We recently spent a few weeks in Europe, and there were a lot of things I was jealous about: the food, the history, the speed limits, and the fact that I saw station wagons everywhere. By comparison, here in North America, our wagon selection is woefully thin, with the overwhelming majority of buyers preferring crossovers and SUVs over wagons by a long shot. What, then, do we make of the 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country?
It’s billed as a station wagon, but because the Cross Country is lifted and wears body cladding, it’s essentially a crossover, no? Adding to the slight confusion, Volvo sold a body-cladding-free version of the V60 until recently alongside the Cross Country. But I digress—we have so few wagons here in North America, anyway, that we’ll let it shore up the roster. Also, credit where it’s due: between this and the V90 Cross Country, Volvo is one of the very few automakers keeping wagons alive here in North America.
Aesthetically, not a lot has changed over the last few years for the V60. Its last refresh was two years ago, so 2025 is mostly a carryover year. That is no bad thing, as the V60 has always been a looker. Volvo’s understated lines and clean design elements mesh well with the wagon body style; up front, you have their signature “Thor’s Hammer” headlight with a classy-looking and right-sized grille. Down the sides, a satin metallic trim integrated with the body cladding adds some understated pizzazz, and attractive 20-inch wheels fill up the large and lifted wheel arches—themselves accented with more body cladding for some extra off-road flair. Around the back, Volvo’s signature ‘hips’ and vertical tail lights integrate well. If you’ve seen any Volvo from the last decade or so, none of this will look or feel new, but Volvo’s designs age like fine wine. The V60 Cross Country is no exception.
The interior is similarly classic Volvo, with understated elegance and solid build quality being mainstays. It’s mostly minimalist, with a nine-inch portrait-style infotainment touchscreen front-and-centre and another 12.3-inch display used for the digital gauge cluster. Graphics across both displays are simple, but clean-looking and mostly easy to use. The Google-based software was a recent introduction, but to be frank, it’s starting to feel a little long in the tooth. Some icons look dated, the menu style is passable but far from cutting-edge, and certain icons and text can sometimes be difficult to read on-screen because they’re so small.
The rest of the interior is more timeless. Everything feels solidly built, and the textbook Swedish emphasis on minimalism means the V60 Cross Country is a serene place to be. The comfortable and supportive seats live up to Volvo’s reputation of having the best seats in the business, and the interior is spacious. There’s plenty of headroom both front and rear, and the generous 658-litre boot grows to 1,431 L when you fold down the rear seats.
Our tester is finished in Volvo’s two-tone Blond Nappa leather with a charcoal dash; not the most exciting, but it pairs well with the Vapour Grey exterior paintwork. Personally, I’d spec the Maroon or Amber colourway, which feature a warmer and more classic brown wood trim, versus the Blond interior’s silver driftwood. Regardless of what you spec, all V60 interiors feature a tasteful amount of chrome trim, and the optional, $4,000 Bowers & Wilkins sound system elevates that by adding some of the most beautiful metal speaker grilles and signature tweeter atop the dash. The fact that it sounds marvellous is the icing on the cake—seriously, you need to hear it. The last piece of jewellery is the crystal gear shifter crafted by Orrefors, a Swedish glassware company that’s existed since 1898.
The V60 Cross Country is a mild hybrid. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine, working with a small 8 kW electric motor and miniature 0.4 kWh battery pack. It’s not designed to provide any electric-only range, but instead helps maximize the efficiency of the gas engine by handling things like the automatic start/stop—seriously, it’s nearly seamless here—and provide torque fill as needed off the line. If you’re looking for actual electric range, there’s a plug-in hybrid version available.
The mild hybrid powertrain is tied to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive. I wouldn’t call the V60 Cross Country particularly quick, putting out 247 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, but it’s smooth, punchy, and remains quiet unless you’re really aggressive. I did observe a few quirks, however, that took away from the overall experience. Throttle input has a slight delay, so I caught myself lunging the V60 forward involuntarily at times. The transmission is similarly lazy and doesn’t always downshift when you want it to. You’ll certainly get used used to these quirks over times, but it’s a bit of a mismatch against the otherwise buttery mild hybrid powertrain.
Beyond that, the V60 Cross Country’s quality feels neither overly soft or athletic, but it’s competent and comfortable. I’d complain about the light steering, too—even in its “sportiest” setting, it’s still far too light—but it works with its comfort-first dynamic.
At $75,464 as-tested, it’s kind of hard to evaluate whether or not the 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country is a good value. It doesn’t have much, if any direct competitors here, what with our lacking wagon portfolio. But if you look at the V60 Cross Country against more traditional luxury crossovers, it emerges as a stylish and understated alternative to what everyone else buys. Just make sure to spec the Bowers and Wilkins sound system. Trust me, it’s worth it.