The new Volvo V90 Cross Country (pictured) is hugely appealing. But will it sell?
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The new Volvo V90 Cross Country has now been revealed, delivering all-road ability in a high-riding estate as an alternative to an SUV. But will the V90 CC sell?
That off-road bit means a raised ride height, subtle body cladding to save the elegant V90 from rough surfaces, four-wheel drive and a chassis optimised to offer off-road prowess and on-road comfort and control.
It’s a very similar recipe to the one Volvo delivered for twenty years in the XC70 – the All Road take on the old V70 Estate – a recipe that, even in recent years, has seen Volvo shift 30,000 units a year.
But the car world has changed a lot in recent years, and premium SUVs are now selling more than premium estates, and the V90 CC is a premium estate with some SUV DNA thrown in. Which could make it a tough sell, or it could be a runaway success.
The trouble is, Volvo are looking for a niche buyer in an already niche market; a buyer who wants a chunk of the abilities of an SUV but wrapped up in a high-riding estate body. And a buyer prepared to spend much the same sort of money. That’s a tough call.
We don’t yet know how much Volvo will be asking for the V90 CC, but it seems likely the entry-level model will be the V90 Cross Country D5 Momentum.
A regular V90 D5 Momentum will cost £41,555, and an XC90 D5 Momentum £46,850. Assuming the ‘premium’ for a V90 Cross Country over the V90 estate is, say, £2k, then the V90 CC is going to cost just £3k less than the equivalent XC90. And the premium is likely to be more.
Which, if you’re a real hater of SUVs, is a handy saving. But if you’re just looking for the best value, it’s hard to see why you’d choose the very appealing V90 Cross Country over the brilliant XC90 for the sake of a couple of grand.
We hope the Volvo V90 Cross Country is a real success, because it’s an appealing buy and a great looking estate with, it seems, real off-road chops.
But, when push comes to shove, the XC90 is just the no-brainer choice.
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