EV Road-Trip Review: Cape Town to Bloemfontein in the electric Volvo EX30 (2024)
When the Volvo EX30 launched in SA, I was immediately enamoured by its sleek design and its impressive power figures, but how does a super-fast EV like the EX30 fare on a 1000 km + road trip to the centre of Mzansi via the N1 and back? Should you rather save this journey for your Isuzu D-MAX? We just had to undertake this trip to find out.
Pros
- It’s insanely fast
- It has show-stopping styling
- The minimalist interior is sufficiently intuitive
- Banging sound system thanks to Harman Kardon (standard)
- Volvo's Pilot Assist is arguably the best semi-autonomous driving system on the market today
- Built-in Google Automotive System (GAS) for full smartphone integration
- Safety systems galore, all standard.
Cons
- Built-in Google Maps doesn’t always display charging points accurately
- It’s pricey if you pick the flagship model
- It attracts the wrong kind of attention, much like a supercar does
- It could do with a head-up display, as the driver attention monitor is intrusive and irritating
The EX30, Volvo’s smallest electric crossover, launched earlier this year (2024) and it made waves not just because of its avant-garde styling, but because it was significantly more affordable than the other EVs in the Swedish lineup, starting at R791 900 for the EX30 Core Single Motor (current pricing). Next up are the EX30 Plus Single Motor Extended Range (917 900), the Ultra Single Motor Extended Range (R1 023 900) and the EX30 Plus Twin Motor Performance (R 1 055 900). You can configure your EX30 online via the Volvo SA website, here.
Related: Volvo EX30 crowned as World urban Car of the Year
I would have preferred to use one of the Single Motor Extended Range models for our road-trip because of its claimed range of 476 km, but only the Twin Motor Performance model (seen above) was available. And the more power you have, the more your range evaporates if you can't contain your right foot. While I looked forward to having such power at my disposal, would we be able to pull off a journey like this in the coldest week of July?
Related: Volvo EX30 unsheathed for SA
Our test model: The EX30 Ultra Twin Motor Performance
The range-topping EX30 Ultra Twin Motor Performance model is the fastest of the bunch, reaching 100 km/h from zero in a near- instantaneous 3.6 seconds thanks to its output of 315 kW and 543 Nm. It has two electric motors, one on each axle, and a 69kWh lithium-ion battery where energy is stored. It’s also the priciest if you spec Ultra trim, and if you specify anything over and above that, like the Cloud blue exterior with its ‘Breeze’-themed, pale blue interior and accompanying features, pricing reaches R1 080 900.
Expected range
Volvo reckons a range of 460 kilometres is attainable in this model, but the manufacturer's numbers are usually over-ambitious. Plus, it is winter now, and low temperatures can be a massive range buster.
My heart sank when the trip computer showed a mere 280 km of range with the battery charged to 98% in Hermanus’ 10-degree weather.
At this point, I seriously considered cancelling our trip. Stressing about range is no fun at all. But accommodation and pet-sitters had already been booked, leave had been approved, work had been done in advance, and dates had been set with friends; we simply had no choice but to make it happen.
Day 1
And we’re off! First stop: Worcester
We left Hermanus at around 07.30 am with my husband behind the wheel for the first shift. This allowed me to check out the EX30’s suave interior at leisure, familiarise myself with the large infotainment system with Android-based built-in Google, pair and plug in phones, and the like.
Our trip computer still looked sceptical where range was concerned, but somehow, the other figure at the bottom of the screen showed that we would still have around 50% of battery power left by the time we reached Worcester, affording us a more realistic range than the estimated figure at the top.
Because I am an optimist, I decided to trust Volvo's calculation at the bottom, and this proved to be a wise decision.
Related: Volvo XC40 Recharge Ultimate (2024) Quick Review
When we rolled into Worcester, we found that the Volvo’s trip computer had been exactly right, almost down to the last percentage, and range was indeed longer. Thee only small issue was that the charging station wasn’t exactly where it showed on-screen on built-in Google maps; we drove around looking for it until a security guard to pointed us in the right direction.
(If you use the GridCars Live Map, and you click on the relevant charging point, it gives you more specific directions to the charger and tells you what's on site.)
Next stop: Laingsburg
The Laingsburg stop had been a concern for me, because, according to the GridCars Live Map, it was undergoing maintenance and was therefore non-functional. With this point not working, we’d have to take a massive detour with the chance of not making it to our next stop.
