Mini Countryman SE ALL4 vs Volvo EX30 Dual Motor: Funky EVs for the City

All right, you're in the market for a new car and you want something small and fun and stylish

but also European and electric. Mike, what are your choices? Well, there isn't too many choices

but we have two here. We have the Mini Countryman and we have the Volvo EX30. Both are smallish

crossovers that are fully electric and crazy funky. So let's get behind the wheel of these

and see what they're like. As similar as these two cars are in a lot of respects, the one area it's not has to do with

powertrain. They're both dual motors, but in the Mini, it has 308 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of

torque, which is quite a bit. But in the EX30, it's 422 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque

So the Mini is set up with two 188 horsepower motors on either axle, whereas the Volvo splits

and actually has a more rear-wheel drive bias with a 268 horsepower motor sitting back there

And when you factor in the EX30 is just over 4,100 pounds and this Mini is almost 4,600 pounds

there's a huge difference in term of acceleration. The manufacturer quotes have this Mini doing 0-60

in 5.4 seconds, which is pretty quick, but the EX30 is said to do 0-60 in 3.4 seconds

and being two seconds quicker is quite a lot. In fact, the EX30 is the quickest Volvo ever made

Now from a dead stop or even low speeds, both vehicles have tremendous instant torque

and you don't really notice this power difference. It's on the highway where it really shines

because the mini as speed builds starts to lose power and if you try to do a passing maneuver

around 70 miles an hour, there isn't much left in the tank. Whereas the EX30 seems to just keep building power

as it builds speed and you're never really at a point where you're wishing, oh man, I need more power. Now, while this new Countryman does take MINI's largest model

in an altogether blockier direction, it's going to be hard to tell for onlookers that it's the EV

you're looking at as opposed to its gas siblings. That's kind of the point. Like BMW, MINI is keeping

its electric models and its gas ones looking essentially identical outside, giving buyers the

choice of powertrain only, which is a really great way to do things in my opinion. Now this is still

a recognizably mini shape from the gaping grille outline to the upright tail. There's also a long

flat roof which gives it a kind of a wagon vibe. R.I.P. Clubman. Now this is almost the exact same

spec of Mini that I drove at the debut almost a year ago. A really nice blue and bronze color

combo, even if Mini somewhat confusingly calls the accents vibrant silver. Only real myths from

a design perspective, at least to my eyes, are the 19-inch black JCW wheels that are on this

because it's on winter rubber. They just could be anything. They don't highlight the design in any

way. Like the Volvo, the Mini does have C-shaped taillights, just barely, and you can customize the

lighting signature, which is pretty neat. Mike doesn't necessarily love the little fin on the

C-pillar, but I think it is the right level of rugged with a bit of cheeky that feels appropriate

for a Mini Both vehicles have battery packs that have about 64 kilowatt hours of usable storage The Mini has slightly more at 64 but it very close Despite having a slightly bigger battery pack the Volvo once again easily wins this category by offering 265 miles on a

single charge whereas the Mini only offers 212 miles. That's really low and in our winter testing

both vehicles weren't coming anywhere near their quoted numbers but in the Mini this is felt

even more so when you're only getting like 160-175 usable miles per charge. And I know it probably

feels like I'm piling on the Mini by now, but when it comes to max charge speeds, well, once again

the Volvo has the advantage. 153 kilowatts versus the Mini's 130. Now, in fairness, in this weather

we never got either vehicle to charge anywhere near its peak, but in optimal conditions

the Volvo will recharge slightly faster. Now, as you can probably guess, based on the shape of the

EX30 it is the tighter one in terms of interior space although not by as much as you might think

I have plenty of room up front and I sit pretty comfortably in the back too because this standard

glass roof means that I have a good amount of headroom. Sitting behind a taller person will

cut the legroom pretty short though and because the squab is pretty low you have a definite knees

up feel back there. There's also not a ton of storage space. These door panels look cool. I like

the floating door handle but it means that you can only fit a smallish water bottle in terms of

other storage there's no cup holders and there is the little removable tray in the base of the

center console which is probably where you're going to put either of your phones if you're

charging from one of the two usb ports back there i do love that both of these cars get properly

adventurous with their interior trim and seating now the pixel design on these seats looks cool

