by Anthony Fongaro - Photos by Volvo- 06/15/2022
Can you believe that automakers still bring wagons to the United States? These vehicles are hated so much that people would rather buy a more thirsty and less-engaging non-performance SUV. If you talk to any random automotive enthusiast or journalist, they’ll say that wagons are better than SUVs. I will say that I’ve only tested one wagon and it felt like I was driving a rare vehicle. Case in point: the 2022 Volvo V90 Cross Country (shortened to CC) with the B6 engine and all-wheel-drive. Let’s see if the slightly taller large wagon with body cladding is worth skipping over an SUV.
The V90 CC is a long wagon, in tradition with past Volvo wagons. I’m glad that Volvo didn’t mess with the front end because I still love the Thor’s Hammer headlights and one of the smallest grills I’ve seen in recent times. Wearing $700 Thunder Gray and $800 20-inch 10-Spoke Tech Matte Black Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels, the V90 CC is one of the most handsome wagons on the market. The big deal is the hatch at the rear end. It’s similar to the other SUVs Volvo builds with familiar L-shaped taillights and Volvo written loud and proud in the middle of the trunk along. You’ll also see the V90, B6 (I’ll go into them later), and AWD badges. It’s a clean and very Swedish design.
Blond leather covers the cabin and compliments some of the black and silver trim pieces. V90s have almost the exact same interior and infotainment system as other Volvos which is both good and bad. The seats are very comfortable and sticks with Volvo’s theme of being more comfortable than sporty. In front of the driver is the typical Volvo steering wheel which is easy to use for the media and cruise control buttons. There are digital dials, but there is almost no customization other than seeing a map or enlarged dials. Those maps are Google maps since Volvo uses Google and my goodness is it laggy. There were many times that Maps couldn’t find where I was and there is still no Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto. More than once, Bluetooth would just stop working and my music would just shut off.
There is practicality with a few USB ports in the front and ample room in the rear. When you lower the rear seats you get enough room to move a studio apartment. While there are additional features you can buy such as ventilated seats and rear climate control, those were absent and are an over $2,500 option. For a family, that may be an option you would want to tick. Otherwise, the V90 is very comfortable and feels minimalistic. There was a power-operated tailgate for $200 which had a kick-to-open feature under the car which is great for groceries or other heavy items. This is a wagon that’s proud to be a wagon.
If you want the V90 CC to feel a little sporty, there is a manual mode that will hold the gears and you can shift with the shifter going left and right. It may not be a full-on sport mode, but it got the job done. Once again, the V90 CC is created more for comfort than handling. There are plenty of understeers when you corner hard and the V90 CC. Once I did some hard acceleration and cornering tests, I drove the V90 CC in a relaxed manner. Other than the drone of the engine at higher RPMs, it was a sedate drive. Just enjoy the $4,000 Bower and Wilkens sound system with some great-sounding bass and treble.
The numbers
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