A quick call to GridCars resolved this issue. The company said that sometimes the on-site modem isn’t working, so the charger shows that it's offline on the map, but you can actually charge offline via a PIN number.
When we got to the Laingsburg charging point at the Engen One-Stop with 57% battery power left, the charger looked dead as a doornail. I nervously dialled the GridCars call centre number on the unit, and a friendly lady asked for my card number—this was the card that Volvo supplied us to tap and pay for our charging en route.
Once she confirmed the card number, she supplied me with a pin number, which we entered on the charger’s screen, and voila! With a big whoosh, the charger powered up and we could enjoy a cup of coffee and catch up on some work on our respective laptops. After 57 minutes, our battery was at 100%, so we gathered our belongings and were soon back on the N1.
Piloting the EX30 is pure pleasure, but when you have nothing in front of you (no instrument cluster, not even a digital one), your eyes wander over to the central screen to look at your speed, or the map, etc. but the driver attention monitor on the steering wheel which tracks your eye movements, beeps incessantly if your eyes leave the road ahead. A head-up display would solve this problem.
Next stop: Beaufort-West
The infamously long stretch of tar between Laingsburg and Beaufort West seemed endless and felt nerve-wracking with all the massive trucks that dominate this part of the N1.
What’s even more annoying, however, is that when you’re trying to conserve power by driving 95 km/h, other vehicles and trucks sit on your rear end, and you reluctantly let a lot of traffic pass while you hang out in the yellow line, feeling frustrated.
When the time comes to overtake slower traffic, however (or you’re just fed up with travelling so darn slowly), the EX30 is supercar fast; only a small gap is needed before you’re past and back in your lane, and even then, the range does not drop nearly as much as you'd think. It truly is thrilling to have that much power underfoot, and you’ll leave cars like Golf GTIs and Jaguar F-Types in the dust, making it a real challenge to stick to the speed limit, never mind trying to stay below 100 km/h to save power. As we started getting closer to our next charging point, speeding up to 120 km/h was inevitable.
We entered the thriving Karoo metropolis of Beaufort-West at 16:00 (with 48% of power left), where we could have a hearty meal at 4 Sheep Restaurant during the hour that it would take to recharge the EX30 fully at the 60kW charging point (there’s also a slower 30kW on the other side of town). Just after 5 pm, we checked into our accommodation.
We had been travelling for a total of 9.5 hours.
Day 2
Next stop: Richmond
We dragged ourselves from our comfy bed before sunrise and started our journey at 06:26 (10°C) with 99% and an estimated 324 km of range on our trip computer, and after entering Richmond into Google Maps as our next stop, it showed that there was a relatively fast charger at the Caltex garage with a restaurant on site. It’s a distance of 170 km, and according to Volvo, we’d arrive with 45% left.
When we arrived, famished, in a bleak-looking Richmond at 8:45, the restaurant was empty and abandoned. A few shady-looking characters hung around, but we had no choice but to plug in, and proceeded to look for a coffee shop where we could replenish our batteries while the EX30 did the same via the 80kW charger. Our car would take 53 minutes to get from 45% to full.
Two large breakfasts later, we headed back to our car to find that one of the aforementioned characters had unplugged the car (when the EX30 is full, it allows for unplugging without the key, so you don’t hold up other EV owners who want to use the charger), and had taken the initiative to wash the EX30 with a slightly questionable-smelling cloth (a combination of restroom soap and petrol, perhaps?, my husband concluded with his nose pressed against the Volvo’s sheet metal).
We paid the self-appointed car-washer for his services and set off at 10:02 with an estimated range of 299 km (5° C). Colesberg was another 127 km away and the on-screen display said we’d arrive with 58% power left in our EV battery.
Next stop: Colesberg
By now, we were both rather travel-weary, but with Volvo’s Pilot Assist system activated, most of the hard driving work is taken care of. In the same breath, however, this particular stretch of N1 between Richmond and Colesberg is the absolute worst. The number of trucks on the road had doubled and it was as if everyone on the road was equally fed up.
Seeing that we weren’t at all low on power and the distance we needed to cover wasn’t too vast, we had a bit of an excuse to give it horns (responsibly). Yeah!
When we pulled in at the 150kW charging point in Colesberg at 11:21 with 56%, we felt like we were getting somewhere, at last. This particular garage (with a Fresh Stop) doesn’t offer the most in the way of on-site amenities, but the bathrooms are clean and you can have a sit-down and a bite to eat if you don’t want to take a nap in your car. We just opted to stretch our legs and thankfully, the wait in the car was not too long. Volvo estimated it would take around 48 minutes at 7°C, although it ended up taking a bit longer. (By the time we were at 56%, the screen still showed “Charging done in 48 minutes”.)
