The Volvo S60 Cross Country Will Be A Rare Bird

One of the big surprises and head-scratchers at the Detroit Auto Show was the Volvo S60 Cross Country. Taking the formula of the V60 and XC70 Cross Country, Volvo applied it to the S60. But according to Car and Driver, we'll on see around 500 S60 Cross Countries come to the U.S. in 2015 - likely wearing the Austrian Gray shown on the show car or white and black. Meanwhile in such markets as Russia and India, the Cross Country may actually take the place of the standard S60.

So why even bring the S60 Cross Country to the U.S. if there will only be a small number of them? According to head of Volvo's North American head Lex Kerssemakers, the model is an experiment for the company to see if it can attract a certain type of buyer: those who want the idea of an SUVs and crossovers, but not in an SUV- or crossover-sized package.

“There are so many niches popping up these days. You see our competitors trying to fill all sorts of niches, and I’m not convinced that the consumer is really ready for all those niches. But in all fairness, you don’t know until you have tried. You can test and clinic whatever you want, but at the end it’s the real life in which you have to find it out. We’ll see how it works,” said Kerssemakers.

“So what we did is we tried to combine the popularity of the [sedan] market and add a more expressive dimension to the exterior, and last but not least, offer the increased ride height so you’re sitting two and a half inches higher off the road. We said, ‘Let’s see if we can create that market.’"

Source: Car and Driver