The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Volvo V60 Cross Country
YOU know you’re on to a winner when two friends – both confirmed petrol-heads – separately remark on your car within the space of an hour. But then the Volvo Cross Country is a damned attractive car. It is a happy confluence of estate and SUV that shouldn’t work but very pleasingly does thanks to the talented Scandinavians in Gothenburg.
They have taken the long fluid lines of the Volvo estate and jacked it up as an SUV that, particularly in profile, makes for a very handsome car indeed.
Volvo has long been renowned for its safety but increasingly it’s developing a singular style. The XC90 was a game changer, the XC40 won both the Car of the Year and the Women’s World Car of the Year and the Cross Country continues in the same vein.
Its slimline grille boasts the badge with lovely elongated headlights at either side.
The boot is automatic and offers a neat rear end and the whole lot in the version I am driving sits on 19-inch alloys.
Inside it is delightfully and plushly kitted out in leather-faced charcoal with bags of piano black gloss and chrome touches for a rich feel and there is plenty of legroom front and rear with still considerable boot space.
The star of the show in the interior is the large nine-inch iPad-like display on the centre of the console through which the car’s information and entertainment systems are accessed. This was first unveiled on the XC90 but is now trickling down to other models. It is simple to use in much the same way we have becomes used to operating our smart devices. Swipe one way for the car’s systems and features like auto stop start, lane keep assist, traffic alert and the other for radio, telephone or surround sound.
Sensibly, the climate control, heated seats and steering wheel all function with separate touch controls below the console.
It leaves you with a dash that is clean and uncluttered and very Swedish. Nor are there any push buttons to prod to switch on the engine. Instead Volvo have gone for a raised button, intuitively at your fingertips outlined in diamond-cut chrome.
The same pattern is mirrored on the roller switch that take you through the
Cross Country’s driving modes – Comfort, the default for everyday driving, Eco, Offroad and in this particular car, Polestar Engineered. Polestar is now Volvo’s performance brand so when you toggle to this mode you get a markedly different and sporty engine response for a bit of fun.
To be truthful I was most delighted with the all-wheel drive because I drove the Cross Country in some very challenging conditions and discovered not only did it cope well but that the demisting system is rapid and efficient, which is what you need in wintry
weather in Scotland. I also felt safe in this big car as we powered through the kind of driving rain we’ve had so much of recently. This car with its 2.0-litre diesel engine is exactly what you need to face up to Mother Nature.
I was delighted to note the rear parking camera did not get clogged and was a boon in those conditions for parking is some really tight spaces. The car I was driving came with Volvo’s Winter Pack (£1000) which gives you a headup display and, among other features, heated aqua blades. But every V60 comes with myriad driver aids, safety systems and tech solutions that connect your car to the rest of the world.
Given the time of year, what’s boot space? Well, 1441-litres with the seats down. Yes, you will get a six-feet Christmas tree in the V60.