Volvo V60 Cross Country T5 2019 UK review

[EVIL BABY.]

What is it?

This is a Volvo V60 Cross Country - a car we’ve had a fair amount of experience in now, and have actually come to like quite a lot for its laid-back demeanour and soft-edged, staunchly comfort-oriented on-road dynamics. 

While we’ve driven the D4 diesel model on UK roads before, this is the first time we’ve had a go in its gasoline-burning sibling, the T5, on home soil. Being a Volvo, the technical specification of this powertrain makes for familiar reading: it’s got an engine with four cylinders that displace some 2.0 litres, there’s a turbocharger in the mix, and an eight-speed Aisin automatic transmission is used to direct its 247bhp and 258lb ft drive to all four wheels.
this is all housed within the confines of Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture platform. Like the regular V60, suspension is by way of double wishbones and coil springs up front, with a multi-link arrangement and transverse leaf springs employed at the rear. Unlike the regular V60, its ride height has been lifted by 60mm, and a more sympathetic, soft-edged suspension geometry has been engineered in.

What's it like?

In much the same way as the oil-burning D4 version we drove earlier this year, the newly introduced T5 is very much a car for wafting about in. The supple tune of its suspension lends it impressive pliancy on rolling British Tarmac, though it’s not so soft that its vertical movements feel unduly wayward or uncontrolled. In terms of its primary ride, the balance its suspension tune strikes between assertion and comfort is very commendable.

That’s not to say it’s perfect, mind. Over expansion joints, ruts and other scarred or broken sections of roadway, the V60 Cross Country did express a minor yet noticeable tendency to become slightly more agitated than you’d like. Well, perhaps agitated is the wrong word, but these sorts of surfaces were successful in making themselves felt - even if the manner in which they broke their way into the cabin was for the most part soft-edged and blunted. We’ve said before that this could well be a product of having 19in alloys fitted to our test car as opposed to the standard 18s, but without trying the smaller wheel it’s tricky to say for sure.

As for the engine, it’s a particularly demure, understated thing provided you use it in a demure, understated fashion. On part throttle, it’s hushed and responsive enough, while the manner in which the transmission hooks up from a standstill is smooth and largely seamless. 

Treat it as though you’re channelling your inner neanderthal, however, and it’s a bit less convincing, becoming vocal enough towards the top end to dissuade you from repeating such behaviour. Its accelerative potency, meanwhile, is strong enough without being outstanding - but it feels a shade slower than its 6.8sec 0-62mph time suggests it might. You’ll also expose the gearbox’s slight hesitancy to kick down.

But with slower, more relaxed steering and that softer suspension tune, this isn’t really a car you gain much from driving hard anyway. It’s certainly stable and secure enough, but there’s no massive driver reward to be reaped here. But that’s fine – driven in an unhurried fashion, it’s highly likeable indeed: smooth, refined, comfortable, if a little dynamically dull. 

Oh, it’s got a luxurious, richly trimmed interior with plenty of room in the second row, too. And a 529-litre boot (measured to the top of the rear seats) that can extend up to a maximum capacity of 1441 litres isn’t bad, either.

Should I buy one?

With prices starting at £39,935, the T5 is the cheapest - if such a word applies at this price level - V60 Cross Country you can buy. Given the petrol powerplant is smoother and more refined than the diesel engine you get in the D4, the fact it’s also not quite as efficient might be easier to overlook for those who won’t regularly be out on the motorway.

But regardless of engine choice, the fact remains that the V60 Cross Country is a highly capable premium estate car. It’s not a particularly exciting one, but it’s incredibly sharply styled; has a practical, well-appointed cabin; and is backed up by impressive comfort and cruising capabilities. It might be a bit, you know, suburban, and it won’t exactly get under your skin, but it’s certainly difficult to dislike.

Volvo V60 Cross Country T5 AWD specification

Price £39,935 On sale Now Engine 4 cyls, 1969cc, turbocharged, petrol Power 247bhp at 5500rpm Torque 258lb ft at 1800-4800rpm Transmission 8-spd automatic Kerb weight 1815kg 0-62mph 6.8sec Top speed 142mph Economy 34.9mpg CO2 184g/km Rivals Audi A4 Allroad, BMW 3 Series Touring