Volvo V60 Cross Country review

Being a Volvo, it’s powered by a range of 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines. In the UK, the V60 Cross Country will initially be available with Volvo’s D4 diesel powerplant as the sole offering and will cost from £38,270. The car you see here is ever so slightly different in that it packs a T5 petrol engine under the bonnet - an engine that is yet to be confirmed for the UK market but looks set to arrive later in 2019. Volvo has yet to decide on an official on-sale date.

Anyway, here it develops 247bhp at 5500rpm, while its 258lb ft of torque can be tapped into from as low down the rev range as 1800rpm. Volvo claims it’ll hit 62mph from a standstill in 6.8sec, which isn’t too shabby for a butch, family estate car. However, given the fact that this test drive took place on snow-covered roads in Swedish Lapland, just south of the Arctic Circle, trying to verify the accuracy of Volvo’s claim wasn’t on this particular test agenda.

Is the V60 Cross Country a true off-roader?

What I can tell you, though, is that the way in which this engine works with the eight-speed automatic transmission to direct torque to the wheels is impressively smooth. It responds to gentle throttle inputs in an impressively delicate fashion. There’s no ungainly shunting or wheelspin as you pull away from a standstill. I’d wager that’d be just as welcome when joining a roundabout in Slough as it was on the frozen roads of northern Sweden.

It rides well, too. Its calmer suspension calibration allows for plenty of cushioning when dealing with rolling road surfaces, but it’s not so soft that it feels overly wayward through bends, or loose over crests. It’s a composed, surefooted car.

It also came across on our test drive as well isolated - even when fitted with studded snow tyres. Obviously, road roar was more pronounced that it would have been on regular rubber, and secondary intrusions were sharper than normal; but I have high hopes for the V60 Cross Country when it eventually arrives on UK soil. I think it’ll be a rather impressive thing.

And a practical one. It’s not short on boot space (529 litres) and its large aperture and low, lip-less floor make loading heavy kit in and out an easy task. There’s abundant leg and head room in the second row, even with an optional panoramic sunroof.