In the end, we got impatient and unplugged at 98%, and the charger showed that it took exactly 43 minutes to charge from 56% to 98%. Not quite as fast as I had hoped from a 150kW charger, but it was really chilly. We left Colesberg at exactly 12:08.
Next stop: Bloemfontein
Colesberg to Bloem, an arduous 212 km, is the last leg but it’s the heaviest one by far, with even more trucks joining the N1 from the N9 and other major routes. With our patience wearing thin, we decided to stick to the 120 km/h speed limit but with all semi-self-driving systems activated, just to get there as soon as possible, overtaking slower traffic when needed but keeping adaptive cruise control on. The combination of Google Maps and Pilot Assist also helps to conserve power. According to the system, we’d arrive in Bloem with 29% at 14:09 pm.
We successfully dodged nosey traffic officials and speed cameras (not that we were in danger of having our picture taken), and arrived in a cold (13°C) and blustery Bloemfontein at 14:06 (with 30% of battery), where we could plug into another 150kW charging point, the newly added unit at Fleurdal Mall, compliments of Audi and Rubicon. There’s a massive Checkers, coffee shops and restaurants, and the usual shops you find at most South African shopping malls. From 30% to 100% would take 55 minutes.
We had a quick walk around the shops and visited another shopping centre next door before returning to our fully charged EX30.
After many hours on the road, we were relieved to leave Fleurdal Mall with 100% at 15:01 (12°C) to check into our warm, air-conditioned room at The Summer Palace guesthouse in Groenvlei for some well-deserved rest over a two-night stay.
The total time spent on the road on day two, including charging time, was also approximately 9.5 hours.
Charging in and around Bloemfontein
With temperatures dropping as low as -4 degrees and the absence of a home/AC charging cable, we had to charge at public charging stations exclusively. I was quite impressed with the number of charging points in Bloem, and when we didn’t charge at the fast-charger Fleurdal, we used the one at the Windmill Casino, and a Mercedes-Benz Chargify point, but there are plenty of other charging stations too.
The Windmill Casino’s charger is a one-way ticket to Depressedville, however. If you venture inside the casino, you will see a multitude of souls seated at the blackjack tables or in front of one-arm bandits, gambling their money away. There is a Spur on site, however, and you can stay at the hotel if you wish.
About charging your EV in the depths of winter
Our visit in Bloem was a brief one, and the time had come to brave the journey back home. Despite charging at the Windmill Casino the previous evening, the temperature had dropped to -3°C overnight and we were at 90%, so we thought it best to plug in one final time at Fleurdal’s fast charger because Colesberg is many miles away.
Charging from to 99% took 36 minutes because it was 2° C outside. (It's worth noting that the last few kWh usually take the longest in any EV). This was the biggest challenge we encountered throughout our four days on the road—the drop in range and extended charging times because of the cold weather. In an nutshell, it's just going to take a little longer overall.
Other charging challenges
On the way back, when we opted to use the other 30kW charging point near the Wimpy in Colesberg, we plugged in, and the charger made all the right noises but wouldn’t start charging. I called GridCars again, who restarted the charger remotely while the garage staff also came out to reset the charger on site.
This added about forty minutes to our trip, plus the hour and a bit we had to wait to get the Volvo juiced up fully. Chowing down on a good old double Wimpy cheeseburger and chips, replete with neon-red relish and a strong Americano to wash it all down, made us feel a bit better.
As for other road users in EVs; not once was there an electric car already plugged in at any of the charging points on the N1 that caused us to have to wait. Over December it may be a different story, but over the July school holidays, we were probably the only people who were brave enough to execute a mission up and down the N1 in a small EV in the coldest week of winter.
Also, when there were suspicious-looking individuals around who took an interest in us and our exotic-looking car, we almost didn't want to leave the charging location. In that case, you can sit back, and watch a movie on YouTube or Netflix on the Volvo’s central infotainment screen, or even play a video game!
Related: #ElectricCarChallenge: Volvo XC40 P8 Recharge - battery test
EV Roadtrip FAQs
1. Is EV ownership doable in SA if you like to road-trip?
Yes, absolutely, and it’s not too much of an inconvenience if you don’t do it too often.
On a normal Hermanus to Bloem trip in a ‘regular’ car, we usually spend about 10 hours in total on the road (rest stops included), but in an EV, it takes about 9.5 hours per day times two, just to get there, including charging time. If you don’t have the patience for this, then it would be best to stick with your ICE car.
