Bred and born in Sweden, it will feel right at home in Banff, Kapuskasing or Chicoutimi
New V90 Cross Country at home in Sweden Volvo chose the frozen roads and lakes of Sweden, rather than the usual sun-drenched Spanish or Californian asphalt, for the global launch of its all-new V90 Cross Country. Why? To show how capable, comfortable and exciting it can be, even in the harshest driving conditions. It certainly slides on ice with the best of them! By Marc Lachapelle ▲
Four generations of a quiet dynasty The Swedish carmaker is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Cross Country series this year. The first, derived from one of Volvo’s perennially-popular wagons, was introduced as the V70 XC in 1997. It had the words Cross Country carved into its stout, matte-black rear bumper, more ground clearance than the regular V70 wagon with protection plates underneath, a larger roof rack, grainier seat leather and thicker floor mats. Following its success, a second generation was introduced in 2001 as the XC70, and a third in 2008. The new V90 Cross Country kicks off the fourth generation. ▲
Unique trim and details It’s built on the same Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform as Volvo’s award-winning XC90 luxury sport-utility and both the recently-introduced V90 wagon and S90 sedan. Apart from a notably taller profile than its V90 wagon sibling, the Cross Country can be recognized instantly by its exclusive grille featuring black vertical bars with five chrome dots each, by the charcoal-coloured wheel arch extensions that cover its larger wheels and wider tracks, by the similarly-dark lower portions of its sides, doors and bumpers, by the high-gloss, piano-like black trim around its windows and by side mirrors that are slightly larger than the V90’s. Alas, they hamper the driver’s view to the inside in left turns. ▲
Handsome rear quarters This three-quarter rear view shows off the V90 Cross Country’s smooth, sweeping roofline and the wide, trapezoidal, stainless steel exhaust outlets on either side of the aluminium rear skid plate. Under the power-assisted rear hatch, in keeping with Volvo’s long wagon tradition, you will find 913 glorious litres of cargo volume (including the storage bins under the floor panel) when the rear seatbacks are in place and 1526 litres when the panels are folded flat. And the words Cross Country are still discreetly carved into the lower part of the bumper. ▲
Clean and simple The V90 Cross Country also shares the remarkably clean, modern and uncluttered design of its instrument panel with the new V90 and S90. This black walnut trim and a dark aluminum shade, the only choices, are exclusive to this model. The large, vertical touch screen of the Sensus control interface, dead centre, explains the scarcity of buttons and switches. The numerous menus and controls hiding within are accessed by swiping the screen. You will get used to it quicker than you think. The grainier, stockier seat leather, with bigger stitches, is a staple of the Cross Country. ▲
First class seating Front seats, as always with Volvo, provide an exceptional blend of comfort, support and adjustability. You quickly find a good driving position and there is a solid, flat and sufficiently wide footrest to the left. Volvo personnel, on the other hand, had no ready explanation for the absence of power adjustments for the steering wheel. These would be a great addition to the truly handy and efficient seat memory buttons mounted on the upper section of the door panel. ▲
A league of one Even though they share the same basic structure and many of their major components, the sleek and racy new V90 Cross Country looks nothing like its broad-shouldered XC90 sport-utility sibling. Indeed, the V90 is a solid 23.2 cm lower and 5 cm narrower on a wheelbase that was shortened by 4.3 cm, preserving easy passenger access and benefiting on-road stability, thanks to short body overhangs and a lower centre of gravity. Yet, the overall body length is only 1.1 cm less, which makes for a spacious cabin. And does it ever look good in profile! ▲
A profile properly raised The new V90 Cross Country sits 6.5 cm higher than the recently-introduced V90 wagon for a total 21 cm of ground clearance. That’s less than the regular XC90’s 23.8 cm but clearly enough to tackle bad cottage roads and mildly rough trails. Volvo’s chassis engineers have either modified or replaced every suspension component from the V90 while fine-tuning the Cross Country’s on- and off-road handling. The XC90’s height-adjustable air suspension is not available but you can get a V90 Cross Country with load-levelling air springs for its rear axle, combined with adjustable damping from the Four-C suspension’s shock absorbers. ▲
A light, modern and mighty engine Nestled neatly under the hood of the new V90 Cross Country is the same Drive-E unit that powers the S90, V90 and XC90. This four-cylinder, 2.0-litre gasoline engine with direct injection uses both a supercharger and turbocharger to generate 316 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque from just 2,200 rpm. It’s a smooth, lively engine, thanks to balance shafts, and Volvo claims it can vault the 1,960 kg Cross Country from 0 to 100 km/h in a mere 6.3 mere, coupled to a smooth and quick-shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox. Combined fuel consumption is quoted at 9.4 L/100 km. ▲
