Volvo S60 Cross Country :Everything you want to know about ADV News, Photos & Exclusive stories.

There’s no denying the fact that car buyers around the world are currently madly in love with crossovers, SUVs, or anything that rides an inch or two higher than the rest of traffic. However, when Volvo announced the arrival of the S60 Cross Country, it raised a great many eyebrows. That’s because it’s not a crossover, neither is it a SUV, but a luxury sedan on stilts.

If you think about it, it won’t take you long to realize that it’s a very clever and quite cool looking car. In a country like ours, where roads range from being silky smooth to bone-jarringly rough, the Volvo S60 Cross Country makes even more sense. In comparison to the regular sedan, the Cross Country gets a beefed-up suspension setup, plastic cladding all around the bodywork, blacked-out mirror casings, and grey wheel arches that house those tasty looking 18-inch alloy wheels. The end result is a 65mm increase in ride-height, which translates to an SUV shamming ground clearance of 201mm.<img alt="Volvo S60 Cross Country Score Sheet" class="size-full wp-image-80257 alignright" height="269" src="/uploads/2016/11/Volvo-S60-Cross-Country-Score-Sheet.jpg" width="343" />

For the Indian market, Volvo has been generous enough to offer the car with a 2.4-litre, in-line 5-cylinder diesel engine that churns 187bhp and 420Nm of peak torque, paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox. Best of all, it comes with AWD. So, if you fancy, you can even go mild off-roading with your sedan!

On tarmac, the S60 Cross Country really moves – acceleration is brisk and, despite being a diesel motor, the engine revs surprisingly smoothly and sounds quite throaty when you give it the beans. In normal driving, the ride feels a bit harsh owing to its low profile tyres. Handling? From inside, it’s very hard to tell if this is a high-riding car – the driving experience is almost identical to the sedan. Even at the track, we were impressed by the dynamic abilities of the S60 Cross Country. The only real grouse was the gearbox, which struggles to keep up and doesn’t allow quick downshifts in manual mode.

Another complaint that we have with the S60 Cross Country is its cabin. While the interior oozes quality and the seats are supremely comfortable, overall, the design and layout feels a bit dated. Having said that, the S60 Cross Country is really well equipped. So, if you think about it, it’s actually perfect for our conditions. Our advice would be this, forget the allure of that high-riding SUV and get the best of both worlds with the S60 Cross Country – the ability to cover any terrain with the ride-and-handling of a sedan.

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Volvo S60 Cross Country, Track Test

There’s no denying the fact that car buyers around the world are currently madly in love with crossovers, SUVs, or anything that rides an inch or

The condition of our roads compels you to use a car with ample ground clearance, but you don’t want to give up the ride and handling prowess of a sedan – well, Volvo thinks they may have the answer...

Let’s start this review by stating a point of fact – the large majority of our roads suck! Perhaps that’s sugar coating it. What I mean to say is that they can be an absolute nightmare to drive on at the best of times. Even if you leave out the complete lack of driver education, road manners or even common sense, the condition of our roads can vary from being acceptable to non-existent within a few metres of each other – and often does!

<img alt="Volvo S60 Cross Country Interior" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68227" src="/uploads/2016/04/Volvo-S60-Cross-Country-Interior.jpg" style="width: 642px; height: 336px;" />

The situation only worsens if you happen to be driving a luxury car that you’ve worked hard over the years to acquire. With their slim sidewall tyres, bad roads are not their friends – and while their luxurious interiors might isolate you from the chaos outside, the constant worry of damaging a tyre, or causing suspension damage, or scraping the front bumper on a badly designed speed breaker, are everyday worries that plague luxury car buyers.

So, what do you do when the roads resemble the lunar surface of the moon? Well, you buy an SUV, of course. But what if you’d rather not – what if you prefer the ride-and-handling balance and the proportions of a sedan? Well, with the S60 Cross Country you get the qualities of a sedan – lower seating, ease of entry-and-exit into the vehicle – with ground clearance that beats most SUV’s available at its price range. With its 201mm of ground clearance, the it offers a unique package – and, it has to be said, one that’s never been tried before.

<img alt="New Volvo S60 Cross Country Virtual Cockpit" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68226" src="/uploads/2016/04/Volvo-S60-Cross-Country-Climate-Control.jpg" style="width: 642px; height: 336px;" />

Apart from the unique ground clearance, the Cross Country also offers standard fit all-wheel drive, which means that if one wants to indulge in a bit of light off-roading, it would be more than capable of handling it. Helping the car tackle these variety of conditions is a 2.4-litre turbo diesel engine, which produces 190bhp and 420Nm of torque, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. So, on the road, the it has a unique appeal, as the dynamics of the car remain saloon like – good ride and decent handling without too much body roll – despite the raised ride height, and, yet, you’ll always have the ability to tackle bad roads and fly over potholes with ease.

Of course, what helps are the wonderful seats, which are some of the most comfortable in the industry – this side of an XC90 that is. They’re so comfortable in fact that it feels like sitting in your favourite armchair at home. And, speaking of the XC90, the only major gripe I have with the it is in comparison with the XC90. You see, after experiencing the cabin of the XC90, everything else simply feels dated. It’s not that the Cross Country isn’t comfortable or a great place to be, it’s just that it feels a generation old when compared with the industry benchmark set by the XC90. So, when you go to the Volvo showroom to have a look at the it , I suggest you steer clear of the XC90.

<img alt="2016 Volvo S60 Cross Country Back View" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-68223" src="/uploads/2016/04/Volvo-S60-Cross-Country-Back-View.jpg" style="width: 642px; height: 336px;" />

Overall, the S60 CC does have quite a few things going for it. Volvo has managed to make it look quite attractive with an aggressive stance. It’s very sedan-like to drive, and it seems almost exclusively designed for Indian conditions. And, so, if Indian customers are open minded enough to accept yet another niche in the market, Volvo certainly has a very unique – and surprisingly compelling – product on their hands.

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Engine: 2,400 cc / 5-Cylinders / Common Rail Direct Injection / Turbocharged

Fuel: Diesel

Transmission: 6-Speed Automatic / All-Wheel Drive

Power: 188bhp @ 4000rpm

Torque: 420Nm @ 1500 - 3000rpm

Price: Rs. 38.90 lakhs (Ex-showroom, Delhi)

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Volvo S60 Cross Country Review, First Drive

With the Volvo S60 Cross Country, the Sweden-based automaker has brought in the Cross Country nameplate to the country. And it's true the S60 CC has a lot going for it. But, will the polarising design work for our exorbitant market? Before that, let's see how it drives, shall we?

Volvo S60 Cross Country

Volvo S60 Cross Country, Track Test

Volvo S60 Cross Country Review, First Drive

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