• Quality feel for the most part
• No leather seat option
• Too many important controls in touchscreen

In many respects, this is a typically Volvo interior. It appears simple, pared-back and very calming, with a variety of trims, colours and upholstery available. Quality is good, but the standard faux-leather seats just don’t feel as luxurious as the leather, and hide isn’t on the options. We’d pick the wool seats and light interior, although we’re aware it’s not a great option for those with children.

You get a few more physical controls than the smaller EX30 including a tactile volume knob that also skips songs with a nudge left or right. It’s a nice touch, but we’d much rather have some physical controls for the heating, lights, steering wheel and mirrors.

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As it stands, it proves distracting to just change the temperature, let alone adjust drive mode whilst you’re driving. At least voice control is present and works well most of the time.

Infotainment and tech

The centrally mounted and portrait-oriented 14.5-inch touchscreen dominates the dashboard and is joined by an 8.0-inch display in front of the driver. This additional screen is welcome for showing speed, charge levels and range separately to the main display, while a head-up display means you don’t even have to take your eyes off the road to see your speed. It’s a much better solution than the single screen EX30, if not as large and configurable as most rivals’ systems.

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The Google-based infotainment system allows you to sign into your account and download apps like Waze, but doesn’t include Android Auto for an easy connection. Apple CarPlay is standard. It’s a responsive system with clear, high quality graphics that’s logical and easy to work out when you’re stationary.

On the road, there are too many complicated menus and relatively small icons that make adjustments harder. We also found the heated seat and steering wheel controls to be too small and low, while the unlabelled touch-sensitive steering wheel is a backwards step.

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Comfort

• Seat and steering wheel heating as standard
• Excellent long-distance comfort from seats
• Massage front seats for Ultra models

While the Nordico fake leather isn’t the most luxurious feeling material we’ve experienced, the seats they wrap are fantastic. Base Plus models get electric adjustment for all the usual things you expect including lumbar, and a manually extending seat base for those with long legs.

Heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and four-zone climate control are also standard on Plus, so there’s arguably little point upgrading to Ultra. That said, you do get heated outer rear seats for the second row and powered bolsters plus a massage function for the front seats.

The front seats mean all heights can find a comfortable driving position, and we had no complaints of back pain even after long drives. Those in the back are unlikely to complain, with even the central second row seat getting a degree of sculpting to improve comfort.