2024 Volvo V90 Cross Country
In a world dominated by SUVs, Volvo's V90 Cross Country stands out as a beacon of versatility, luxury, and adventure.
Combining the practicality of a wagon with the ruggedness of a light off-road vehicle, the 2024 Volvo V90 Cross Country promises to redefine the boundaries of what a family station wagon can do. Think of it as a much more upscale Subaru Outback with European road manners and then some.
With minor enhancements for the 2024 model year, Volvo continues to refine this Swedish masterpiece, offering Canadian car buyers an enticing blend of style, comfort, and capability.
What is it?
At its core, the 2024 Volvo V90 Cross Country embodies the essence of Scandinavian design and engineering. It is a large luxury adventure wagon with all-wheel drive capability, designed to tackle a variety of terrains and weather conditions with ease.
The “Cross Country” nomenclature predates the popularity of SUVs in the late 1990’s, having first appeared in 1997 on a variant of the Volvo V70. That’s right, Volvo has been making some sort of adventure wagon for over a quarter of a century.
Unlike traditional SUVs, the V90 Cross Country offers a lower ride height for improved handling and fuel efficiency, while still providing ample ground clearance for off-road excursions. With ground clearance slightly under 8”, the Volvo V90 Cross Country can apparently wade through nearly a foot of water.
Whether navigating city streets or venturing off the beaten path, the V90 Cross Country is ready for any adventure.
For those who genuinely wish to do some light off-roading, you can indeed do it as there is some plastic protection for to the bodywork. However, I suspect that a far greater proportion of buyers will like the V90 Cross Country because it’s easier to load things into, easier to get in and out, but yet handles better than a higher riding SUV.
As one of the few remaining wagons on the North American roads, Volvo has had to adapt the V90 to suit the tastes of customers who still prefer a wagon over an SUV. While there’s not much competition, there is still some competition in form of the Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain and the Audi A6 AllRoad.
For 2024, the V90 Cross Country carries into 2024 mostly unchanged, with the only update being a couple of new colour choices.
What is it like to live with?
All V90 Cross Country wagons now come with Volvo’s corporate “B6” powertrain and all-wheel-drive.
Gone is the old T6 nomenclature replaced by this 2.0-litre 4 cylinder engine which is both supercharged and turbocharged with a 48 volt mild hybrid system. Total output is 295 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque, channeled through an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Volvo says that the big wagon will manage a 0-100 km/hr run of about 6.4 seconds. Respectable, but quite a bit slower than the Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain which manages the same run a couple of seconds quicker. It also sounds a bit coarse under heavy throttle compared to the smooth straight-six engine in the Mercedes.
Although it doesn’t encourage you to push it through the corners, the V90 feels agile through the corners albeit not particularly sporty. The electric power steering is light and the brakes are very strong. The ride quality is overall rather calming, thanks to lots of suspension travel.
Rough urban roads and potholes still punch through a bit, but otherwise the Cross Country is a very cosetting thing, with excellent NVH isolation, even with the handsome 21” wheels fitted to my test vehicle.
My test vehicle was equipped with the top-of-the-range “Ultimate” trim package, which included niceties such as Nappa leather upholstery, heated/ventilated/massaging front seats, heads-up display, rear window sunshades, and an illuminated crystal gear shift knob sourced from Orrefors, a sentry-old Swedish crystal-making company.
Interior accommodations
Aside from the aforementioned interior features, the V90 is as comfortable and cavernous as can be.
There are high-quality plastics, two tone leather, textured metalised knobs, and beautiful open-pore wood panels everywhere. I particularly liked the artful Bowers and Wilkins brushed metal speaker covers.
Mercedes’ E450 All Terrain may one-up the Volvo on the infotainment side, as the V90’s Android Automotive system feels rather sparse compared to the umpteen number of configurations that Mercedes offers in their vehicles these days.
As mentioned in my V60 T8 Polestar Engineered review, I do miss some of the hard button controls that were present before Volvo made the switch to Android Automotive.
Also, Volvo was one of the first companies to adopt a 9.0” portrait touchscreen, but it seems that the world is going back to the landscape format these days. A clear 12.3” digital gauge display sits in front of the driver, nice, but I wish it was more customizable than it is.
As for cargo hauling duties, as with the case with most wagons, the V90 Cross Country offers a very generous amount of cargo space. A clever fold up metal guard helps to segregate the cargo compartment from the seating area.
My test vehicle was also fitted with the optional four corner adaptive air suspension system, allowing it load level and to tow trailers weighting up to a substantial 5,300 lbs.
Final thoughts
It’s a shame that the V90 Cross Country doesn’t get a much attention than it should. As nice as the Volvo XC60 and XC90 SUVs are, there’s something to be said about a large Swedish wagon.
With its luxurious interior, advanced technology features, and versatile performance capabilities, the V90 Cross Country is a true masterpiece of Scandinavian design and engineering
Whether tackling the daily commute or embarking on a weekend adventure, the V90 Cross Country excels in almost every aspect, offering Canadian car buyers a compelling and uniquely European alternative to traditional SUVs.
