2021 Volvo V60 Cross Country review: Chef’s kiss

A motor vehicle or truck does not have to be the ideal in just about every measure to be remarkably appealing. The 2021 Volvo V60 Cross Nation is just not the most adaptable car accessible currently, nor is it the quickest, fanciest or ideal outfitted. But male, it is a wonderful all-about package deal, one particular that feels like much more than the sum of its Scandinavian pieces. 

Driving about 2.five inches taller than the V60 wagon (with a generous eight.3 inches of ground clearance) and fitted with regular all-wheel drive as properly as hill-descent command, the Cross Nation is designed for moderate off-roading, to get you up that icy driveway or across a meadow to your favored fishing place. Specific wheel-arch trim and exterior moldings give a much more robust look and are a nod to that improved functionality. You may well imagine these injection-molded incorporate-ons would spoil a lovely layout, but the Cross Nation is just as fairly and elegantly proportioned as the regular V60.

But unlike its reduced-using stablemante (which is accessible with a powerful plug-in hybrid powertrain), the V60 Cross Nation is only supplied with one particular engine, a 2.-liter turbo-4 that belts out 250 horsepower and 258 pound-ft of torque. Smooth, servile and nearly silent, this minor dynamo nevertheless provides a lot of giddy-up and an believed -to-sixty-mph time of six.four seconds.

This Volvo’s engine is backed by an incisive eight-velocity automatic transmission which is as easy as sandwich distribute — other than when it is cold, then it is a little bit sluggish to change. The good news is, this sluggishness disappears the moment the drivetrain thaws out. Speaking of heat, for what it is value, the V60 Cross Nation has the quickest-acting steering-wheel heater I’ve ever skilled, and the butt-heaters are in the same way helpful.

Driven in frigid Midwestern weather with a lot of winter season precipitation, this Volvo is a capable steed, by no means shedding its footing or triggering me to 2nd-guess its poise. Get overzealous with the accelerator and it will go playfully sideways on snow or ice before the stability-command process gently intervenes to get you pointed in the suitable path.

The V60 Cross Country’s steering is mild to the touch but nonetheless moderately precise. A little bit much more entrance-wheel comments would be good, as would softer springs. The ride is certainly properly controlled, but I uncover it a great deal stiffer than it needs to be. At minimum fairly offsetting the stony ride is this Volvo’s posh cabin. The entrance seats are supremely snug and for an more $500 can give you a light massage. The backseat also presents a lot of passenger place, at minimum for the outboard riders anyone relegated to the middle position will have to contend with a substantial hump in the floor.

Apart from its annoyingly extensive sills that streak your pant legs with filth if you happen to be not thorough when disembarking and the cheap-experience, non-extending solar visors, the rest of this V60 Cross Country’s cabin is sumptuous. This example’s lovely, brown Nappa leather-based and laminated, open up-pore wood accents look richer than an aristocrat’s examine. The $2,800 Lounge Bundle also gets you a stitched dashboard go over, 4-zone local climate command, ventilated entrance seats and a several other niceties. If items feel a little bit much too cozy, just retract the regular panoramic sunroof’s shade to enable a minor mild shine in. This interior’s all round layout is normally hotter and friendlier than what you get from German automakers these times, while some of the tech could be improved.

Volvo’s acquainted Sensus Link infotainment process is as intricate as it is ever been. And even while it would seem noticeably snappier on this Cross Country’s 9-inch touchscreen than I’ve occur to expect, it is nonetheless not my favored multimedia array. Thankfully, Apple CarPlay and Android Vehicle are regular, while they do present up a little bit tiny on the portrait show since it is so tall and narrow. Augmenting that panel is a 12.3-inch electronic instrument cluster which is reconfigurable but often would seem a little bit washed out.

When it will come to security and driver-guidance capabilities, this is a Volvo, so, yeah, there’s a lot. The typical goodies like lane-holding assist, automatic emergency braking and blind-place checking are all regular and get the job done fairly a lot seamlessly. Whole-LED exterior lighting is also integrated at no more cost. Past all that, this V60 Cross Nation is also fitted with Pilot Aid, Volvo’s adaptive cruise-command process with lane centering. It will come bundled along with a head-up show, a 360-degree digital camera and a wireless mobile phone charger in the $one,900 Sophisticated Bundle. This ever-attentive cruise-command process easily regulates the Cross Country’s velocity relative to other visitors, while the lane-centering could be improved. From time to time it gets puzzled and will tug back again and forth on the steering wheel, which is a little bit unnerving.

Stick to the freeway wherever Pilot Aid is in its factor and the V60 Cross Nation ought to return 31 miles for each gallon. All over city, it is rated at 22 mpg and blended it ought to supply twenty five. In blended use, I’ve been averaging about 24 mpg, which is not much too shabby looking at the cold weather.

Even while Volvo is not the only automaker to supply a lifted station wagon, the V60 Cross Nation is sort of in a class of its personal. The wonderful Audi A6 Allroad and new Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain are a riff on the identical formula, while they are even bigger, much more potent and truly a improved rival to Volvo’s personal V90 Cross Nation. Continue to, it is conceivable potential buyers may well cross-store these German offerings with the smaller sized V60 Cross Nation, and if they do, they’re going to uncover it drastically much more cost-effective. As tested, this instance checks out for $57,290 like $995 in supply fees, a determine that also incorporates a smattering of possibilities, by significantly the priciest of which is the $four,000 Bowers and Wilkins premium seem process. Eschew any extras and you can take one particular of these elevated station wagons property for less than $47,000, about 20 grand less than an entry-amount Allroad or All-Terrain.

The 2021 Volvo V60 Cross Nation may not excel in any unique spot, but it is nonetheless lovely and upscale, presents a lot of capabilities and is enjoyable to drive. With sufficient convenience, improved versatility and Swedish superior style, it is evidence you really don’t have to be the ideal to be a winner.