Consumer Reports Shreds Volvo’s Newest EX Electric Vehicle As Worst Pick of 2025 Following a Broken Price Promise - The Language They Used Is Too Strong For Us To Even Print

In a recent Talking Cars podcast episode, Consumer Reports named its favorite cars of 2025 (Honda Passport) and then dug in and named the Worst Pick of 2025. CR panelist, 30-year vehicle testing veteran, and Autos Content Specialist Mike Quincy really laid into the Volvo EX30. You may remember that the EX30 was the Volvo that the media breathlessly announced would “start at $35K,” but didn’t. We recently tested the Chinese-built EX30 and found a LOT to like. Sure, we listed some areas for improvement, but we didn’t pan the car. CR sure did.

We’ll get to the harsh language and reasons why CR panned the EX30, but first, let’s make a list of just a few of the automotive publications that reported the EX30 would “start at $35K.”
MotorWeek - “Volvo is continuing its move towards electrification with the new subcompact EX30, boasting a starting MSRP of $34,950.”
Hagerty - “Meet Volvo’s tiny, $35K electric SUV, the EX30.”
Green Cars - “Volvo's compact EX30 electric SUV will have a starting MSRP of under $35,000 and will offer exceptional performance.”
Road&Track - “The $35,000 Volvo EX30 Has to Be More Than Just an EV.”

Volvo EX30 “Unanimous Thumbs Down”
Mike Quincy began the roast of the Volvo EX30 by explaining that many CR staffers test each vehicle, so that a plurality of viewpoints and opinions can inform the group’s final assessment. He revealed that there is a logbook kept inside each of the test vehicles (which CR typically purchases). He then told viewers and listeners that the CR staff unanimously gave the Volvo a “Thumbs Down,” to quote his turn of phrase.

The whole “would you recommend this car?” Not one tester said they’d recommend this car (Volvo EX30). It was a completely unanimous thumbs down.

Mike then read out some of the logbook entries. Which included:
1) “xxxx” no!” (we don’t publish the word used here)
2) “The controls would drive even a relatively sane person over the ledge.”
3) “It’s $50,000 and only has a 181-mile range!”
4) “Absolutely Not.”
5) “The vehicle is a usability nightmare!”
6) “I cringe at the thought of showing my parents how to use this car.”

The most devastating comment of all was “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.” Yikes. We almost never hear such a long list of negative comments about any test vehicle from any media group, and certainly not from polite and data-driven Consumer Reports.

Did a Broken Price Promise Cause the EX30’s Terrible Rating?
Conversing with Jennifer Stockburger, Consumer Reports’ outgoing Director of Operations, Auto Test Center, Mike Quincy explored how value and price were a big part of what sabotaged the Volvo EX30 in the eyes of Consumer Reports staffers. He said, “We think like kind of normal people. I always look at test cars that didn’t measure up and ask myself ‘What else can you get for the money?” Ms. Stockenburger said, “For fifty grand…It just didn’t work.”

You may remember that when we opened this story, we pointed out that the EV-advocacy media really made a fuss about how amazing the EX30 was going to be at its “$35K starting price.” That’s a lot less than the approximately $42K starting price for an EX30 with no added features. The vehicle Consumer Reports tested, like the one Torque News tested, was priced at nearly $50K. We searched our Metro Boston Area Volvo dealer's website and didn't find any EX30s on sale for less than $45K, and that was after some seasonal discounting. 

This disparity of proposed prices vs. actual is common in electric vehicles. For some reason, the content creators, mainstream media, and EV-advocacy media insist on reporting artificially low price points for unreleased EVs. It has happened with Tesla, Chevrolet, and others, and may well be happening now with both Slate and Ford, who say they will have very low-cost EVs on sale at some point “soon,” and provide a very low entry price to the media. It’s hard to resist reporting on a fantastically low-priced new vehicle. However, isn't it the job of so-called journalists to report facts and call baloney on what seems too good to be true - until proven otherwise?

Controls Problems With EVs Epitomized by the EX30
Funky, hard-to-understand, and difficult-to-use controls are a hallmark of EVs. The VW’s window switch fiasco is an example. Then there was the Hyundai Ioniq 5’s rear wiper switch. Owners could not find the switch because the wiper wasn't there. Tesla’s unloved yoke-style steering contraption. The Mustang Mach-E’s rear door button nub thingy. We don't even have to talk about the “One screen for everything” theme loved by almost nobody. Volvo seemed to look over these bad moves and say, “Hold my keycard.”

Mike Quincy said of the overzealous attention warning in the EX30, “I’ve literally yelled at this car. I’ve said, I would keep my eyes on the road if your controls were better designed!”

You can find the Talking Cars Podcast here at Consumer Reports. The EX30 discussion starts at the 45:00 timestamp. You can also view it more succinctly on TikTok here.

We think the Volvo EX30 has a lot to offer the right buyer. Its controls are certainly polarizing and frustrating. And the price bait-and-switch the EV media pulled was not cool. Still, worst car of the entire year? Tell us if you think the Volvo EX30 deserves that dubious distinction in the comments below. 
 

John Goreham is the Vice President of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his fourteen years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. John employs grammar and punctuation software when proofreading, and he sometimes uses image generation tools.