When a Volvo rep asked if I’d like to spend time in the latest V60 Cross Country, I probably should have rescheduled. If it was any other car, I would have. But this time, I simply couldn’t.
I love wagons. Deeply. The first car I every really wanted was a turbocharged Subaru GL wagon so that I could haul my drums and snowboard gear along the Wasatch front. That never happened, but my desire for wagons never waned, with rides like the Audi RS4 Avant, Mitsubishi Legnum and Nissan Stagea (and keep that dirty GT-R filth off my wagon!) soon entering my imagined dreamcar garage.
But the wagon I truly lusted after, and continue to do so to this day, is the Volvo 850 T-5R. You know the one: the boxy-but-good styling, the Cream Yellow hue, the turbocharged inline-5, the BTCC pedigree. The one that’s all but unobtainable. The one that, to me, cemented the truth that Volvo = cool wagons.
But the loan dates for this Volvo V60 Cross Country fell on a week I’d be traveling, so I wouldn’t be able to fully experience the car, nor would I be able to shoot my own photos. What’s more, I’d have to spend my own hard-earned dollars parking it at some random airport lot. But with the V90 officially out of production, and the V60 Cross Country on borrowed time, this would be my one and only chance to ever drive a cool Volvo wagon.
Let’s talk about the car that arrived, the 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country B5 AWD Mild Hybrid. It’s a V60 wagon that’s been given the Subaru Outback treatment, meaning it’s got 8.1-inches of ground clearance and some matte-black plastic exterior cladding. And for the one person who will buy a heavily discounted used one 20 years to hoon in the dirt, this Volvo also gets an off-road mode and hill descent control.
Unlike the Subarus, the V60 Cross Country doesn’t scream adventure, feeling more like a street fighter than off-roader despite its increased ride height. Maybe it’s a trick of my tester’s Forest Lake paint which in person looks like a dark gray that seamlessly blends into the plastic cladding. Or maybe it’s the long and low silhouette of the longroof design. Whatever the case, this Volvo still feels like a proper sport wagon, one I loved to stare at every moment I could.
While this V60 Cross Country looks sleek, its numbers won’t set anyone’s hair on fire. The gas side of its mild hybrid the powertrain is a 247-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four, with the electric stuff being a 48V mild hybrid system which includes regenerative braking and a 13-horsepower integrated starter generator. The transmission is an 8-speed auto with manual shift mode, and the front-biased AWD system sends power to the rear as needed. A Family Huckster this is not.
But in practice it all feels respectable. That gas engine delivers 258 lb-ft of torque as low as 1,800 rpm with the electric assist there to keep the power delivery feeling smooth throughout the powerband. Volvo’s press site claims a 6.4-second 0-60 time, which is plenty fast, and the few open freeway entries I had during my time with the car suggest that figure to be true.
Volvo positions itself as an upscale luxury brand, so it should come as no surprise that this V60 Cross Country isn’t tuned like a canyon carver. Comfort’s the name of the game here, and this wagon expertly soaks up bumps and other road imperfections. The steering and brakes also get a more luxury-inspired tune, meaning they don’t give much in the way of tactile feedback, but are responsive and feel accurate. I know, I know… as-written it sounds like yet another typical crossover, but behind the wheel, it somehow just feels better. Credit the comparatively low seating—it does help this wagon feel properly engaging.
As I continue my journey experiencing the vehicles across Volvo’s lineup, I’m finding that they design just one interior—well, they do for the gas-powered ones, at least. Sort of makes me want to make a joke about “Swedish minimalism,” but I not clever enough to make such a joke actually funny. The layout and design, as expected, feels elevated and eschews fussy details, and perhaps thanks to the panoramic glass roof, the cabin itself feels open. Well, mostly open. Like the XC60 I reviewed not too long ago, a big ol’ transmission tunnel eats into the rear footwell, all but eliminating legroom for anyone unfortunate enough to get stuck riding middle seat. Sitting on the sides, though? Not too bad.
Also like that XC60, this V60 Cross Country gets the crystal gear-selector by Orrefors, plus other premium features like heated front seats trimmed in Nappa leather, four zones of climate control, and the super-fancy Bowers & Wilkins audio system.
Missing from this wagon, sadly, are physical buttons, once again replaced by a Google-powered touchscreen display. I get that this may just be a “car reviewer” problem, but I can’t be hassled to use my personal details to continuously log in to strange cars (and I loathe voice control), so I can’t tell you how the technology suite works. It is Apple CarPlay compatible, however, so as usual, I just plug in my phone and forget about things.
So is the Volvo V60 Cross Country B5 AWD Mild Hybrid my dream wagon? Not quite, but mostly because it lacks the analog feel—both in terms of driving and in-car controls—of the older wagons I mentioned at the top of this story. And I can buy a whole fleet of Stageas and Legnum wagons for this Volvo’s as-tested MSRP of $68,665. That’s more than I can afford, pal, but I still like this wagon a whole lot. Maybe I should sit back and wait 20 years… maybe then I can finally afford one and then hoon it off-road.
