Review: 2019 Volvo V60 Cross Country

The tyres are actually normal road tyres, 'summer' tyres at that. Their treads are of course jammed full of soil, yet with all four wheels sharing the traction there's still a degree of purchase surprising in a sleek family estate car toughened-up only with black wheel-arch edges and a ride height 60mm loftier than a regular V60's. That said, tilting an estate car into an off-roader role is a familiar-enough formula, and one which Volvo itself has pursued since the V70 XC in the 1990s.

What we have here is that idea as applied to today's new-look, new-philosophy Volvos, as the company revels in the freedoms allowed by Geely, its forward-looking Chinese owner. The hefty XC90 and cutely-chunky XC40 are opposite size extremes of Volvo's return to the brand's bluff, boxy past, albeit with a deft subtlety and elegance. But the V60 in its various guises melds the signature upright nose and extravagant, rear-pillar-hugging tail-lights into the sort of sleek, shapely body that should remind people that there is load-carrying life beyond SUVs. And with the Cross Country version, the only one with four-wheel drive, you get the best of all these worlds.

Apart from one thing: as launched, the Cross Country comes only with a 190bhp, 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine dubbed D4, and the world is turning against diesels even though the newest and cleverest (like this one) are very clean indeed. A 250bhp T5 petrol alternative is likely to arrive later in the year, but for all Volvo's pledges of electrification there is, as yet, no hybrid planned.

Anyway, this diesel is pulling us up muddy hills with effortless ease, and the Off Road setting of a roller switch also able to offer Eco, Dynamic and Comfort modes ensures the engine doesn't 'bog down' and the Volvo doesn't career downhill and panic its driver. These settings don't alter the suspension, though, which despite Volvo's promise of rough-road comfort is firmer than ideal. So it proves out on the road, too, where I would be happy to trade some lean in the corners for a more languid ride. This is not a sporting car, after all, despite its engine's ample supply of effortless energy and its surprising ability to rev, and if rendered more supple it would still feel a whole lot more agile than a lofty SUV.

That firmness apart, off-road prowess is combined with on-road authority very well. The cabin is calm and extremely comfortable, Volvo's usual huge central touch-screen is the best and most logical of any carmaker's, and the dials – screen facsimiles as they are – are a paragon of clarity. And of course it's a jolly good estate car in the Volvo way. Do you really need an SUV? Have a V60 Cross Country instead, and make the road a nicer place.

Stat attack

Price from: £38,270

Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel

Transmission: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Power/torque: 190PS (187bhp) @ 4,250rpm/400Nm (295lb ft) @ 1,750-2,500rpm

0-62mph: 8.2 seconds

Top speed: 130mph

Economy: 43mpg

Kerb weight: 1,792kg

Option we’d tick: Sensus Connect with Premium Sound by Harmon Kardon, £825