The XC40 was in the middle of a refresh which might explain the waiting time. Availability should be much better now, and MY24 has some really nice upgrades.
yeah, but it's still based on CMA so the space is not best optimised
I don't know how much will the new Polestar 4 cost but it looks more competitive than XC40
The transmission tunnel indeed is an issue, but they do use it as additional space for batteries to make the seating position a bit better for the rear left/right passengers.