Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

208 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|June 2019

MOTORING

IanLamminggoesallruggedinthenewVolvoV 60 CrossCountry

WHEEL PRESENCE

I

’vejuststumbledacrossagreat

waytogainrespect.I’moutonmy

bicyclebutthenthere’stheneedto

jumpintothetestcartogiveamana

lifttothestation.

Bikesarecumbersomeaffairs

buttheVolvoV 60 CrossCountryswallowsit

nicelywithoutevenhavingtotakethewheels

out,onceI’veloweredthebackseats.

Stillwearingmygreenfluorescentjacket,

Ifindmyselfsittinginaverylargeestatecar,

whichjusthappenstobewhite.Guesswhat?

EveryonethinksI’mthetrafficconstabulary.

Wow,whosaysnoonerespectsthelawany

more?Ifthewaypeopledefer,doffanddelay

isanythingtogobywearestillaverylaw-

abidingnation.

NewV 60 hasgrownawholeheapof

extraroadpresence,evenwithoutthepolice

pretensions.It’saveritableshrunkenV 90

exceptithasn’tshrunkthatmuch.It’sabig

oldestatecarandisallthebetterforit.Cross

Countryupsthegamefurtherstill.

IttakestheV 602. 0 dieselengineand

estateshellbutjacksupthesuspensionby

60 mm,givesitmoretravel,introducesall

wheeldriveandhilldescentandclaggson

somecharcoal-colouredprotectivebodywork.

There’salsoan‘off-road’settingwhich

worksunderthespeedof 25 mphcalibrating

engine,autogearbox,accelerator,andAWD

systemtomaximisetractionandperformance

inslipperyconditions.Usefulfortowing

thehorseboxoffwetgrassandthetraileror

caravanoutofthemud,I’dsay.Mostofthe

timeitsitsin‘comfort’andguesswhat?Yep,

that’sright,it’scomfortable,verycomfortable

infact,somuchsothatitmakesunwarranted

longjourneysfineanddandy.Onoccasions,

specialoccasions,therearevisitstobemade,

therearepeopletobeenduredandthereare

milestobedriven.

V 60 XCprovestobetheperfect

companionandthejourneythereisoverin

theblinkofaneyeandadabofthethrottle.

XCisasuprememile-eaterbeingquiet,

powerful,andadoddletodriveswiftlyand

safely.Climbinsidethequalitycabinand

thereisthenowfamiliarlargetablet-esque

touchy,swipeyscreeninthecentreofthe

dashwithwhichtooperatemultiplefunctions

andviewthesat/nav.

Liketherestofthestableitfeelssolidand

safe.Socomingbackismoreimpressivestill

asI’mevenmoretiredbutoncetheSpotify

isplumbedintotheexcellentsoundsystem

I’mhappytosnuggleintothegloriousleather

seatsandlettheVolvotakethestrain.Quicker

thanIimaginemyexaltedhomecomesinto

viewagainandit’salmostlikeIneverleft–

welldoneV 60 .GetaVolvoV 60 XC,acar

thatdeserveseveryone’srespect. L

‘V 60 XCprovestobe

theperfectcompanion

andthejourneythere

isoverintheblinkof

aneyeandadabofthe

throttle’