Volvo V60 Cross Country (2019-2023) review
The Volvo V60 Cross Country is a classy, comfortable and capable alternative to the Audi A4 Allroad
The Volvo V60 Cross Country is hugely comfortable, well-built, relaxing to drive and as practical as a Volvo should be. Some cheaper rivals offer more standard equipment, however.
The Volvo V60 Cross Country sits at the top of the V60 range and acts as a bridge between the Swedish company’s car and SUV line-ups. The Cross Country takes the standard V60 estate and adds four-wheel drive, a raised ride height and a smattering of SUV-like plastic trim pieces to give it a more rough-and-tumble feel.
The V60 Cross Country was aimed squarely at the Audi A4 Allroad, Volkswagen Passat Alltrack and Skoda Octavia Scout, but these models are currently only available from dealer stock. Its most direct rivals are the Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer and Subaru Outback, though the car could also tempt buyers away from the Volvo XC60 SUV and its rivals including the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC.
Volvo was one of the first mainstream manufacturers to offer a toughened-up estate in its range when the original V70 Cross Country was released in 1997; the model survived over three generations until 2016, when the V70 was replaced by the current Volvo V90 estate and corresponding V90 Cross Country. Volvo’s last V60 Cross Country was a less traditional take the Volvo recipe but still included the same key Cross Country ingredients of raised suspension, plastic cladding and four-wheel drive.
The latest V60 Cross Country is available in just two versions – Cross Country and Cross Country Pro. Both are powered by the same D4 turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine that produces 187bhp and 400Nm of torque, with a 0-62mph time of 8.2 seconds. The Cross Country is the only non-hybrid V60 model to feature four-wheel drive and is only available with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. All models get 60mm of extra ground clearance over the standard V60, plus hill descent control and a bespoke off-road drive mode.
A T5 petrol version with 246bhp is expected to arrive before the end of 2019, but plug-in hybrid technology isn’t likely to make it to the Cross Country.