Meet the V70 XC’s spiritual successor, the 2016 Volvo V90 Cross Country [+Video]



Remember the Volvo V70 XC? Now it’s back. Well, sort of. Since Volvo doesn’t produce the V70 anymore, the latest V90 has been given the Cross Country treatment instead. It’s the fourth model spun out of the SPA architecture after the XC90, S90 and the V90, and we wonder if there will be an S90 Cross Country soon.

Yes the V90 Cross Country is essentially a jacked-up V90, but Volvo also wants you to know it’s more than that. Apart from the 65mm higher ground clearance (over the V90), the Cross Country variant is also a tiny bit wider due to those chunky arch extensions. The black plastic cladding also covers the lower part of the car, with tougher-looking bumpers and a set of rugged alloys.2016-volvo-v90-cross-country-010

That’s not all. Underneath the go-anywhere styling, Volvo has widened both the front and rear tracks by 20 mm and 40 mm respectively to make it more stable, and a set of higher-profiled tyres should complement the steeper departure angles when the going gets rough.

Inside, the V90 Cross Country looks entirely similar to the V90, but its Drive Mode follows the XC90’s with Off Road mode added to the existing Eco, Comfort, and Dynamic modes.2016-volvo-v90-cross-country-018

Powering the V90 Cross Country is a choice of petrol or diesel 2.0-litre four-cylinder forced induction Drive-E engines, and at launch there will be two flavours of each: T5 and T6 for petrol, and D4 and D5 for diesel.

They’re the same engines already powering other SPA Volvos, so to recap, the turbocharged T5 delivers 254 hp and 350 Nm; the T6 adds a supercharger to produce 320 hp and 400 Nm, while the twin-turbo diesel generates 190 hp and 400 Nm in the D4 and 235 hp and 480 Nm in the D5. An eight-speed automatic sends the power to the all-wheel drive system, but the D4 can also be specified with a six-speed manual transmission.2016-volvo-v90-cross-country-011

In Malaysia, we are still waiting for the S90’s arrival, set to debut sometime next year. It’s presently unclear whether the V90 will even be introduced here because we all know that Malaysians favour sedans and SUVs more than the wagon. It’s a shame, isn’t it?


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