At thirty five years old, I can say that things haven’t always been exactly “clear” for me when it comes to my life and what I want it to be. I’m prone to have a lot of ideas at once and things I want to do – for example lately while building the DTD empire, I’m also contemplating becoming a florist. Because, why not! I’ve held a lot of jobs before finding one that I love as much as this one. I’ve worked with some amazing brands and people over the years. And of course I owe my success to those people in the world who helped open certain doors for me – but I also owe it equally to myself for stepping through those same proverbial doors.
I like to believe that life presents with you with opportunities, and when it feels right you should trust your gut and go for it. Sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes it is not, but at least you can say you tried. As I continue in our expansion as a brand, I am also “expanding” my personal life. I am still actively saving for a baby, planning more personal travel, and focusing on my mental wellbeing while juggling it all. My therapist laughs when I tell her I talk about her on the blog, but I mean it as the biggest form of flattery. She’s changed my life in so many ways! All of these things to say, I am now following my instincts (and heart) in almost every major decision I have been making and the universe seems to be rewarding me for finding myself.
I was presented with an opportunity late last year to attend a Volvo Canada event and I had to give it some thought. For as long as I can remember, I always assumed Volvo was a brand that was way out of my price range and that it was just too luxury for us as a brand.
WRONG.
What you should know about me as a person is I secretly love learning that I can be wrong – and the subsequent lesson I learn gets me really excited. It’s like a fun fact that I then feel I need to share with everyone. Not only is Volvo so much more affordable (and approachable) than I thought it was a brand, it’s also one of the companies that I have now worked with that just felt right after no longer making assumptions.
It’s like I was holding myself back from finding a car company that spoke to me as a city-dwelling man in his thirties. And now that I know better, I wanted to tell you about my experience driving a Volvo Canada XC40 for almost a month!
After learning about “Care by Volvo” (this is so cool btw. For those of you thinking of getting a new car or are curious about Volvo, I encourage you to click here) I kept in touch with the team. When the #DTDteam and I needed a vehicle for a staycation here in Toronto that required us to drive to the hotel north of the city, I reached out to see if they had a vehicle for me to test drive. I was pleasantly surprised when they not only graciously offered the beautiful #XC40, but they also said I could drive it for almost a month!
Click here to see BTS moments from the experience on our Insta Account.
Now, speaking about not doing things that aren’t us, I am not going to get into heavy duty specs about the car – you can click here for that information if you’re a car aficionado. What I will tell you is how it complimented my life and all the ways it can do the same for you!
I live just north of the city core, and driving around in Toronto can at times be stressful. Plus, it’s been a while since I last drove a car, looked into farmers insurance reviews, and hit the open roads so I was a bit nervous. However features of the vehicle such as how compact it is for city driving, to the spacious interior, the sound system to the ability to turn on the best cruise control I have ever used, lane assist… the list goes on and on.
The #XC40, please pardon me for repeating myself here, just felt right. It had the feeling of a modern SUV without the clunkiness of one. It was extremely gas efficient – a big one for someone like me who is saving for a baby as mentioned. It’s stunning colour had me stopped on several occasions driving between Toronto, Ottawa & Montreal so that people could compliment me on my car. It handled like it was made for me on the road and I just felt completely comfortable behind the wheel. That’s saying a lot for someone like me who has test driven hundreds of cars by this point. It just felt like this was finally the car I had been looking for my whole life. This is quite the feat as I have never been the most confident driver. That being said, a friend of mine recently told me that there are some cali traffic schools that can teach you new skills to help you feel more confident on the road so I might have to do some research to find out more. That being said, finding a car that puts you at ease is a big part of feeling relaxed on the road.
From the little things like the fact that the car learns my seat adjustments, to the sound system that I (poorly) sang along with at the top of my lungs after I seamlessly could sync my phone to the car’s console system, I don’t think I have anything negative to say about the experience at all. Asides from the fact that I had to give it back when the new year came…. but that’s okay. ?
Because now that I have fallen in love with Volvo Canada and have come to realize how well they match my life and my needs (ps the XC40 is just the right size for a car seat when I need one in the coming years) I know that you’ll be seeing a lot more of them from us. If you’re worried about having to pay the large price tag for a Volvo, you might be better off buying a used car rather than a new one. There some fantastic used car dealerships across America so you’ll definitely be able to find one that stocks the car of your dreams. For example, if you live in Kansas, why not check out Kansas used cars?! Just make sure you do your research before buying anything! Once you have found a used car that you like the look of, you can then make your life a lot easier by hiring a car shipping company, so that your car can be brought directly to your front door if you wanted. You can just use a company like Cars Relo and you’ll be all sorted. Just think of all the money you would have saved from buying a used car – just means that you can easily afford to do something like this now.
What I would say to any of you who are on the fence about this is to not assume anything about a brand based upon what you think they might be vs. what they are. For all you know, your next vehicle may just be a Volvo because it just feels right for you too.
For more information on the XC40 and full line of Volvo Canada vehicles, make sure to check out their website today. Don’t forget to join in on the social media conversation with us by following @VolvoCarCanada on Instagram and Twitter.
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Photos: Volvo Canada, Volvo, Daniel Reyes & all Social Media accounts listed above
Don’t forget to be kind & laugh a little more this year
Mobile photos were taken with my #HuaweiP20Pro on the Rogers network
*Please note that this is a sponsored post – our disclosure can be found at all times by clicking here.