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• Auto123 puts Volvo’s wagon-slash-crossover through its paces.
• The V60 CC features more room inside than some crossovers.
• Also present is that famous Swedish interior fit and finish.
When it comes to the world of the station wagon – and a tiny world it is, at least in North America – there are a few constants. Car enthusiasts seem to love them, for one. And in fact, for a time, every manufacturer made one (or five); though no more, alas. The more crossovers drove like cars, the less wagons were sought after.
Then there’s the constant that goes by the name Volvo. Those feisty Swedes have been building wagons since basically the dawn of time and have continued to do so even as crossovers have taken over. Volvo makes those too, of course, but it’s kept its snow-booted foot in the world of the wagon.
Today, the automaker continues to offer not one but two wagon models, the most popular of which we recently drove: the V60 and more specifically, the V60 Cross Country, or CC (the other being the longer V90 CC). This is a more adventure-centric, fun and – let’s be honest – more CUV-like take on the wagon. Could it be just what the doctor ordered?
The Exterior
With its plastic rocker panels and fenders, specialized AWD system and off-road creep mode, the V60 CC has almost no equivalents in Canada. Only one in fact: the Audi A4 Allroad Quattro. Think of this pair as mounting the wagon’s last stand against the CUV hordes. These wagons are meant to be used pretty much exactly like most CUVs are. It’s a specialized segment, and Volvo has been in it for a long time, going back to the V70 XC back in 1998.
Indeed, one can easily picture the V60 CC with a roof box or ski rack on top, ready to tackle whatever tickles its weekend-warrior owner’s fancy. No, you don’t get any added ride height over the standard V60, but you do get AWD as standard as well as crawl control, not something that common in the compact car world. Volvo is serious about drivers off-roading this thing.
Strong points
- Rough-and-tumble additions
- Distinctive “Thor’s Hammer” LED DRLs
- Ground-to-roof taillights
Weak points
- Wheels are nothing special
- Styling a little tame overall
The powertrain
That might not actually happen that often, but it’s there. And anyways, most owners will get plenty of satisfaction from the power on tap, courtesy a 2.0L 4-cylinder that comes both super and turbocharged and is good for 247 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers aren’t sky-high by any means, but the two forms of forced induction do help make those numbers feel bigger than they are.
But if you want bigger numbers on paper, you have to opt for the V60 Recharge which loses some of the toughness of the CC but gets a plug-in hybrid powertrain delivering up to 455 hp and a colossal 523 ft-lb of maximum torque.
The Interior
Inside, the CC does’t get any changes over a standard V60, but I do like the Nappa leather in my tester; it’s very Volvo. Hard to say why. Maybe it’s because the first Volvo I remember riding in back in 1995 or so had a similar colour. Or maybe it’s that the tint wouldn’t look out of place on some couch cushions in an Ikea catalogue. Plus, you still get those neat little Swedish flag tags popping from the seatback seams.Then there’s Volvo’s latest infotainment system, complete with vertically-aligned 9-inch touchscreen and Google built-in tech. What that means is that Google Maps app is baked in – there’s no other “native” nav system, which is fine by me aAnd you have access to features like Google assistant. You can log in to your own Google account so that your car looks like your phone does. It’s great, but meanwhile the competition is introducing bigger and brighter set-ups and Volvo’s hasn’t really changed for half a decade, so it is starting to show its age. Same for the gauge cluster; it’s digital, but it’s also dreary to look at and can’t be tweaked much.
They have improved the driver aid screen, though. Used to be you had to pore through a menu full of tiny icons to figure it out; now, it’s done via iPhone-esque sliders. You still have to navigate through a couple of screens to get there, but it’s more modern-looking and easier to navigate overall.
The rest of the interior is mostly top-notch, as usual with Volvo these days. The front seats in my tester are heated and cooled – to three levels – but also add a massage feature, a rarity in the compact class. The steering wheel is also heated to three levels.
