2016 Volvo S60 Cross Country T5 AWD 
Class: Premium Midsize Car
Dates tested: 12/7/2015 – 12/15/2015
Miles Driven: 154
Fuel Used: 8.7 gallons
Real-world fuel economy: 17.7 mpg
Driving mix:80% city, 20% highway
EPA-estimated fuel economy: 20/28/23 (city, highway, combined)
Base price: $43,500 (not including $940 destination charge)
Options on test car: Climate package ($1550), Blind-spot Information System package ($925), Speed-sensitive steering ($325), Urbane wood inlays ($400), 19-inch black wheels ($750)
Price as tested: $48,390
| CG Report Card | |
|---|---|
| Room and Comfort | C+ |
| Power and Performance | B+ |
| Fit and Finish | A- |
| Fuel Economy | C+ |
| Value | C+ |
| Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup. | |
Quick Hits
The great: Interior materials, control layout, responsive powertrain
The good: Visibility, quiet ride, ease of entry/exit
The not so good: Mediocre fuel economy, limited rear-seat room, subpar trunk space
Check out Consumer Guide’s Premium Midsize Car Best Buys
John Biel
For 2016, Volvo is using its S60 sedan as the basis for a vehicle that sounds somewhat like the classic definition of a crossover. It’s got a car platform, with the ease of use that implies, combined with features like raised ride height, all-wheel drive, and hill-descent control that promise a modicum of sport-utility-vehicle capability on occasions when that would be helpful.
Usually, crossovers are wagon-type vehicles, and Volvo has built some in the past with the Cross Country name. Here, though, the Cross Country label is newly being applied to a premium midsize sedan.
The S60 Cross Country T5 starts at $43,500. In addition to the driveline and chassis features mentioned above, it comes with a 2.5-liter turbocharged 250-horsepower 5-cylinder engine and 6-speed automatic transmission. Other standard features include 3D navigation, 3G Wi-Fi hotspot with built-in apps (such as Yelp and Pandora), 7-inch in-dash color monitor, power driver’s seat with memory, 60/40 split-folding rear seat, adaptive cruise control, upgraded leather upholstery, Harman Kardon audio system, power moonroof, dual-zone electronic climate control, and more. Key built-in safety features include a rearview camera, rear obstacle detection, forward-collision warning and mitigation, lane-departure warning, and Volvo On Call that provides roadside assistance plus remote starting and door unlocking through your cell phone.
First Spin: Volvo S60 Inscription
When Consumer Guide® editors had the chance to drive a sample of the S60 Cross Country, here’s what this driver liked about the car:
- Nicely appointed upscale interior.
- Good front-seat room.
- Generally good outward vision.
- Good organization of numerous control buttons. Radio presets store on a centrally located keypad, the edges of which also group auxiliary control buttons together by function. (Lane-departure and parking warning are together at the lower right, audio is near the top, etc.)
- Ease of entry and exit.
- A fine powerteam. The test car got away from stops eagerly and cruised quietly with good reserve power on the expressway; the transmission worked smoothly and kicked down quickly.
- Fairly quiet ride that’s a little firm but not annoyingly so.
- Responsive handling and sure braking.
Some other aspects of the S60 Cross Country didn’t come off as well in this tester’s estimation. They included:
- Cramped rear-seat leg room, and head room that isn’t as good as in front.
- Ease of use of controls. For instance, it takes a little more work than it should to find and save radio stations; the trip-odometer reset is a game of hide-and-seek through scrolling menus.
- Interior storage. While the glove box is decently sized, the console box with auxiliary and USB ports is small. So are pockets in all four doors. There are two covered cup holders in console, and two more in the rear pull-down center arm rest. (To the good, rear passengers are presented with pouches attached to the backs of the front seats and with a shallow covered storage bin in the armrest.)
- Trunk space. A strange cargo arrangement has a high center floor with big drop-offs to the sides of this platform, and a drop-off to the folded rear seats. Overall, cargo space isn’t all that generous.
- Fuel mileage. After a 107-mile trip, 70 percent of it in city-type driving, this tester recorded just 19.9 mpg, which was just shy of the S60 Cross Country’s EPA rating of 20 mpg for city driving.
CG’s test Volvo turned out to be nicely equipped, albeit at some extra cost. There was a $1550 Climate Package (heated seats, heated washer nozzles, heated steering wheel, heated windshield, and interior air filter), and a $925 Blind Spot Information System Package (blind-spot alert, cross-traffic alert, parking assist, and lane-change-merge aid). With stand-alone options (speed-sensitive steering, wood interior inlays, and 19-inch wheels) and delivery, it topped out at $48,390. For its SUV-like qualities, the S60 Cross Country is unlike most any sedan on the market, and that might be a lure to certain buyers. But as a midsize luxury sedan (note that Volvo considers it more akin to a compact), its shortages of rear-passenger and cargo space leave it at a disadvantage.
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