Come what may The V90 Cross Country was designed and developed in Sweden where it is also built, in Volvo’s Torslanda plant. It was tested extensively, in all imaginable conditions, and it shows. Driven on twisty, hilly and often icy roads on which only sand is sometimes spread, never salt, Volvo’s newest remains balanced, composed and stable at all times. It always drives with a light touch, rides well and inspires great confidence, no matter what the skies and roads have in store. It will feel right at home in Banff, Kapuskasing or Chicoutimi. ▲
Guardian sensors and systems A solid stance and great balance are essential ingredients of the V90 Cross Country’s go-anywhere nature, but it also benefits from an unmatched array of electronic safety systems and driving aids. Of special interest to Canadian drivers, from coast to coast, is the triad of Pilot Assist II, Large Animal Detection and Run-Off Road Mitigation that recently earned the 2017 Best New Safety Technology award from AJAC. All three have effectively stretched the envelope of existing systems to encompass critical driving situations and hazards that previously exceeded their reach or vigilance. ▲
Different driving mates Volvo wisely took advantage of the V90 Cross Country’s global launch to let journalists also drive the XC90 T8 to show how its plug-in hybrid luxury SUV fares in harsh winter driving conditions. This provided contrast but also great insight on the common traits of two very different vehicles built on the same SPA ‘flexible’ platform. The difference in height and stance between the two is obvious in this photo, taken in the staging area at the Copperhill hotel in the resort town of Åre, future home of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, set for 2019. ▲
A giant lake, blue skies and a few Volvos It took Volvo four months to clear and prepare two long and sinewy driving courses on the ice of Lake Ånnsjön, a short drive from the skiing town of Åre, in Jämtland county, about 600 kilometers northwest of Stockholm. We had a perfect winter day with open skies, a temperature of -10 degrees Celsius and properly hard ice to drive and slide on. The white V90 Cross Country is the T6 model we tested, with the turbo and supercharged, 316-hp gasoline engine. The dark grey cars were D5 models, powered by a twin-turbo diesel engine, that are not coming to Canada. ▲
Making the rounds For a few glorious hours on Lake Ånnsjön, journalists were able to drive the V90 Cross Country and XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid around a long and fast slalom course or the shorter, tighter layout contained within, under the watchful eyes and expert guidance of Swedish instructors. There was more than ample time to test all driving modes on both vehicles and see how they react when the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is set to Sport mode, which deactivates it almost entirely. ▲
Diligent drifters Never-ending, four-wheel slides were the order of the day, especially around the long sweepers at either end of the outer slalom course carefully traced and groomed by our Swedish hosts on beautiful Lake Ånnsjön. The V90 Cross Country’s fifth-generation BorgWarner electronically-controlled all-wheel drive system (formerly known as Haldex) works best when the front wheels are pointed straight. It then sends up to 70 % of engine torque to the rear wheels for maximum forward thrust and sweet handling on ice. ▲
Surprise on ice In spite of its considerable heft of more than 2,300 kilograms, the XC90 T8 R-Design plug-in hybrid was a revelation on the ice. No matter which of its seven driving modes we chose and whether or not the electronic stability control was switched on, the square-profiled SUV tackled every turn with impressive balance and aplomb. Even in Pure mode, with only the rear wheels driven by the electric motor and the ESC in Sport mode, against our Swedish instructors’ advice. The XC90 threaded its way through smoothly, never threatening to spin out, as we fully expected it to. ▲
Getting some grip As any engineer will tell you, tires have virtually no grip on glare ice. So, to make the driving exercises on Lake Ånnsjön feasible and meaningful in the least – amazing fun too – Volvo put all of its vehicles on top-notch Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires sprinkled with a few hundred studs. These were a mere 1.2 mm in size, less than the 1.5 mm studs used by Porsche for the first stage of its Camp4 winter driving program in Canada. The photo also shows the thousands of streaks carved by the studs on the ice surface of the longest sweeper. ▲
The first Volvo wagon Volvo wagons have been famous and popular for more than half a century. It all started in 1953 with the Duett, built by adapting a ladder frame and leaf spring rear suspension to the unit-body structure of Volvo’s PV sedan of the time, to turn it into a sturdier and more practical utility vehicle. The Duett was produced until 1969, evolving gradually and making way for a long line of Volvo wagons. The pristine example pictured here is a P210 model from the early Sixties, displayed in an airy Volvo showroom set in the heart of Stockholm. ▲
Keyword: First Drive: New Volvo V90 Cross Country star on home ice