Otherwise, there’s a fair amount of wood trim whose raised portions feel great to the touch, a fantastic-sounding Harman / Kardon audio system and more cargo room than there is in the XC60 CUV. Cargo’s easier to load, too, thanks to the lower liftover height provided by the V60. Ahh, the refreshing advantages of choosing a wagon over a crossover.
Strong points
- Top-quality materials, highlighted by leather and wood selection
- More cargo space than XC60
- Ultra-comfortable seats
- Google built-in
Weak points
- Aged infotainment hardware
- Digital gauge cluster can’t be heavily modified
- Steering wheel controls take some getting used to
The drive
When it comes to delivery, there’s a welcome reduction of turbo lag (the supercharger and 48V mild hybrid system take up the slack at low revs), but it still takes a little longer to get going than I’d like. Once at speed, however, everything changes and the car feels lighter and with a more responsive powertrain. It’s a good feeling to look behind you, see more room than in a CUV but know that you’re making time like in a smaller car.
The mild hybrid system, meanwhile, makes for smoother progress even at stop-and-go speeds as the fits and starts of an auto stop/start system are reduced. I like being able to turn that feature off entirely with the press of a button.
The handling of the V60 CC is a little less impressive. The front end is light enough, so it doesn’t feel heavy as you start to wind it through the turns. But it doesn’t really feel like anything else, either, because there’s a lack of communication between the front wheels and the driver. As I took the car on one of may favourite routes for testing handling, I found myself correcting multiple times through a turn, because it’s just very tough to judge that vague front end and know how it’s going to respond to your inputs.
You can add a little weight to the steering (via the infotainment screen) but there are no other performance modes to speak of. There is an off-road mode, however, and it allows the car to creep along at low speeds – the mode is available up to 40 km/h -- without any throttle or braking input so all the driver has to do is focus on steering. It just further enhances the V60’s performance in more slippery situations, which, it has to be said, is already quite good thanks to smart AWD tuning. It will let you kick the tail out a little bit if you like, but otherwise, it just bites and goes.
The ride, meanwhile, is properly luxury-lite in the way it rides, with only the harshest road imperfections causing reverb in the cabin.
Strong points
- Turbocharger, Supercharger + mild hybrid
- Well-controlled ride
- Off-road stability with crawl system
Weak points
- Somewhat woolly steering
- Takes a while to get up to speed
- CC spec does not get Recharge PHEV option
Some of your questions about the 2023 Volvo V60 Cross Country :
To CC or not to CC?
If you like its rugged looks and slightly increased off-road chops – plus the more lifestyle-ish feel – then the CC is a good choice. If it’s power you’re after, though, the more street-styles Recharge model is the way to go. It’s more powerful and with the plug-in hybrid system and can cruise in full-EV mode in less-efficient circumstances such as in traffic when in town.
What was the Volvo V60 CC’s fuel economy during our drive?
In their testing, Natural Resources Canada saw 9.0L/100 km in the combined cycle for the V60 CC. Through our drive – which was in cold, winter temperatures – came pretty close to that with 9.8L/100 km.
Mercedes-Benz GLB 250
Subaru Outback
The final word
In the end, what we have is kind of a confusing message from Volvo. On the one hand, wagons – especially AWD wagons – are touted over CUVs for their drivability. In the case of this particular wagon, that’s not quite on because that steering makes it feel bigger than it is.
On the other hand, that powertrain remains something to behold and there’s the small detail of having more room inside than in the XC60. So it ticks some boxes – and if we’re honest, its ride, powertrain and interior room are probably higher on the list for most buyers than sports car handling – but not all of them. So the argument for it over a more popular CUV us not as clear as it could be.
Having said that, I know that I’d still have it over the XC60 in a heartbeat. It’s just so durn easy to like that the foibles become the kind of quirks you learn to deal with – even celebrate – from something you love.
Is the V60 CC going to bring stations wagons back from the brink? Well, no. It is, however, a strong foot put forward by Volvo and you could even make the argument that it’s a unique take on the very crossovers that started taking it and other wagons’ lunch money all those years ago. If you’re considering a CUV, be a rebel! Check out the Volvo CC.