews of the new VAG system. I get that cost/simplicity is a factor, but it seems daft throwing the baby out with the bath water. If Governments are genuine about introducing more and more mandatory safety features in cars - a good thing - then surely there needs to be legislation on some form of minimum safety standard for vital in-car controls?

The other thing that strikes me is that like modern smart phones, there are a significant number of older (and not so old) people who struggle with that technology. My dad is 86 and relatively savvy for an older person but smartphones and the insistence of virtually every service these days requiring an online input or app just baffles him.

The industry needs to make sure it doesn’t inadvertently exclude older or technophobic people from what may well be vital transport. My wife is 60 and is a very smart lady, but absolutely not techno savvy in any way at all. Some smartphone functions completely stump her, and I can imagine she’d quickly lose patience with something like the EX30s UI

[KRS_SN]

My gripe with this car and probably why I won't ultimately buy/consider it is lack of HUD. Having maps and speed limit in the line of vision while looking at the road ahead is non negotiable for me and don't fancy glancing over to a central screen.
The performance version of this car priced at 45k has the same 0-60 performance of a ix60 which is around 120k. Focuses the mind somewhat.

[Wills2]

Anyone looking at a 120k BMW isn't going to care that a 45k Volvo is as quick to 60, anymore than a 250k Ferrari driver cares that a 125k M3CS can match it to 60 in the ICE world.

EVs have made acceleration a non issue, before if you wanted banzai grunt you had to go to certain brands & price points now everyone can do it from MG upwards, but I think that lowers the appeal of that as a feature.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

My gripe with this car and probably why I won't ultimately buy/consider it is lack of HUD. Having maps and speed limit in the line of vision while looking at the road ahead is non negotiable for me and don't fancy glancing over to a central screen.
The performance version of this car priced at 45k has the same 0-60 performance of a ix60 which is around 120k. Focuses the mind somewhat.

HUD might be great for some people, but as a varifocals wearer who has driven cars with a speedo in roughly the same place for 40 years, it did nothing for me. Guess it good we all have options!

Nor does quoted acceleration matter, my ipace is the slowest car I have owned for 5 years but it doesnt feel it, and in reality I dont use the performance of any of them. There are standards that I wouldnt want to go below but not sure they are judged by 0-60 these days...

[davyk31]

I wear varifocals and don’t have any problem with the HUD on my ID.3. Didn’t pay for it on the Taycan thought as don’t really feel it’s that useful except when using nav.

[Watsey]

A brand with such a long reputation for safety introduces a new vehicle with so many systems/functions being embedded in an operating system, rather than easy and intuitive physical interfaces (i.e. buttons), that users are constantly distracted from the road ahead (and to the side, and to the rear), to the extent that the onboard safety systems include alerts letting the driver know that they aren’t looking at the road ahead.

What a joke.

Just like the likelihood of me owning a Tesla…NO CHANCE.

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

HUD might be great for some people, but as a varifocals wearer who has driven cars with a speedo in roughly the same place for 40 years, it did nothing for me. Guess it good we all have options!

Nor does quoted acceleration matter, my ipace is the slowest car I have owned for 5 years but it doesnt feel it, and in reality I dont use the performance of any of them. There are standards that I wouldnt want to go below but not sure they are judged by 0-60 these days...

I think you are right..if not an hud a speedo in the line of sight will do. I also think acceleration figures are not that useful in the UK where ability to soak up broken roads is vital.
Overall I dig the look of the car. A speedometer/nav in the line of sight would be great.

[Blacktemplar]

The other issue with HUD (at least in BMW form) is that polarised sunglasses make it disappear. A simple digital speedo display in line of sight would be a straightforward solution.

It’ll be interesting to see if Volvo react to reviews and adapt quickly, or drag their feet as VAG have done

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Anyone looking at a 120k BMW isn't going to care that a 45k Volvo is as quick to 60, anymore than a 250k Ferrari driver cares that a 125k M3CS can match it to 60 in the ICE world.

EVs have made acceleration a non issue, before if you wanted banzai grunt you had to go to certain brands & price points now everyone can do it from MG upwards, but I think that lowers the appeal of that as a feature.

The price difference between the lowest and highest performance ice in the same model range was huge. Traditional manufacturers are continuing this trend in their EV offering.
The volvo/similar EV seems to have narrowed the gap in the same model range and made the grunt affordable.

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

HUD might be great for some people, but as a varifocals wearer who has driven cars with a speedo in roughly the same place for 40 years, it did nothing for me. Guess it good we all have options!

I'd certainly not choose to go back to a non-HUD car without there being some major positive trade offs to make up for it, and before I binned off the idea of replacing the BMW with an L322 (rather than adding to the stable as I now plan to), the two things I knew I'd miss would be the HUD and the shuttered adaptive lights. But, on the flip side I knew that the RR would be more relaxed so the HUD wasn't quite so critical, and nor were the lights as the added height improves beam spread and visibility no end. But I do like the sat nav directions being line of sight rather than off to your side.

The one thing I do find with the HUD is that it's right in the zone of last chance to avoid potholes so I find myself switching it off on country roads a fair bit at night. And polarised sunglasses significantly impact how easily you can see it in daylight too, so although different I can see why it's not really a major thing for some.

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

The price difference between the lowest and highest performance ice in the same model range was huge. Traditional manufacturers are continuing this trend in their EV offering.
The volvo/similar EV seems to have narrowed the gap in the same model range and made the grunt affordable.

I think you missed the point, or maybe you didn't or maybe I didn't explain it well (that's most likely) as you're saying the same thing as I did, hence my point around no one really caring about 0-60 times when a MG can do it in sub 4 seconds for 36k it becomes a moot point when trying to sell a more expensive car and that will be an issue for the premium brands.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I think you missed the point, or maybe you didn't or maybe I didn't explain it well (that's most likely) as you're saying the same thing as I did, hence my point around no one really caring about 0-60 times when a MG can do it in sub 4 seconds for 36k it becomes a moot point when trying to sell a more expensive car and that will be an issue for the premium brands.

It's a good point and it's coming to the fore.

Now that EV performance has been commoditised a lot of buyers will, rightly, be asking whether there's an additional (say) £50K-£100K of value in a badge, or an interior, or...

And for many the answer will be "no".

With EVs removing the emotional connection in the driving experience the vehicle, almost de facto, becomes a utility or an appliance. And, once the requirements have been met (availability; speed; capacity; etc), most people buy utilities and appliances based on price.

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

My gripe with this car and probably why I won't ultimately buy/consider it is lack of HUD. Having maps and speed limit in the line of vision while looking at the road ahead is non negotiable for me and don't fancy glancing over to a central screen.
The performance version of this car priced at 45k has the same 0-60 performance of a ix60 which is around 120k. Focuses the mind somewhat.

However did the world cope for 70 years beforehand 😂😂👍🏻

I’d struggle now to have a car without a nice relaxing chair and a decent screen with Netflix on while I hang about waiting in the Dad Taxi 😂

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I think you missed the point, or maybe you didn't or maybe I didn't explain it well (that's most likely) as you're saying the same thing as I did, hence my point around no one really caring about 0-60 times when a MG can do it in sub 4 seconds for 36k it becomes a moot point when trying to sell a more expensive car and that will be an issue for the premium brands.

Those are my thoughts too. Plus in the UK roads 0-60 times are rather pointless.
To illustrate this from BMW you could get a bmw ix40 and a volvo ex30 for around the same price as an ix50.