It's a light, nice blue color, which is different, and it's made out of partially recyclable material, so that's good

Everyone I know who got into the EX30 really enjoyed the speckled material on the door and dashboard, too, which is also made from recyclable material

They also enjoy these elegant door handles, which look great and make it clear they're actually door handles

Not necessarily a given in today's world. While the dashboard design is pretty simple, I have to call out the vents

Not only is the center portion a nice little contrasting bit of visual interest

but I can say during a cold snap, it gets properly warm with the heat running

So that's a win. Dynamically, neither of these cars are going to win your local autocross

They're much more focused on efficiency, capability, and being funky people pods

If dropping the accelerator mid-corner, they both will want to just keep going straight, although I will say the Mini responds slightly better and has far better steering feel, even though the Volvo allows you to change the feel through three levels

The Mini in pretty much any setting always feels a little more responsive, a little better, despite being a little heavier and a little larger

Speaking of driving modes, that's another area that the Mini does have the advantage because this Countryman still has the full experiences

which is Minispeak for sort of an interior drivetrain combination setting. The Volvo, there are no such settings

You have just one setting and that's it. Aside from adjusting the safety systems and the steering feel

there's nothing else you're going to do in the EX30. Whereas in here, you can't exactly customize it more

but you can select through multiple preset customizations if that makes any sense

Despite their small size, both of these vehicles are premium models, so they come with a fair

amount of high-end features that you'd expect at this price range. Things like a 360-degree camera

or advanced parking assist, adaptive cruise control, which is pretty smart, and some upgraded

sound systems. Now in terms of audio I do slightly prefer the Minis. The Harman Kardon sound system

here in the EX30 is very good and very balanced. It's just a preference thing. Both of these

vehicles offload a lot of their controls to their central touchscreens but it the Volvo that does it almost entirely no doubt on the road to courting Tesla drivers If you want to adjust your exterior

mirrors or your steering wheel position, well, you're doing it in the touchscreen. Even your

exterior lights. I have to click the car menu, pick my lighting, and then confirm it on the steering

wheel. From Volvo, the safety people. Speaking of safety, it can be a little overbearing in the

EX30. If I yawn even 30 seconds into my morning drive, it'll tell me I need a break. I find that

driving with polarized sunglasses when driving towards the sun also tricks the system into

thinking I'm not actually paying attention to the road despite looking dead ahead usually at the car

that stopped in front of me because morning traffic. I do think overall this system is good

It works pretty quickly. There are some controls that are always on screen so you know where they

are. You can access them easily and if you are in the Google ecosystem already having Google built in

makes this very easy to integrate with your day-to-day. I don't have any issues there. It's

just these annoying bugbears. The important thing though to remember with the EX30 is

well, it can be updated. For example, the first one I drove earlier this year did not have

wireless carplay, which was really frustrating in 2025. This one does, and it works effortlessly

Now, electric cars are silent, obviously, but Mini does allow a little bit of sound. It's a

switch you can toggle on or off and of course the sound the vehicle makes changes depending on the

drive experience when i say the vehicle makes the sound i mean out of the speakers but in go-kart

which is the sportiest setting you can hear more spaceship sounding than really vehicle sounding

but you know it adds a little bit i mean this is a mini it's supposed to be fun and these are two

like i said very unique sort of tech rich passenger vehicles so this just kind of adds to the

experience. Off I go. It seems timeless as a more old-school car noise. Maybe

The Mini is as adventurous, if not more so, than the EX30 in terms of cabin experience. It is my

favorite color combination this one with the inky blue on the dashboard kind of just fading out into

the brown and then of course it's all brown all the time in the back seat which is the more spacious

of these two unsurprisingly look at the shape of the countryman but even beyond the shape the

additional legroom and headroom that it provides the seats are just more comfortable back there too

