The idea of a Cross Country Volvo isn’t new – in fact, it’s been around since
1997 when the V70 first got the all-wheel-drive treatment.
But with the V60 consistently appearing in the top three of Volvo’s best sellers, it
makes sense to bring the two together. The Cross Country package gets you a 65mm
increase in ride height giving it 201mm of ground clearance, plus high-profile tyres,
wheel-arch extensions, and a unique grille, as well as more obvious touches such as the
fake skid plates in the front bumper, another in the rear with rather neat integrated exhaust
tail-pipes, plus a pair of scuff plates on the sills.
The rest of the look is V60 business as usual, and that’s no bad thing, as we quite like
the high-shouldered look and the way it flows into the fabulously well-detailed rear lights
that give the car an appealing light signature at night.
We should also take a moment to mention that Volvo’s adaptive headlights are excellent.
The interior is just as we’d expect from Volvo, so that means well-bolstered seats
with an incredible range of adjustment, something that’s true for the steering wheel, too,
plus the company’s now familiar floating central stack.
Everything is angled nicely towards the driver, a requirement some rival manufacturers appear
to still not have learnt how to do properly, while the all-digital instruments are super
clear and have a choice of three different styles, all of which come with a neat set
of animations. Also available is Volvo’s excellent Sensus
Connect system, which offers a pretty decent navigation function, plus DAB digital radio,
the ability to play music from a variety of sources including a built-in hard drive, an
extensive trip computer, a range of vehicle settings, and – this being a Volvo – a
long list of safety features. We also like a few of the more interesting
connected options, such as the ability to book a service from the car itself, and the
fact the owner’s manual is built-in to the system.
Rear seat passengers sit slightly higher than those in the front, the idea being it gives
them a better view, although especially tall passengers may find the sloping roof-line
cuts into headroom. That said, comfort is good, even on long journeys,
and there are neat touches everywhere, from the air vents built-in to the door pillars,
to the pop-out booster seats for young children. Cargo space is a useful 557 litres, with some
extra space under the floor unless you spec the optional spare wheel, with space increasing
to 1,241 litres with the seats folded, which they do in a convenient 40:20:40 arrangement
that makes it easy to carry long loads. Engine choices for the Cross Country are limited
to a trio of diesels, starting with a pair of 2.0-litre Drive-E four-cylinder units with
either 150 or 190hp, both of which are available with either six-speed manual or eight-speed
automatic transmissions. Perversely, given the Cross Country name,
both of these are two-wheel-drive only. If you want all-wheel-drive, you’ll need to
specify the 2.4-litre five-cylinder unit, which although it comes from the previous
generation, it’s still a fabulous engine. It sounds great, too.
So are they any good?
Well, the D4’s a bit of a peach in our eyes,
with loads of torque low down and little in the way of lag, although we will say we wouldn’t
object to a touch more sound-proofing. The six-speed manual can feel a little rubbery
at times, and the change from 1st to 2nd on our car wasn’t the smoothest, although other
gears were fine. Personally, I think we’d opt for the eight-speed automatic – it has
no impact on performance, and little impact on economy either, and as it feels like it
was almost purpose-designed for the new D4 engine, we think it makes a good match.
Once up to speed, the Cross Country begins to illustrate what its name is all about.
If you need to drive literally across the country, the V60 will prove to be a willing
companion. That means that both wind and road noise are
well insulated, and the suspension does its job of filtering out even the worst bumps
without transmitting much noise into the cabin. To be clear, though, it’s no sports car
– there’s little feedback through the steering wheel, body roll is quite evident,
and there’s plenty of understeer if you try steam-rollering your way through corners.
But that’s not what this car is about. If you’re the kind of person who regularly
takes a bunch of mates and a stack of mountain bikes hundreds of miles across Europe, there
are probably few more capable cars than this for doing all of that in comfort.
A car like the V60 Cross Country was always going to be something of a niche. But as we’ve
come to expect from Volvo, they’ve identified their target market’s requirements, and
then they’ve delivered.