Volvo axed its remaining station wagon models earlier in 2021 with the promise that a new V60 Cross Country would soon arrive to replace them.
Sweden’s family car specialists have now come good on their promise, with the 2022 Volvo V60 Cross Country set to arrive in Australia next month in August 2021 in a single specification priced at $64,990 before on-road costs, or around $71,000 driveaway.
B5 petrol engine only, no diesel or hybrid
The V60 Cross Country B5 utilises a 48-volt mild hybrid adaptation of the turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine used in last year’s V60 T5 wagon.
The two-litre petrol engine produces 184kW of power and 350Nm of torque, sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The V60 Cross Country cuts a handsome profile.
Those numbers make the new V60 Cross Country considerably more powerful than the new Subaru Outback, which is sold only with a 2.5-litre non-turbo petrol making 138kW/245Nm. It’s got more grunt than the 162kW Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, while just 14 undriven examples of the 200kW Skoda Superb Scout remain for sale.
A comfort-focussed Touring suspension setup will be the only setup offered on the Cross Country in Australia, in combination with standard 19-inch wheels with chunkier tyres, or optional lower-profile tyres with 20-inch wheels.
No diesel, plug-in hybrid or fully electric powertrains will be offered, with Volvo officially abandoning diesel in Australia at the end of 2020. The brand has stated its commitment to become an EV-only manufacturer in the coming years, meaning the V60 Cross Country is likely one of the final launches of a new combustion model.
AWD is standard on the V60 Cross Country.
Long list of standard features
Standard equipment on the 2022 V60 Cross Country in Australia will include:
- All wheel drive
- LED headlights
- 19-inch matte graphite diamond cut alloy wheels
- Aluminium roof rails
- Charcoal wheel arch extensions
- Grained leather upholstery
- Driftwood inlays
- Electrically-adjustable front seats with memory
- Heated front seats
- 9-inch touchscreen
- Satellite navigation
- DAB+ digital radio
- High Performance stereo
- Wired Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto
- Wireless smartphone charging
- 12-inch digital driver display
- Ambient lighting
- Quad-zone climate control
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Power hands-free tailgate
The new Cross Country has an understated interior.
Naturally, there’s also a number of passive and active safety features fitted as standard:
- 360-degree parking camera
- AEB
- Adaptive cruise control with low-speed Pilot Assist
- Lane keep assist
- Blind spot monitoring
- Front and rear cross traffic alert
- Traffic sign recognition
None of the eleven available colours carry an extra cost. The palette includes two solids (Black Stone and Ice White), eight metallics (Bright Silver, Onyx Black, Denim Blue, Pine Grey, Fusion Red, Birch Light, Pebble Grey and Thunder Grey), and one exclusive hue dubbed Crystal White.
Inside, two colour schemes are available: charcoal leather, or blond leather with charcoal accents. Both schemes include light grey driftwood inlays.
Standard equipment is generous, and the options list is relatively short.
Further luxury options are available
Priced at a further $3,310, a lifestyle package includes a panoramic sunroof, tinted rear windows, and a Harman Kardon premium stereo. The same package can be had with a high-end Bowers & Wilkins audio system for $5,620.
A number of standalone options are also able to be fitted:
- 20-inch matte graphite diamond cut wheels: $3,310
- Panoramic sunroof: $2,050
- Tinted rear windows: $568
- Nappa leather with seat cooling: $2,785
- Massaging front seats: $1,100
- Harman Kardon premium sound: $1,890
- Bowers & Wilkins audio system: $4,200
- Advanced air cleaner: $525
What is the V60 Cross Country?
Volvo Australia sources say that the V60 Cross Country will give owners of the venerable XC70 a direct replacement. The XC70 was last offered for sale in 2016, priced at $65,290.
XC70 owners were left without a similar-cost alternative from Volvo when the larger, more luxurious V90 Cross Country launched in 2017 with a hefty $99,900 price tag, before a 2019 repricing to $80,990 led to a near doubling of sales.
In 2020, the V90 Cross Country found 97 homes in Australia, while 57 copies were sold in both 2019 and 2018.
Volvo is known as a wagon specialist, but the brand’s SUVs outsell the wagons in Australia by 10:1.
The non-Cross Country variant of the midsize V60 wagon sold strongly in 2020, with 265 sales, while 121 examples were sold in 2019.
Those figures are some way off the XC70, though, which sold closer to the 500 per year mark about a decade ago.
Offering a more affordable V60 Cross Country will give Volvo a closer rival to the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, which recently relaunched in Australia, and the segment-leading Subaru Outback, which often sells in excess of 10,000 units annually in Australia.
There’s just something about a long-roof Volvo.
Still, the V60 Cross Country will likely remain a proposition aimed at Volvo’s rusted-on wagon buyers. Traditionally regarded as a wagon specialist, it is an important hero car for the Swedish maker, even if SUVs have become Volvo’s main business by a huge margin.
Last year, Volvo sold 3,229 copies of its XC40 small SUV, 2,858 examples of the XC60 midsize SUV and 942 units of the XC90 large SUV.
Sweden itself remains a critical market for station wagons, where long-roof estates continue to be in higher demand than high-riding SUVs.
Volvo V60 Cross Country 2022: prices in Australia
All prices listed are before on-road costs.
- V60 Cross Country B5 AWD: $64,990