I find they have more leg and back support. These seats, up front, very comfortable as well

I'm not entirely sure if they're more comfortable than the Volvo. Both are good for long distances

probably longer than you're going to go on a single charge in either of them. This is fake leather, which I'm fine with

I think it looks pretty convincing and, well, it's pretty easy to clean

The other thing with the Mini that you can tell this is designed more for family use

it just has more storage i have a two level little shelf setup up front one for my wireless charger

the other for just various bits and bobs cup holders which don't just pop in and out like the

volvo which is a cool feature admittedly in the ex30 if you only need one you only need to put one

out there. There's this small cubby which is mostly just here for I don't know a

sandwich? A burger? I'm not sure what it's really for outside of maybe keeping

your food warm The mini screen itself is a bit of a jumble at first I not going to lie to you It overwhelming because Mini is sticking to this circular screen and I mean it fantastic The OLED is very sharp very quick

It's hard to get a sense of what you need to do when you first get in. There's a definite learning

curve. After you spend some time with it, it's fine. And in typical Mini fashion, it's fun and

funky and different. So I appreciate that. It's just in both cases, I really wish there were a

few more physical controls. At least there's an actual head-up display in the Mini so that I can

see what my speed is, whether having to look off center. I just think that is really what's missing

in the Volvo's cabin. Although strange thing with the head-up display, I don't even mind that it's

the glass panel. I think that's okay in the case of the Mini. No, the weird thing is that turn

signals don't show up in it, only in the center screen. As far as ride comfort, well, neither of

these vehicles really has an advantage because neither is all that good. They're set up more

stiffly than I expected. In the Mini's case, I kind of get it. It's supposed to be somewhat sporty

but really these are sort of city passenger vehicles and on broken pavement around town

it gets very choppy in either vehicle and even on the highway expansion joints and potholes

you'll hear and feel it through the entire chassis. I know part of it's due to them being

smaller vehicles in their wheelbase but if you live in a city with a lot of destroyed pavement

and unmaintained roads this may not be the right segment for you. So one thing I do need to quickly

touch on is braking. In the Volvo it's pretty linear in the regular mode and there's the option

to put on one pedal driving. In the Mini it takes a little getting used to because the vehicle's

constantly looking around itself and what's ahead down the road and if there's nothing and you get

off the accelerator it just goes but if it sees a vehicle in front or it knows you're approaching a

stoplight or a stop sign it'll start to add more regenerative braking and if you're trying to

modulate it while the car is trying to modulate it, it can lead to some very unsmooth braking

with sudden stops or non-stopping in time and then suddenly having to stab the brake. I'm sure

owners will get used to it. I slowly am over the week, but it is something that takes a bit of

adjustment. Now, I thought the Mini would be the affordable choice here. I was wrong. Now

it's not that bad in America. It's $50,475 including destination which is pretty good for a

vehicle that's now much bigger even if it does have less range. But in Canada it is a hair over

$73,000 as equipped which is kind of frightening. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. The Volvo by comparison is $48,395

including destination in America which is you know a two grand difference. That's really not that bad

But in Canada, it's $64,870, which is a difference of over $8,000

Oof. Given the Mini's disadvantages in terms of power and range, that's a big hit

So earlier this winter, I did drive the single motor EX30, and I wasn't entirely convinced

But with the dual motor, and especially with driving it back-to-back the Mini, I appreciate this more

It still has flaws, but it's good. Yeah, but I think we both agree the Mini is probably the better overall vehicle in terms of passenger space

the way the tech's laid out and the way the interior ergonomics are

But these are small EVs and the Mini has a lot less power, a lot less range

It charges a little slower and it's more expensive. So it's kind of hard to give this the win

It's true, which means at the end of this, it's the Volvo EX30 that is our winner in this comparison