A new car, lots of information in short paragraphs.
What you need to know: The Volvo V60 is an estate car, no doubt about it. South Africans hate estate cars because they think of them as hearses. Volvo’s been clever by nailing some off-roady bits to a normal V60 and calling it “Cross Country”. You see? No more undertaker! All lifestyle, ready for your mountain bike trip…
You get to choose between two engines (Diesel or Petrol) and two trim levels. All V60 Cross Countries are shipped with a Geartronic (automatic) gearbox and intelligent all-wheel-drive. Can it conquer every mountain? No. Will it traverse slippery fields and the odd rough road? Most certainly.
Some more facts: Spec-for-spec, the difference to a regular V60 is about N$30,000 – which isn’t bad for some butch plastics, two extra drive wheels and a dollop of ground clearance. Where the regular V60 crouches 124mm above the tarmac, Cross Country has a generous 201mm. Wheels size also increases from 17 to 18 inches.
Compared to their donor vehicles, the CC versions are slightly heavier, slower and thirstier – but not much. Load capacity remains unchanged (430 to 690L), as does the fuel tank size of 68L (petrol or diesel). Base specifications include most modern amenities and superb safety kit; with affordable optional extras.
Where we drove: Work, home, meetings, the stables, a farm and a racetrack. A normal V60 would’ve done most of this but the Cross Country played its soft-roader card perfectly on soggy bits of the stables or rougher areas of the farm. We didn’t race our black-on-black T5 press unit around the track – wrong car for that.
Watch out for: Sjoe, probably resale value and dealer count. I hate mentioning both of them because they are potential concerns that may never occur. To my knowledge the Volvo 60 platform and T5 engine have proven to be reliable and will only hurt you financially if you decide to sell within the first few years.
If you keep the V60 Cross Country beyond its 5-year / 100,000km warranty and service plan, you won’t be much worse off than anyone else with an older car. Spec’ yours up properly and look after it nicely to possibly capitalise on its niche appeal and rarity in a few years – which will represent a second-hand gem.
Why you’ll want one: The space and convenience of an estate without frightening your elderly neighbours. Those all-wheel-drive capabilities and the extra belly clearance will also come in handy if you frequent the great outdoors. Priced from N$550,000 but budget beaters can also look at the more compact V40 Cross Country.
FULL SPECLIST
Engine: 2L in-line four-cylinder turbo-petrol (or turbo-diesel)
Transmission: 8-speed Auto, AWD
Max. Power: 180kW (or 140kW)
Max. Torque: 350Nm (or 420Nm)
Avg cons.: 7.4 / 5.7 L/100km (claimed)
0-100km/h: 6.8 / 8.9 (claimed)
Top Speed: 210 / 205 (claimed)
List Price: Starting at N$550,506