Volvo V60 Cross Country 2019 UK first drive

The last time we got our hands on Volvo’s new V60 Cross Country, we happened to be in the north of Sweden, just south of the Arctic Circle. Not exactly the warmest place on Earth, then; and in late January, with snow and ice covering the frozen roads, and the temperature dropping as low as -30C, it’s not exactly the ideal environment to put a new car through its paces, either.

However, despite the harsh conditions we still had our suspicions that when the jacked-up estate car made its way to the UK, we’d find it to be a refined and impressively comfortable family wagon. Now, on what is an unseasonably warm February day in Suffolk, we’re finally able to put that hypothesis under the microscope.

It’s worth pointing out at this point that the particular strain of V60 Cross Country being examined today is different to the one we encountered out in deepest, darkest Scandinavia. Where that model was the petrol-powered T5 version, this is the £38,270 oil-burning D4 - which is currently the only derivative of the V60 Cross Country available here in Britain. The T5 will arrive at a later date, mind.

That four-cylinder diesel engine develops a modest 189bhp, while a torque figure of 295lb ft - spread from 1750-2500rpm - ensures this most handsome of Volvos isn’t short on pulling power. This is all then boxed up and delivered to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic 'box.

Wearing optional 19in alloys instead of the studded winter tyres fitted previously, the V60 Cross Country’s secondary ride is indisputably improved, but not quite to the extent we hoped it might be. Don’t mistake that for us writing it off as poor; the reality is far from it. But there’s an underlying sense of brittleness about the manner in which it deals with pockmarked patches of road that does encroach on the Volvo’s overall ride refinement. Were our test car equipped with the standard 18in alloys, maybe these judders and jolts might not have been quite as pronounced. Maybe. 

Anyway, until we’re able to try one of the smaller-wheeled variants, that 'maybe' will have to stand. Which is a bit annoying really, because the rest of the V60 Cross Country’s ride is very impressive in a soft-edged, wafty sort of way. And when you think about it, that’s exactly what you’d want from five-seater family estate with a large boot (529 litres to the glass line), and the ability to journey a bit further from the Tarmac than its regular estate car competition.