2022 Volvo V90 Cross Country B6 AWD Review: Pursuing the Best of Both Worlds

The 2022 Volvo V90 Cross Country B6 AWD is neither a full wagon nor a full crossover. It’s something in-between, trying to be the best of both worlds.

We like refer to vehicles like this as wagon crossovers; yes, not very creative or original, but it gets the point across. This entire segment is an interesting space. For decades, the Subaru Outback has been a mainstay in this niche, watching competitors like the Honda Crosstour and Volkswagen Golf Alltrack come and go.

Shortly after the introduction of the Outback, Volvo tried the brand’s hand at producing a jacked-up wagon of their own called the V70 XC. Since then, the name has changed a few times, but the premise of the vehicle remained the same. Take a luxurious wagon, give it a higher ground clearance, increased off-road capability, and a more aggressive appearance. This aptly describes the 2022 Volvo V90 Cross Country.

Currently, the vehicle comes in singular trim, the B6 AWD. The B6 moniker in Volvo speak refers to the triple-boosted powertrain, but more on that later. Our test car came finished in Thunder Grey exterior paint with 20-inch wheels and nearly every possible option box ticked off. The total build came in just under $65,000 USD, or roughly $79,000 CAD.

The V90 Cross Country has crossover capabilities, including 8.3-inches of ground clearance and a 3,500 lbs towing capacity. Despite this, it still looks more like a wagon than a crossover. A lot of this has to do with the Volvo’s low roofline and 195.2-inch length. That’s a longer body than a Toyota Highlander or BMW X5, but when parked next to either of those SUVs, it’s apparent just how much lower the V90 Cross Country’s roofline is.

Inside the V90 Cross Country will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has recent experience in a Volvo product. The twist dial center ignition is there as is the digital gauge cluster and touchscreen infotainment command center. All surfaces are finished in quality materials, with nothing standing out as exceptional or poor. It’s a nice, conservative, and classy atmosphere inside the Cross Country which is refreshingly simple and decluttered.

Maybe a bit too many details have been stripped out of the design though, as we wish there were a few more hard buttons for items like the heated steering wheel and seats. Although they are simple enough to operate through the touchscreen, engaging the small touch points with large gloves is cumbersome. At least the system does remember the last settings selected the next time the vehicle is used.

Our test car came with the massage-enabled front seats which makes an already comfortable place to be, even more so. We have sampled many massage seats in various vehicles in the past but few do it better than Volvo does. Rear seat passengers should also enjoy their time there as it’s a more spacious place to be than the relatively small 35.9-inches of legroom would suggest.

Cargo capacity is rated at 30.1 cubic feet behind the rear seats which once again doesn’t tell the entire story. With a car-like roofline, the V90 doesn’t have the same height a traditional crossover does so there isn’t as much upward storage. But with a 45.4-inch-long cargo floor, the Cross Country can swallow up long, flat items better than a lot of mid-size SUVs.

As mentioned earlier, the V90 Cross Country comes equipped exclusively with Volvo’s turbocharged, supercharged, and hybrid-boosted 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It all adds up to a total of 308 hp combined and 310 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and can transport the 4,213 lbs. crossover from 0 to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds.

When not stoplight chasing, Volvo claims the vehicle is good for 22 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. And relaxed driving is more suited for the V90 anyway. The car doesn’t like to be driven hard; it’s more of a smooth operator. There are oodles of effortless power, delivered in a soft torquey stream. At higher speeds, this instant power delivery does begin to wane, but that has more to do with the transmission programming rather than engine performance. The emphasis is on smoothness, not rapid-fire downshifts.

Its silky persona continues over into the vehicle dynamics. Steering is fluid, like twisting a spoon in creamy tomato soup. The ride is compliant, but not quite as supple as the XC 60 we recently reviewed with the optional air suspension. But the V90 Cross Country trumps the XC 60 in overall driving feel since it’s more of a car than an SUV and behaves that way. Responses are predictable and more controlled. The top-heavy feeling even the sportiest SUVs suffer from are absent for the most part. It’s just miles of proper, composed handling.

But we do have one gripe. We wish there was more customization or control over the driving set-up. There’s only one drive mode available on the V90 Cross Country, an off-road mode which sadly we didn’t have the opportunity to use. A sport mode, or maybe even a set of paddle shifters, would be welcome for when we require a little more haste from the transmission.

For quite some time now, Volvo’s main competitor in the mid-size wagon crossover space has been the Audi A6 allroad quattro. But recently, Mercedes-Benz joined the fray, adding the Mercedes-Benz E 450 All-Terrain into the mix.

All three manufacturer’s offer their respective brand’s wagon crossovers in a singular trim. Audi and Mercedes-Benz combat Volvo’s twin-charged hybrid-four-cylinder by offering turbocharged six-cylinder engines equipped with mild hybrid systems. The V90 Cross Country gives up power to both of its German competitors which translates to a slower 0 to 60 mph time. But with less power and a smaller engine, the Volvo boasts the best fuel economy numbers, beating them by 1 mpg during both the city and highway driving.

All three vehicles are within an inch of each other in total length, but have their interior dimensions laid out differently. Since the E 450 All-Terrain can be had with a rear facing third row, the rear cargo area is bigger than the V90 Cross Country or A6 allroad. But the Volvo’s larger rear passenger compartment gives the car the largest overall cargo capacity when the rear seat backs are folded.

Finally, the V90 Cross County does hold a significant price advantage, with a starting MSRP well over $10,000 lower than its competition. Even when options are added, similarly equipped E 450 All-Terrains and A6 allroad quattros remain about ten thousand dollars more expensive.

In the end, what the Volvo V90 Cross Country is depends on one’s perspective. For some, it’s a nice blend of SUV capability with car-like responses. Others looking for a true SUV may not like its car-like dimensions, while those wanting a sports-wagon might be turned off by its high riding proportions.

We firmly believe though that the V90 Cross Country finds that sweet spot of middle ground between car and SUV. A true crossover concoction taking the best ingredients from both segments. Volvo has spent the better part of twenty-five years tweaking the brand’s range of wagon crossovers and it shows.