MANCHESTER, VT: Tired of walking around and tip-toeing through the puddles that occasionally plaque the automotive landscape, North Americans decided, about 15 years ago, to try some new footwear to help them better deal with such situations.
Unfortunately, at the time there were only vehicles like the Ford Bronco and the Chevrolet Blazer to buy, and they were essentially hip-waders.
Those vehicles proved to be too much for most people, so the car companies wisely started to build more sophisticated truck-based footwear, including the Ford Explorer, the Olds Bravada, the Nissan Pathfinder, and so on.
Since those trucks are still not responding to people's needs, the latest trends are to sport-cutes like the Chevrolet Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick, crossover vehicles like the Lexus RX300 and the upcoming Buick Rendezvous, and car-based mid-size SUVs like the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute.
But there are people who want the utility of such vehicles without the height issues (including stability, storage or style) that are associated with them, and for those folks there are a couple of choices, including the Volvo Cross Country, Volume 2, which will appear at Volvo dealers in mid-August.
Essentially, the XC is a jazzed-up, jacked-up, all-wheel-drive version of the Volvo V70 station wagon, though the Detroit-owned, Swedish-based car company says the 2001 model is more than that, and in important ways is not an SUV either.
The XC's comparison to a regular SUV is one that is worth following through the Valley of Bumph onto the Mountain of Truth. As proved innumerable times by the first utility wagon to venture into the SUV market, the Subaru Outback, these things can do virtually all that a hip-wader SUV can do without many of their drawbacks.
That is to say, they provide better bad weather traction, they haul more stuff than a sedan (and almost as much as a taller SUV), they go over things a normal car would not, and they can even be taken off-pavement, though that is an exercise normally reserved for hard-core off-roaders and journalists to whom a car company is trying to prove a point.
On the other hand, vehicles like the Volvo XC and the Subaru Outback deliver a safer and much more responsive and pleasant ride, and better fuel economy also. To real people living in the real world, a vehicle like these vehicles make considerably more sense than a traditional SUV.
Volvo has decided to leave the reasonably priced part of the business to Subaru, because the XC carries what Volvo Canada likes to call a "premium" price: $48 995. This is pricey but on a par with traditional SUVs working the luxury end of the street, such as the Infiniti QX4. So, if you feel the need to pay a lot extra for a different name and a few extra amenities, the XC is the utility wagon for you.
Many consumers have already decided that indeed the XC is for them, since nearly a third of all Volvo Canada V70 sales were of the previous model at roughly the same price.
So they should be excited to hear about the 2001 XC, since it comes with several improvements on Volume 1, including more performance, improved off-road ability, a more flexible interior, and new exterior and interior designs.
The exterior design is most notable for the blacked-out bits in the grille and along the bottom side edges. To many eyes, this is an inappropriate look for an upscale vehicle, but Volvo says you will get used to it since it is the look of the future.
It certainly looks more like an SUV and less like the regular V70 than the previous model did. The different paint scheme, unique rear body panels, and the flared fenders help with that, but so does the ground clearance (which grows to 200 mm) and the hiking boot (215/65X16) tires.
Inside, the XC delivers the correct balance of cowboy qualities (wood and leather) that says "premium" or "upscale" or "luxury" to people who crave such things, and there are no features that cause your forehead to wrinkle in wonder.
Volvo has added some backseat versatility that should appeal to people, including a rear seat that splits 40/20/20 and thereby allows for skis and other long items to be carried without interfering too much with the occupants' comfort. That middle part also folds out to provide the best rear seat centre console in the business.
The back of the second seat has a screen that pulls up to stop things from flying into the passenger compartment during a crash. This is a major safety item widely ignored by the car industry, and one that should be addressed.
Speaking of widely ignored safety problems, the XC also has a rear-facing third seat that pretty much ensures foot or leg injuries for any children riding back there. By the way, this is the fault of the parents who allow this, not of the Volvo designers who figure any seat with belts is better than letting kids sit back there unfettered. And that applies to any vehicle.
Motive force comes from the 2.4-litre inline-5 that powered the first XC, but for 2001 it is been juiced to put out 197 horsepower at 6000 rpm (changed from 190 at 5100) and 210 pound-feet of torque from 1800 to 5000 rpm (up from 199 over the same range).
When attached to the new 5-speed automatic, this engine supplies enough power to keep the 1630 kg curb weight XC moving along fairly sharply. There were moments shifting quickly from deceleration to coast to acceleration that caught the engine breathless for a second or two, but that was probably an issue caused by the setup of the turbo on my test car since none of the other auto writers commented on it.
Along some rainy roads and up and over some unpaved forest trails, the XC behaved quite admirably. Sure, you had to be careful about steering around certain things and what speeds you used traversing other things, but that applies to any SUV of similar ground clearance, and there are a number.
Briefly, the 2001 Volvo Cross Country did what such vehicles are supposed to do -- deliver the functionality of an SUV and the ride, handling and comfort levels of a sporty, upscale wagon. The XC should be on the shopping list of everyone ready to drop $50 000 into a sport-utility vehicle.
