2017 Volvo V90 Cross Country a station wagon redux
Stations wagons were all the rage 75 years ago. The 1941 Chrysler Town and Country bubble-back design had a cavernous interior and featured top-line woodgrain paneling. It was the most expensive vehicle in the carmaker’s lineup and cost $1,495.
Much has happened since. In recent years, manufacturers began to believe the word station was a poor prefix for the word wagon. Mercedes-Benz has estate wagons. Audi has the all-road. Volkswagen has its SportWagen.
It’s all lingo far-removed from the term station wagon, the name of the spacious, trunkless vehicles once used carry multiple occupants and their luggage to train stations.
The 2017 V90 Cross Country is Volvo’s new station wagon. But like other manufacturers, there’s no mention of station in the title or company literature. The carmaker lists the body style of its versatile, all-wheel-drive offering as a wagon. But it prefers descriptions like calling the interior a “luxurious Scandinavian sanctuary.”
Regardless, the V90 Cross Country is the modern version of the 1941 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon. It’s also luxurious, rugged and versatile
The Volvo Cross Country is available only in the T6 trim, and it’s well-equipped and powerful. The 2.0-liter, 316-horsepower engine is turbocharged and supercharged and has an eight-speed automatic transmission. Acceleration from 0-60 miles per hour occurs in 5.9 seconds.
Volvo has cultivated its strong niche following based on making solid, if unexciting, vehicles best driven in inclement weather. The Cross Country further redefines the brand.
My test vehicle included all-wheel drive, 10-way power front seats and top-line NAPPA leather upholstery and wood trim. It all gave credence to Volvo’s marketing verbiage.
The V90’s exterior is sleek, a wagon disguised as a sports car. The front grille design is similar to
a Shelby Cobra nose. The equally sleek T-shaped headlights perfectly fit their unofficial moniker as “Thor’s hammers.”
My recent test drive was an 850-mile round trip trek from Sacramento to Los Angeles. The journey was primarily on Interstate 5, with brief trips into the Southern California freeway maze as well as limited time in city traffic.
Interstate 5 traffic often exceeds the posted speed limit by at least five miles per hour. I drove for long stretches with the easy-to-use and easy-to-adjust cruise control set at 78 miles per hour. The Cross Country offered a smooth, confident ride. The all-wheel-drive system further assisted Volvo’s solid-as-they-come reputation.
A stealth interior enhances the overall comfort. The V90 has just enough safety equipment to assist while not causing driver technology anxiety. The lane departure warning system provides an indicator curved around the exterior edge of the side-view mirror. It flashes enough to get the job done. There’s no overt blast nor an extreme bolt of light to perhaps startle the driver into making a mistake.
Luxury options are expensive and worthy. The Bowers and Wilkins sound system ($3,200) is superior; the Convenience Package ($1,950) features seven items including a 360-degree surround camera and a park assist pilot. The head-up display ($900) includes well-defined graphics.
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $55,300. With options and the destination fee, the V90 as tested cost $64,460, well into luxury price territory. Gas mileage averages are 22 miles per gallon in city driving, 30 miles per gallon on the freeway. I averaged 28.9 miles per gallon.
Volvo and its wagon-making competitors can call their vehicles what they wish. The V90 Cross Country is an homage to station wagons of yesteryear — solid, luxurious, well-crafted.
Maybe the Swedish carmaker will one day be forward-thinking with respect to the past. It will call its next wagon a station wagon.