2015.5 Volvo V60 Cross Country: Urban Sensibility Meets Outdoor Ruggedness
Move over, minivan. There’s a new ride in town.
What are the words you usually think when you hear “Volvo”? I actually had this conversation with Amelia from Motorhead Mama while we were traversing the dangerous mountain roads in a brand new Volvo V60 Cross Country.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t that dangerous but we did encounter hairpin turns and downed trees. See?
The words we came up with included: Swedish (natch), safety and luxury. But I have to tell you, I don’t usually think of Volvo as a luxury brand. In my mind, a luxury brand often represents something that’s a nice-to-have dream for many of us but simply unobtainable. Volvo feels way more approachable than that and if you get behind the wheel, like I did, you’ll see what I mean.
Road trip in Northern California
As you can see, I was definitely feeling the Volvo love on that trip and if you had given me a pen, I would have signed the forms to take delivery on that V60 when it hits dealerships in Summer 2015. Instead, I put a few weeks and about 3000 miles between me and that amazing trip before I told you what I really thought. Which is…
I love it.
While I’ve never owned a Volvo and have long-admired the Volvo XC90, the Volvo V60 Cross Country is really the car that has everything I need and want.
The design is distinctively Volvo (and yes, it turned quite a few heads). Starting at a base price of $41,000, the interior comes nicely equipped with standard features like leather seating, contour sport seats, power glass moonroof, and the ability to drive what’s being called a “connected car.” Yes, your car is now a mobile hotspot if you so choose.
As part of the Cross Country lineup, this V60 is also outfitted with its signature honeycomb grille design. But when you look closer at the front, you’ll also see LED daytime running lights and sensors that help provide safety features that almost lets this car drive itself.
Features like:
Rear Park Assist Camera – personally, I won’t buy a car without one these days
Belts & doors sensor – alerting you of who, out of five possible passengers, is safely belted and who isn’t (and making sure the doors are closed)
Speed Limit information – I might need to be reminded once in a while of what the speed limit is and if I am actually within acceptable parameters of said speed limit (in this case, I was!!)
My V60 settings – whether you want a lane departure warning, a collision warning, a blind spot information system (BLIS), road sign information, driver alert control, and more, you can quickly set it from the dash and review your selections on screen.
The Collision Warning and Adaptive Cruise Control were two of my absolute favorite safety features. Whether you’re in stop and go traffic and simply want to maintain a following distance or you’re cruising down the highway and want to maintain a safe following distance, Volvo’s technology features add in that safety for you.
But if safety isn’t sexy enough for you, don’t worry.
They have cool little touches like the exact place to put your key while you’re driving (it is a push button start and you can leave your key in your purse if you want).
You can look at the pretty dashboard (with the trademark Volvo style controls) and marvel at the simplicity of the push buttons for one touch control of your on-screen functions.
And you can even make your dashboard look just the way you want with different themes.
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- Three different dash displays called “Themes” are available
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- Elegance has a softer feel.
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- ECO shows you everything to stay eco-conscious.
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- Performance has a bolder, edgier look.
While the inside is gorgeous, sporty, and comfortable (and easily fits a family of five), it’s the exterior that thrilled me. Because THAT is my color.
And we looked really cute standing next to it.
And there’s room for the dog (with safety in mind as well!)
Volvo – you really thought of everything.
Here are some of the key highlights of the 2015.5 Volvo V60 Cross Country.
What We Loved
- Truly an active lifestyle vehicle: urban sensibility of design and beauty, rugged enough for off road (7.9″ ground clearance)
- Contour sport seats were extremely comfortable
- Many luxury features are considered standard
- Purchase includes 6 months of unlimited data (data plan available after that)
- 5 cylinder turbocharge keeps the vehicle strong even at high altitudes
What You Need To Know
- V60 T5 AWD Cross Country, 2.5L I-5, 250 hp, 266 lb. ft. torque, 6-speed Geartronic Auto Transmission w/Adaptive Shift
- MSRP starts at $41,000; as equipped for this review, MSRP is $49,350 (including destination charge)
- Takes regular gas
- Does not replace the Volvo V60 (Cross Country is designed to be a more rugged vehicle)
We were thrilled to attend the Volvo V60 Cross Country Launch in California, which involved a beautiful drive from Calistoga to Lake Tahoe. All travel expenses were provided by Volvo; opinions are my own.
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