Unfortunately, at the time there were only vehicles like the Ford Bronco and the Chevrolet Blazer to buy, and they were essentially hip-waders.
Those vehicles proved to be too much for most people, so the car companies wisely started to build more sophisticated truck-based footwear, including the Ford Explorer, the Olds Bravada, the Nissan Pathfinder, and so on.
Since those trucks are still not responding to people's needs, the latest trends are to sport-cutes like the Chevrolet Tracker and Suzuki Sidekick, crossover vehicles like the Lexus RX300 and the upcoming Buick Rendezvous, and car-based mid-size SUVs like the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute.
But there are people who want the utility of such vehicles without the height issues (including stability, storage or style) that are associated with them, and for those folks there are a couple of choices, including the Volvo Cross Country, Volume 2, which will appear at Volvo dealers in mid-August.
Essentially, the XC is a jazzed-up, jacked-up, all-wheel-drive version of the Volvo V70 station wagon, though the Detroit-owned, Swedish-based car company says the 2001 model is more than that, and in important ways is not an SUV either.
The XC's comparison to a regular SUV is one that is worth following through the Valley of Bumph onto the Mountain of Truth. As proved innumerable times by the first utility wagon to venture into the SUV market, the Subaru Outback, these things can do virtually all that a hip-wader SUV can do without many of their drawbacks.
That is to say, they provide better bad weather traction, they haul more stuff than a sedan (and almost as much as a taller SUV), they go over things a normal car would not, and they can even be taken off-pavement, though that is an exercise normally reserved for hard-core off-roaders and journalists to whom a car company is trying to prove a point.
On the other hand, vehicles like the Volvo XC and the Subaru Outback deliver a safer and much more responsive and pleasant ride, and better fuel economy also. To real people living in the real world, a vehicle like these vehicles make considerably more sense than a traditional SUV.
Volvo has decided to leave the reasonably priced part of the business to Subaru, because the XC carries what Volvo Canada likes to call a "premium" price: $48 995. This is pricey but on a par with traditional SUVs working the luxury end of the street, such as the Infiniti QX4. So, if you feel the need to pay a lot extra for a different name and a few extra amenities, the XC is the utility wagon for you.
Many consumers have already decided that indeed the XC is for them, since nearly a third of all Volvo Canada V70 sales were of the previous model at roughly the same price.
So they should be excited to hear about the 2001 XC, since it comes with several improvements on Volume 1, including more performance, improved off-road ability, a more flexible interior, and new exterior and interior designs.
The exterior design is most notable for the blacked-out bits in the grille and along the bottom side edges. To many eyes, this is an inappropriate look for an upscale vehicle, but Volvo says you will get used to it since it is the look of the future.
It certainly looks more like an SUV and less like the regular V70 than the previous model did. The different paint scheme, unique rear body panels, and the flared fenders help with that, but so does the ground clearance (which grows to 200 mm) and the hiking boot (215/65X16) tires.
Inside, the XC delivers the correct balance of cowboy qualities (wood and leather) that says "premium" or "upscale" or "luxury" to people who crave such things, and there are no features that cause your forehead to wrinkle in wonder.
Volvo has added some backseat versatility that should appeal to people, including a rear seat that splits 40/20/20 and thereby allows for skis and other long items to be carried without interfering too much with the occupants' comfort. That middle part also folds out to provide the best rear seat centre console in the business.
The back of the second seat has a screen that pulls up to stop things from flying into the passenger compartment during a crash. This is a major safety item widely ignored by the car industry, and one that should be addressed.
Speaking of widely ignored safety problems, the XC also has a rear-facing third seat that pretty much ensures foot or leg injuries for any children riding back there. By the way, this is the fault of the parents who allow this, not of the Volvo designers who figure any seat with belts is better than letting kids sit back there unfettered. And that applies to any vehicle.
Motive force comes from the 2.4-litre inline-5 that powered the first XC, but for 2001 it is been juiced to put out 197 horsepower at 6000 rpm (changed from 190 at 5100) and 210 pound-feet of torque from 1800 to 5000 rpm (up from 199 over the same range).
When attached to the new 5-speed automatic, this engine supplies enough power to keep the 1630 kg curb weight XC moving along fairly sharply. There were moments shifting quickly from deceleration to coast to acceleration that caught the engine breathless for a second or two, but that was probably an issue caused by the setup of the turbo on my test car since none of the other auto writers commented on it.
Along some rainy roads and up and over some unpaved forest trails, the XC behaved quite admirably. Sure, you had to be careful about steering around certain things and what speeds you used traversing other things, but that applies to any SUV of similar ground clearance, and there are a number.
Briefly, the 2001 Volvo Cross Country did what such vehicles are supposed to do -- deliver the functionality of an SUV and the ride, handling and comfort levels of a sporty, upscale wagon. The XC should be on the shopping list of everyone ready to drop $50 000 into a sport-utility vehicle.
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