Don’t call it a comeback
History repeats itself, and Volvo has had to pare down their wagon lineup in the midst of shifting customer trends. The minivan began overruling the traditional station wagon as the de-facto family hauler in the 80s, and then the SUV started eating the minivan’s lunch, and in the years since, everything has been consumed by the neither-here-nor-there crossover (so much so that Volvo’s own XC60 has finally usurped the legendary 240 as its all-time best seller).
I’ve been here for years
The base V60 (and with it, my beloved V60 Polestar) have been discontinued, leaving only the V60 Cross Country, one of the original genre-benders, left to carry the wagon mantle. They’ve even got it down to just one trim level - Ultra - to simplify production and keep it going. Despite everyone on our side of the pond turning their backs wagons when the collective zeitgeist decided they were actively uncool, Volvo has always offered us a wagon, refusing to abandon this long standing paragon of practicality.
I’m gonna rock this land
I spend quite a bit of time shooting my colleague’s vehicles. It is not nearly as fun or glamorous as people think it is, but I’m adamant that it’s not good enough to be good enough, and I try hard to produce the best work that conditions will allow. Which means shooting cars is not only not always fun, but often tiring work. Conversely, shooting a Volvo never gets old. I always get carried away with Volvos. I happily take too long. I always find new angles to work with, new ways of framing a design element, new ways of displaying their beauty. I love their wheel designs, I love their body lines, I love their colorways, I love their lighting arrays, I could (and have) spend days with a Volvo in my viewfinder, and the V60 Cross Country is the current pick of the litter. Its classic long, low, wide proportions, with a perfectly tasteful amount of toughness added by the Cross Country armour, make it uniquely handsome in a very subtle way. Don’t even get me started on the new Forest Lake paint; it’s sublime.
Don't ever compare
The same can be said of the cabin of Volvo’s cars. They’ve been largely unchanged for more than a decade because good design is timeless, and this was and is a very good design. Even on their newer cars that have tried to break the mold and shut up hype-hounds struggling to get hyped about “dated” design, they haven’t strayed far. It’s beautiful, clean, dressed in top-quality materials, and they’ve fixed the only thing that was kind of holding it back.
Listen to the bass go boom
Like the updated XC90 and XC60, this V60 Cross Country is endowed with Volvo’s new Android-Automotive based infotainment system. Like those updated vehicles, this software is slick, responsive, delightfully intuitive, and in typically Volvo fashion, pretty. Unlike those updated XC vehicles, it does not have a larger screen floated over the original cavity, and instead makes do with the original-size 9-inch touch display. Anyone who thinks 9 inches isn’t enough probably needs help. There’s not much in the way of options on one of these, which is fine, as they’re nicely equipped with leather, wood, powered heated seats and steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, and lane-keep assist. The only options on this tester are aforementioned 20-inch wheels (excellent) and the $3,750 Bowers & Wilkins sound system (very excellent). Given the usual cost of having that name in your car, this is a no-brainer - you’ll thank me later.
And my nine is easy to load
Volvo’s always been clever about the use of space in their vehicles, and it should be no surprise that a Volvo wagon excels on this front. Front seat space and comfort is excellent, and there’s a decent amount of knick-knack storage. Rear seating isn’t limousine generous but commodious enough for adults to be comfortable on a long haul, and the rear seats are actually supportive, unlike the flat benches in a lot of utility vehicles. There’s a ton of cargo space behind those rear seats, with a very low liftover height courtesy of it not being an artificially tall crossover. There’s a reason why Europe never let go of the wagon - they make so much sense!
Listen to my gear shift
The V60 Cross Country has long since ditched the strange (but surprisingly reliable) Twincharged engine, instead opting for a fairly standard 2-Litre, turbocharged four-cylinder mill with an integrated mild hybrid system. It produces 247 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque which is, in a word, fine. It’s not going to set your hair on fire, but it’s enough to accelerate, merge, and pass confidently, while returning good fuel economy (9L/100km) and displaying excellent manners around town. The mild hybrid makes the fuel saving stop-start function almost imperceptible. Volvo’s Aisin 8-speed automatic is similarly inoffensive, and responds diligently, if not terribly enthusiastically.
You better move
Volvos drive well. They have always driven well. It is inherent with their philosophy of safety that car should handle itself naturally, and deliberately. As such the driver controls are impeccably judged, body motions are well controlled, and its overall quite communicative and confidence inspiring. Just like I spend a lot of time looking at cars through my viewfinder, I spend a lot of time driving them - and I love me a Volvo, every time. They just feel right.