The difference that this relaxed way of driving makes to your overall mood and fatigue levels is staggering, though. We both felt more relaxed and arrived at our destination with enough energy to go and explore our surroundings.
2. What about the cost of recharging your battery on a road trip?
Charging up your EV costs less than filling up with petrol, even when not at home, but this is only relevant if your EV’s not too pricey, of course.
‘Filling up’ at public DC charging points cost about R8 per kWh. Since the EX30’s battery has 64 kWh of usable power, charging from empty to full costs around R512, and that gets you around 300–400 km of range, depending on the weather.
3. Was the EX30 the right car for the job?
Absolutely! I’m glad we used the performance model for our trip because it added much-needed excitement and exhilaration to an otherwise slow and boring two days, and alleviated the nervousness you feel when overtaking slow-moving vehicles when traffic is heavy. Not that the other EX30 models are much slower, but who doesn’t love that intoxicating surge of power that allows you to simply accelerate out of trouble?
Also, you don't need to drive at 95 or even 100 km/h on the highway. Drive at 120km/h and you should be fine. Employ adaptive cruise control and Pilot Assist and if you navigate from charging point to charging point, the battery is always at optimal levels for the fastest and most efficient charging when you get there. You can also opt to set the system to charge to 80% only - this is a lot quicker, but obviously you can only do it if the gaps between charging points are not too big!
We also liked how accurate the EX30 was with its battery power estimates. In many other EVs I've driven, the range would just drop suddenly and this makes one worry.
4. Would I do it all over again?
I would, but there’s a chance I might wait for slightly warmer weather. Upon our return, I really wanted to drive home via the N2 after spending the night at Beaufort West (the half-way point), but with the closest EV charging point significantly further away in George, my husband said his nerves would be shot (hello, range anxiety! ), especially if temperatures dropped even lower due to the predicted snowfall.
Once you’re in George, however, there are plenty of charging points further up and down the Garden Route, and you’ll encounter one in almost every town on the N2 on your drive back to Cape Town.
5. Tempted to buy an EV, but still on the fence?
Why not rent an EV to see what it’s like to live and travel with one? There are a few companies in SA that have rental fleets with EVs.
As for me, I’m already planning my next EV road trip in the spring!
Watch Ryno's Volvo EX30 Video Review here!
Travelling to Bloem? Here's where to sleep and eat
Where to stay in Bloemfontein
We spent two nights in the Executive Suite at the aforementioned, hyper-modern Summer Palace Guesthouse in Groenvlei, which is out of town but conveniently located near some of the best restaurants, shops and watering holes that Bloemies has on its menu, and offers peaceful respite from ‘city’ life. (There is also a variety of free-roaming bokkies and sheep on the premises!)
If you have a taste for the finer things in life, Summer Palace has that timeless, grown-up glamour, replete with elegant, minimalist decor and modern amenities like an espresso maker, and it is fully self-catering if you need a longer stay.
To book your accommodation, contact Barry on 066 553 3075 or book via the Summer Palace website.
Where to eat in Bloemfontein
The Longhorn Grill is a traditional and well-established steakhouse in Langenhovenpark with excellent meat, chicken, seafood, and service. The vibe is great and you get a major bang for your buck. The barman also mixes a mean margarita (ask for shaken). Highly popular, so make sure to book!
Planning on spending the night in Beaufort-West?
Where to stay
With luck, we stumbled upon Kia Ora Guest House. The beautiful old art-deco style house, formerly known as Dassieloop, belonged to the daughter of CJ Langenhoven.
Sevetta, the congenial and bubbly co-owner and hostess, serves a delicious breakfast in front of a roaring fireplace, and the rooms are affordable, cosy and characterful. She is a highly gifted chef and will cook guests a delicious three-course meal on request! (We sampled her soup and it was excellent.)
By day, the guest house doubles as a coffee shop, where Sevetta serves homemade melktert and cake. Contact her directly on 064 106 8783. Find her Facebook page here.
Where to eat in Beaufort-West
Try your luck for dinner first by booking ahead with Sevetta from Kia Ora, but if you want to have lunch, 4 Sheep Restaurant right across the road from the 60kW charging point is where you’ll find a hearty, home-style meal, and the world's most honest waitress. It’s quite pricey for a small Karoo town, but options in Beaufort West are limited, unless you’re okay with the usual fare found at The Spur, McDonald’s, KFC and so on.
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