Volvo V40 Cross Country T4 Review
Country Spirit

It’s probably an open and well-known fact by now that the vast majority of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) don’t actually see any actual off-road action. Most are purchased purely for the looks and image alone, by people who see the need to appear rugged when in fact they won’t tackle anything tougher than a multi-storey carpark ramp.

Nothing wrong with that really, and in fact the market for these is now so huge that carmakers have been producing ‘faux-roaders’ for these people for quite some time now. Take the V40 Cross Country we have here. By all accounts it is essentially a regular Volvo V40 hatchback, but the Cross Country variant adds a few tough bits and a raised ride height, for an altogether more menacing and rougher look.

The Cross Country, like the regular V40, has recently been facelifted, and the T4 variant we have here even has a new, more powerful engine to boot.

Exterior

The obvious visual differences between the Cross Country and a standard V40 are pretty noticeable. The car is taller by 40mm from the regular hatchback, and with it comes fancy rugged bits like the side sill extensions and the rear bumper skid plate with ‘Cross Country’ emblazoned across it, to further emphasise home the point. It also gets nice sporty touches like a rear wing spoiler and aerodynamic fins and winglets here and there, while new 18-inch wheels and gloss black wing mirrors further add to the car’s sporting pretensions.

For the facelifted V40, the car gets new headlights, incorporating the “Thor’s Hammer” design highlight first seen on the new XC90 and S90, as well as a redesigned grille with the Volvo logo now enlarged and taking pride of place in the front and centre. It all makes for a rather imposing presence, which is good really given that most drivers of such cars really like to make a big impression upon others.