In an uncertain world comes a car you can be certain about. Cutting-edge driver aids, pampering comfort, and a luxurious new platform form the new flagship estate from Volvo; a company once synonymous with boxy estates. How good is this latest attempt?
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Saurabh Botre
One second is all it takes to contemplate what repercussions your actions will have. If people stopped to think, for just one second, the results of their choice of actions, especially in the greater scheme of things, the world would be a very different place. There would be no traffic jams, no accidents, and, safe to say, less anger and disappointment overall. But, sadly, some people just don’t care, and their apathy has to be compensated for by others with thoughtfulness. That’s where the people at Volvo come in. And that’s why the safety technology, active and passive features they’re famous for, and smart, modern design come in. That’s why there are Volvo cars like this V90 Cross Country.
Just a few years ago, if you wanted a top-of-the-line Volvo estate, you’d have to have the V70 D5 AWD ― an S80 estate without a V8 to match. If you wanted one more butch, there was the XC70. Boxy, yet with curvy lines and understated design highlights, they were both hugely practical, spacious and extremely capable. Yet the less-evolved tend to overlook such aspects in favour of more dazzling displays of external flair that wow others. Volvo, thus, had to change. And they did. The V90, then, and its Cross Country avatar we have here, are the result. And, unlike some, Volvo have done more than just shiny up the outside.
Bold LED headlamps bearing the Mjölnir, or Thor’s hammer, signature. Sleek, flowing lines encapsulating generous proportions, a long bonnet, large wheel-arches, 20-inch wheels, and a five-metre-long body, all form what is the new flagship estate for the Swedish major. This V90 ‘Cross Country’ also gets front and rear skid-plates, side cladding, and an additional 60 millimetres of ride height. That’s 210 mm of ground clearance. What’s more, it isn’t just a butch makeover.
Unlike the V70 D5, the engine is no longer a 200-odd-PS 2.4-litre five-cylinder diesel. The V90 D5 gets a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel with twin turbochargers and 235 PS and 480 Nm. A new eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission drives a new-generation four-wheel-drive coupling, with the front getting most of the power. It can traverse challenging surfaces with its 18.9° approach angle, 17.7° breakover angle, and 20.7° departure angle, and can tackle a wading depth of up to 300 mm. The roof can hold a load of up to 100 kg, too. That’s more than what most luxury estate owners in India will put it through, I may safely assume. The capability is there for those who need it.
It’s a reasonably solid car, the V90 Cross Country, and it behaves like one. At just under 1.9 tonnes, it feels extremely well-built and is certainly very well equipped. Inside, there is nothing to tell it apart from the S90 luxury saloon, except for the fact that you sit higher off the ground. The perforated leather seats, wood inlays, aluminium trim accents, and Swedish aesthetics are appreciably understated yet have an aura of bespoke quality. Fit and finish are exquisite and attention to detail, as with Volvo, is with microscopic precision. The equipment level is no different from the S90 saloon and XC90 SUV either.
