As we often like to remind people, beware buying any car in its first model year. It takes a little while for any OEM to find its feet with a new model, and now there’s half-baked software that can need frequent updating to worry about in addition to any mechanical woes. I bring this up because various bugs meant that an electric car we were supposed to review had to be repeatedly postponed, as it was away being fixed, and as a result our week with the 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country turned into two. And what a pleasant two weeks they were.
The Volvo station wagon is not in its first production year. Any criticism of its onboard electronics would focus more on the fact that they are now increasingly vintage, but that also means the bugs have mostly been squashed by now. Sadly, Volvo killed off the regular V60 station wagon earlier this year, but you can still buy the Cross Country version, which starts at $51,495, including the delivery charge.
As the name probably implies, the V60 Cross Country has some adaptations for unpaved roads: it rides a little higher and on softer suspension, and there’s protective cladding here and there that gives this wagon a bit of a bold stance.
At this point, I should probably apologize to Volvo. When I last drove a V60 Cross Country back in 2020, it seems I spectacularly missed the point of the car, going as far as to write that jacking up the ride height ruined the way it drove. The older, wiser me realizes that the slightly bouncy ride and light steering actually makes this a very nimble car, and you appreciate its supple nature on rough tarmac. So Volvo, I am very sorry I wrote that you ruined this car.
Things are only let down a bit by the powertrain, which is now Volvo’s B5 mild hybrid. It’s not that the 2.0 L turbocharged engine’s 247 hp (185 kW) and 268 lb-ft (198 Nm) is insufficient for the car’s needs. Rather, the eight-speed automatic transmission’s desire to change into as high a gear as possible as soon as possible, for better fuel efficiency, means that when you do need a burst of power you have to wait a bit for the ‘box to shuffle down through two or three gears. At least it’s a pleasant-sounding engine when it approaches its redline.
Honestly, as much as I like wagons personally, I get it. Crossovers are really basically everything a wagon offers, but more convenient. Do they drive as nicely? No, but few people buying them are looking for driving dynamics or worrying about that slightly higher center of gravity.
Everything else is basically what you get from a wagon, but easier to load and unload, and what many feel is a more commanding driving position.
The difference between these two things is just not that stark:
My wife drives the Mazda CX-5 and I like it just fine. She used to have a Passat Wagon, and the Mazda checks all the same boxes. But if we still had young kids and carseats like we did with the Passat the Mazda would have been easier on our backs.