The Volvo V40 Cross Country
And here comes the head turner.
There is no doubt that the Scandinavian auto giant has put its heart into the design of the V40.
The shoulder blades of this beauty are its angular rear lamps and are the best aspects of design. The Passion Red model that I drove with black two-tone design elicited nothing less than gasps through the 12 km test drive. The 4-year kid sitting with his mom in the sedan, the businessman reclined at the back of his saloon, the guy who was driving the SUV, the man on his moped, the pedestrians, the auto rickshaw driver and his passengers…and obviously I preened in the driver’s seat.
When you are able to tear away from the looks, the other little things become obvious. First, it is not a compact SUV. It is a luxury hatch. The fact that it still gets mentioned in the same breath as Q3, X1 and Mercedes GLA is testimony to its engineering excellence and design.
The leather seats are black, but unlike the X1, they are beautifully crafted and compliment the black ‘waterfall’ console. The fixed tinted sun/moon roof completes the elegance. Rear leg space is better than the Q3 and X1. But ground clearance is low at 155m and boot capacity of 335 ltrs is quite small. The 2.0 ltr diesel engine is noisy and sluggish on the pick-up. It has some unique features like Pedestrian detector, something that we would value in India. Anyone over 5’11” – driver or passenger - watch out for headroom space!
At app. 45 lacs (on road, Bengaluru) it is a steep price for a luxury hatch.
Overall: Brilliant design, thoughtful features, fabulous colors. V40 Cross Country – take a bow!
If you…want to stand out, be seen, make heads turn, forget everything and go for the V40.
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