About a week ago, the fine folks at Volvo gave us a short video teasing the all-new Volvo V90 Cross Country. They left us with a slight glimpse of the front fascia and said that the full reveal would come later in September. Volvo has now fully revealed the V90 Cross Country and it certainly looks intriguing. Receiving the typical off-road ready treatment, the V90 Cross Country has gained a number of cosmetic and performance enhancements.
Cosmetically, the changes are subtle, but have a great effect on the look of the car. With matte plastic cladding lining the lower edges of the car, Volvo has achieved a rugged, capable look that can take the beating of driving off-road. Also crucial to any cross country model is the raised suspension given to the V90. In this instance, the Swedes have given the new Cross Country an additional 60mm or 2.3in of ground clearance. With a new total ground clearance of 8.3in, and skid plates to boot, the V90 Cross Country has the potential to be a very capable off road vehicle.
Volvo made it quite clear that the emphasis with this car was to afford people capability and comfort in any driving condition, be it on or off-road. As such, the Swedish automaker devoted a lot of time and money into developing and refining the suspension so that it withstand the forces of off-road driving, as well as inspire confidence and composure while driving on the highway. Volvo says that they tweaked over 200 different components of the double wishbone and air suspension so that they could deliver a product capable in any condition. They even developed new tires specifically for harsh off-road trails. To further boost the car’s off-roadability, the V90 Cross Country offers hill descent assist, continuously controlled damping, and of course all wheel drive.
The V90 Cross Country will have two engine options at launch being the 2.0-liter four cylinder T5 and T6 engines. While not confirmed, the T8 will probably be available at some point. All of these engines will come with an eight-speed automatic transmission and will be coupled to a fifth-generation Haldex AWD system.
It seems like the Swedes have gone all out on their latest addition to the 90 series platform. Production begins in Torslanda, Sweden at the end of 2016 and the V90 Cross Country will be on sale in March of 2017 at a starting price of $56,295.
While you wait for the latest offering from Volvo, why not check out our muddy, off-road review of another car that wears the Cross Country Moniker, the V60 Cross Country:
