… or they will be in a matter of days.
I got a call from my local Volvo dealer — where I’ve had an order and required $500 down on one since June 2023 — saying there are 631 EX30s on a ship headed for US shores.
The dealer rep said those cars are all Plus and Ultra trim. The problem for me is that I don’t want a $46,195 car, I wanted the base trim. This wasn’t going to be my forever car, just my first step into EVs. But more than that even is that I don’t think I want an EX30 or even an EX90. Why? Because I don’t think I can sit in that interior for a few thousand hours over my ownership lifetime.
It’s too bleak, too minimalist. I can’t do it. I sat in a prototype EX30 at the dealer about 8 months ago, and looked at the EX90 prototype (sitting not allowed). The interiors are not inviting, not warm. They’re the opposite of the overstuffed, quilted velour of 1970s Cadillacs, and while I’m not a velour seat aficionado, I’d rather keep Stanley Kubrick minimalism on my screen, not in my car.
This is a taste thing and I know it’s the ultimate subjective topic.
While I’m piling on, I’ll add it’s also the lack of EX30 buttons. That’s not a taste thing as much as it’s a frustration and safety thing. Ninety percent of my life is looking at screens and digging through menus on digital items like laptops. Do I want that in my car also? Do I want to dig through menus while I’m driving? Hell no.
I’m going to cancel my place in line and get my $500 back and spend it on a nice, inviting chair for my house, or nice art to hang on my wall. Something warm. But first, I’ll at least test drive one and take a second look. I’ll give this Volvo the benefit of the doubt.
