There’s a weird Easter egg on the front bumper of the $40,345 EX30 Cross Country. It is literally a latitude/longitude set of coordinates molded into the plastic. Ok.
So I looked it up, and hey it’s pretty cool:
67°54’0″N, 18°31’0″E is situated in northern Sweden, specifically within the Norrbotten County (Lapland), not far from the municipality of Kiruna.
Region: The location is in a mountainous, Arctic region, North of the Arctic Circle.
Geographical Context: It is located near the eastern border of the Abisko National Park region or close to the Vassijaure/Katterjåkk area, west of Kiruna near the Norwegian border.
Surroundings: The area is characterized by high alpine tundra, lakes, and, in close proximity, the E10 road and the Malmbanan railway line
Norrbotten CountyArriving in a style unheard of since, well, 1997.The EX30 Cross Country is immediately – to my eye anyway – identifiable as something other than a regular EX30. The expedition basket is NOT standard equipment. But it is handsome. Retail is $549.95, part number 32394747 if you want to try to get it for less somewhere else. But wait! There’s more! You need the load bars to use the basket… $559.94 part number 80033039.Like all ruggedized/overland versions of cars, it lets you know its model name… in plastic.This interior is the best EX30 interior I’ve seen. No “spackle” design in sight. Now if they’d just kill the touchscreen and use some damn buttons we’d be good.Definitely not standard EX30 wheels! These are big, black five-spokes that look a bit like they’re made for aerodynamics. And the front… uh… grille(?)/bumper plastic has that cool (not satire, truly cool) topographical motif first seen in the XC40 interior dash.What do we have here? An EASTER EGG? Ok Volvo, I played your little game and looked it up.The rear gives off Honda Prologue vibes.A badge is a badge is a badge, and I think Volvo’s badges are in the upper half of the good-looking department, but never in a thousand years will I take delivery of a new $40k+ car with the dealer’s advertising on it. Nope nope nope.Random decor piece of the EX90’s safety cage tech.2024 on the left, 1927 on the right.
