There was a cliche' in old Western movies where the settlers moving cross country would circle their wagons when the Native Americans would attack (Want the real story? Click here).
Today, we barely have enough (station) wagons to circle. And unlike the Conestoga, none are from this country. The Audi A4 and A6, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon and the Porsche Taycan Club Turismo are all from Germany, the Mini Clubman is from the UK, and the Subaru Outback is from Japan.
And then there's the Volvo V60 Cross Country. From a Swedish automaker, assembled in Belgium, with exactly zero percent U.S. or Canadian parts. And yet, it's arguably the most all-American station wagon you can buy, because it seems the least desperate to scream "I'm not a station wagon!"
You see, the station wagon was a very American thing.
If you're under 45, you may not remember when station wagons roamed the earth---or at least U.S. suburbs. It was a natural for the postwar family. Seating for six (or nine, if you got the rear-facing third row) and cargo space for a massive Costco run before Costco was even a thing.
All the domestic automakers and many of the imports sold station wagons, in small, medium and large sizes. But Ford sold more than anyone else, and the one that many Americans aspired to was the big one---the Country Squire.
And then, National Lampoon's Vacation hit theaters in 1983:
It's probably not fair to blame one movie for the death of the American station wagon, but after seeing this...
...Dad pulling into the driveway with one of these...
....just kinda hit a little different.
America moved on to the just-introduced minivan (also available with fake wood sides):
But Volvo, which had until then built a reputation on safety, saw an opportunity. What if station wagons could be....cool? At least to enthusiasts?
So they put a turbo in the 240 wagon, and marketed it with provocative quotes from Motor Trend about blowing the doors off Saab 900 Turbos and BMWs.
And when the new 740 wagon was ready, Volvo dropped a turbo in that, and cranked up the image-making even further:
It's fair to say Volvo re-invented the station wagon. Only one of the survivors today isn't a performance vehicle. And the 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country, no longer marketed so blatantly, is a performance vehicle, with an option to go even hotter.
Under the hood, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 247 horsepower, an extra 13 horses from a mild hybrid system, an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. Zero to 60 in 6.6. EPA combined city/highway fuel economy estimate: 27 mpg.
That's not hair-on-fire-stuff today, but it absolutely would have terrorized the Turbo 240 and 740 wagons. If you have to have more firepower, there's the V60 T8 Polestar Engineered, which brings 455 ponies to the party and knocks back 0-60 sprints in 4.4 seconds.
There's 23 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat. Fold that down and it's 60.5 cubic feet between the tailgate and the front seatbacks.
Rear seat passengers get an adequate 35.2 inches of legroom.
As it always has, Volvo makes some of the best seats in the business, with great support for fatigue-free long-distance driving.
For 2025, there are two trim levels of the V60 Cross Country (not counting the hot-rod Polestar Engineered). The base car is called "Plus" (ask someone with a marketing degree), and the up-level---our test vehicle---is "Ultra".
The mechanicals are the same, but with Ultra, you get four-zone climate control instead of two-zone, there's a head-up display, eighteen-inch wheels become 19-inchers, there are side scuff plates, and the leather upholstery in the Plus becomes ventilated Nappa leather in the Ultra.
Also, the linear lime interior trim is swapped out for driftwood, the standard gearshift knob is replaced with one of Orrefors crystal, there's tailored stitching on the dashboard, there's a power outlet in the cargo area, power two-way lumbar becomes power four-way lumbar, the driver gets a powered cushion extender, the passenger seat gets a memory function and both seats get powered side bolsters.
Oh, yeah---and the Ultra gets a Harman Kardon premium sound system with an air-ventilated subwoofer.
All of which seems like abundant justification for spending the additional $5,100 ($56,596 versus $51,495) to get the Ultra.
Our test vehicle also had some extra-cost options---$750 for the Climate Package (heated rear seats, heated steering wheel and headlamp cleaners, $390 for the luggage cover, $3,200 for 20-inch 7-spoke wheels with all-season tires, and $3,200 for a Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system.
All told, the as-tested price of our 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country Ultra is $64,135.
My verdict? Yes. This is one I'd happily buy with my own money. Supreme comfort, solid acceleration, impeccable handling and the ability to haul people and things as needed without a stiff penalty at the gas pump.
More people should re-discover the wagon. And the 2025 Volvo V60 Cross Country is a terrific introduction.
