The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country fills a nifty niche
With cars making up a minority of new-vehicle sales in the U.S. cars are becoming, in some fashion, niche vehicles.
Lovers of station wagons have faced this since the first minivan appeared in the 1980s. Minivan owners have faced it since the first sports utility vehicle went mainstream. Now car owners know it since the car-based crossover ute offered buyers car comfort and truck looks.
But there has always been a small, but loyal, following for station wagons. Now these are almost all luxury cars. Following the launch of their flagship S90 sedan, Volvo is bringing back their tall, off-road-capable station wagon, the V90 Cross Country. This is a station wagon that’s a combination of that S90 car’s looks and the XC90 crossover’s mechanicals, especially the suspension. That means the Cross Country has a ground clearance of 8.3 in. compared to six for the sedan.
The track is a bit wider, so the cladded wheel wells are functionally necessary. Volvo worked with tire manufacturer Pirelli to come up with a tire that’s tough enough for off-road use, but doesn’t roughen the ride too much. That tire is a Scorpion Verde allseason tire with slightly more pliable edges for better off-road performance. I can attest that on the highway the ride was quiet and comfortable.
It will therefore fill 99.9 percent of the off-roading needs of potential buyers. In a couple of hours of driving on not-that-wellmaintained dirt roads near Phoenix, the Cross Country found nothing difficult. This includes fording a number of rain-swollen waterbeds and some deliciously slippery sections of said road, thanks to the unusually brisk rains falling upon our desert route.
The V90 Cross Country comes only in the T6 trim. That means Volvo’s supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-liter direct gas injected four-cylinder engine powers the car. It generates 316-hp. and 295 lb.-ft. of peak torque and gets it to all four wheels through eight-speed automatic transmission.
All of the 90-series cars, including the Cross Coun- try models, come with Pilot Assist, Volvo’s semi-autonomous driving assist. It can control steering, speed control, distance from a leading car and braking to a complete stop.
You can override the system with the brake pedal, accelerator pedal or steering wheel. Turn on the turn indicator and you temporarily cancel steering support. However, thanks to U.S. law, Pilot Assist is automatically switched off if the driver does not keep a hand on the steering wheel for a certain period, about ten seconds.
I drove the Cross Country for about an hour using the system the whole time. It did a good job, once I figured out how to put a bit of input in the steering wheel every ten seconds, because the feds require it. Simple touching the steering wheel isn’t enough. But having done that the car really did steer, accelerate, brake and maintain a set distance behind a vehicle in front of you, or the set speed if there wasn’t anyone there.
As I experienced the system longer, I developed more confidence in it. If you own the car and can spend time training yourself to relax and use it, the system will really serve true value on long, boring drives. More than that, it is a first step to real cars doing the real driving on real highways. It isn’t autonomous, but it is getting there.
The interior of the car upholds the level of comfort and capability that has become expected from Volvo and especially in the luxury-level model, such as the 90-Series Volvos. I am a fan of the interior design, which is simultaneously Scandinavian, mod- ern, spare and luxurious.
The iPad-like nine-inch touchscreen has a tablet look and feel to it, and is most likely the precursor of the future of them. It also functions much like one, and is easy and quick to learn. The rest of the interior make the point to you that you are getting your money’s worth in luxury touches.
The car’s infotainment and connectivity system includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The sound system is stateof-the-art. The front seats and steering wheel are heated, the front and side windows are laminated for better sound reduction. The sunroof is huge providing the rear seat passengers with both a feeling openness and a large view of the sky.
But its more than luxury features. This car has pretty much every active safety feature possible, which just makes sense. Volvo has said that by 2020 they want no one to die in an accident in a Volvo. That’s a goal that is functionally possible in spite of real people being able to drive these cars.
The V90 Cross Country price starts at $56,295. There is a V90 station wagon which does not use the XC90 suspension. It will be available later in the year, but only by special order. Volvo doesn’t think there will be enough interest in it compared to the Cross Country to make dealers spend the money to stock them.
There are only two op- tion packages on the Cross Country. At$1,950, the Convenience package adds such things as headlight washers, a 360-degree camera system, and parking assist. The $4,500 Luxury package, gives buyers massaging front seats and a leather-wrapped dashboard to four-zone climate control and rear-door sunshades. One would probably be safe guessing that most buyers will opt for these two packages.
The Cross Country really doesn’t have equal from other manufacturers. Yes, there is a station wagon with all-wheel drive from Audi, the A4 Allroad, but it is much smaller. Mercedes Benz sells an EClass wagon, but is barely for unpaved roads.
In reality the Cross Country is competing with the expensive car-bases sports utes from BMW, Audi, Lexus and Mercedes. Volvo doesn’t expect to sell huge numbers of these, and don’t want to steal sales from its own XC90. But they will find very happy Volvo, and stationwagon loyalists who will be delighted with the V90 Cross Country.
They get much of that delight from the message their Cross Country will send. That message makes it clear that the owner is a person who could buy any of the luxury crossovers, but prefers to drive something less common.