This week we are reviewing the Volvo V60 Cross-country. Our vehicle was assembled at the Torslanda Plant in Sweden and had an MSRP of $61,300 CAD.
Fun Factor: 7
Can it Family: 8
Fuel-Friendly: 6
HWY-warrior: 8
Karaoke Friendly: 8
Baby friendly: 7
City Cruising: 6
Is it possible the Volvo made the best crossover inadvertently by raising the V60 station wagon? We definitely think so! In an age where every company makes SUVs that seem to handle all the same, Volvo came up instead with a crossover that feels like nothing else on the market and that is enjoyable to drive every day. Its got an amazing and simplistic design that will turn heads. As you may have noticed in previous posts, we do have a preference for station wagons, in this case, we were happily surprised to enjoy driving the V60CC so much. Volvo has somehow made a vehicle that is raised up and still has agile maneuverability for everyday usage; it's an even more complete vehicle for those that need more ride clearance when driving on a dirt road to the cabin or need something more agile in the snow. The V60CC will cover you in all these instances and even more. As for our real life 0-100km/h test, we've achieved 6.95 seconds to reach a speed of 100km/h. Our test car was equipped with 245/40R20 ultra high-performance tires from Pirelli, the P Zero is an all-season tire and has a very good handle and absorbs imperfections on the asphalt nicely and doesn't bring too much road noise into the cabin. Volvo announces the 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds. The Volvo V60CC T5 comes with a 2.0L turbo 4 banger that has 250hp with 258 lb-ft of torque all that power is transferred to all 4 wheels using 8-speed automatic transmission.
How's the V60CC for the family? Now, it does have all the practicality from the Volvo V60. It offers lots of trunk space from the get-go, and if you need to transport even more, the rear seats can easily be folded in a 60/40 fashion. You may fit 2 strollers and still have space for at least one suitcase. As for amenities, the front seats offer heated seats using the infotainment, and the other 2 seats also offer heated seats with climate control. The rear seats offer space for 2 adults and one child. Three older kids or small frame adults would have space in the rear. The V60CC gives you the option as it is a very versatile car for a road trip in general and if you want to get off the HWY, you will not have to worry that you might get stranded driving up to your lake house where the road is less than perfect. In our test, we took the V60CC on a dirt road that was slightly flooded and in no instance did we feel that it wouldn't make it across.
The one area we wish Volvo would improve is fuel consumption, especially compared to its German rivals, we averaged 11.6L per 100km in a test drive of over 500km. Our city consumption was 13.8L per 100km, and on the HWY, we were able to reach an average consumption of 7.2L per 100km. Volvo announces 9.9L per 100km/h in the city, 6.6L per 100km/h on the HWY with a combined result of 8.4L per 100km. We feel that the announced gas consumption in the city is negatively affected by the transmission a mild hybrid system would remedy this situation in real life. Our fuel consumption results may also have been skewed by the type of fuel used by the previous user, as we have no way of verifying if the last journalist fueled up with the correct octane fuel, the Volvo V60CC requires premium 91 octane fuel. After depleting the fuel tank, our gas consumption drastically decreased with increased performance.
Volvo has always made comfortable cars in the past, and you'll not be surprised that the V60CC isn't any different. The craftsmanship of the leather and the attention to details is, in our opinion the best in class. This makes commuting over long distance enjoyable in the cabin of the V60 cross-country. The insolation is well done; adults can easily have a conversation without having to raise their voices. Pilot Assist found in the Volvo V60CC is similar to the one found in the V60 we reviewed earlier this year and found that it worked as advertised. The system makes the driver feel confident that it will work each time we need it compared to other systems we've tested in other premium vehicles where we thought that the functionality was a lot more primitive than that found in Volvo products. The only item we would like to see from future Volvo products would be for the car can change lanes by itself especially with all the sensors provided on the car we think it will be a matter of time before Volvo adds this feature on all their vehicles. This year we've got the chance to try several Volvo products, and by far the V60CC is our favourite, especially when it comes to driving on the HWY. Volvo successfully created a car that can be driven by everyone without any comprise and at the same time, be used for all types of activities on top of having lots of cargo space.
When it comes to the sound system in the V60CC, it comes with a decent sound system from Harmon / Kardon it isn't as the best in class found in the V60 or S60 we tested earlier this year. However, it's still okay it might not be as crisp as the Bowers & Wilkins; however, we would be nitpicking to find any fault in it. As for the infotainment, we still find that the massive 12.3-inch screen is one of the best, once the learning curve has passed. The system that Volvo provides is one of the more logical ones on the market. It helps that all icons can be rearranged to your liking and giving you access to all your favourites apps at a simple fingertip. If that is still too complex, Volvo offers both android auto and Apple Car pay with an easy plug and play using a standard USB cable. What we did find is that the 8-inch driver's display might not be as user-friendly to set up at first, however, when it comes to standard features such as using the turn by turn guide GPS the graphics are clarity and ease of use trumps German premium rivals by far.
Installation of car seats is simple; the ISOFIX ports are hidden under a latch and are easy to latch on for a variety of car seats. Like many other Volvo's, the rear anchor can't be passed through the rear headrest; hence, the latch needs to be attached offer the headrest. The seat can still be attached safely, it just makes it visually less pleasant to look at. The rear door access for children is smaller than what we would like; this will be a small trade-off compared to the regular station wagon due to the plastic cladding making it harder for smaller kids to enter the car by themselves. A maximum of 2 child seats can be installed as the middle seat doesn't offer any ISOFIX ports, a young child may use the middle seat when 2 car seats are installed, it may be a little tight, but someone smaller could still sit in between 2 car seats.
Finally, how does the V60CC ride in the city, the suspension is tuned in a way that potholes are taken seamlessly without upsetting the ride comfort. The rear visibility is not so ideal because the B & C pillars hide a lot of rear visibility when parking. Luckily Volvo has one of the simplest to use parking assist making parking a breeze. We enjoyed how well the park assist works and how simple it is to park any Volvo, especially compared to other luxury brands. For the city we still think the engines that Volvo provides in their car could have better fuel economy, this can be easily achieved using a mild hybrid system or offering plug-in hybrid with smaller engines for those that want to rock their V60CC in the city.
Why would we buy the Volvo V60CC and what we like: Because of that fantastic Swedish design especially in that Crystal White Pearl Metallic paint, because of all the security features, it offers respectable fuel consumption on the HWY, because of the comfortable seats.
Why would we not buy the Volvo V60CC and what we didn't we like: The gas consumption in the city, the slow shift transmission, beyond this we would be nitpicking if we would find any fault to the V60CC
