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The accommodations are first rate with ample everything for five or even six people. The interior is very driver oriented with every control within easy reach. The switches are well-damped and solid—worth every penny you’ll spend on this car or SUV or whatever you’d like to call it. Despite the lack of iDrive, MMC, COMAND or any crazy German acronym, the controls are easy to use and decipher, albeit a bit of a button fest. Detailing is subtle but nice and flawless. There’s no wood, which is actually quite nice—only brushed aluminum accentuating the interior lines. The cabin lacks cubby holes for those akin to American tastes, but the numerous pockets in the passenger compartment and cargo bay more than make up for it. The loading bay is square, upright and vast perfect for throwing all sorts of stuff. The XC70 can swallow your golf set, weekend’s worth of luggage and your lab with minimal fuss. Try doing that in your sedan. Being the range-topping V70, the Cross Country gets everything absolutely as standard: tasteful leather, CD stacker, an 8-speaker system, electronic seats with memory, hands-free phone, climate control—basically things you could only wish for in the more expensive BMW X5 3.0d. However, mind you, this is still no driving machine. It accelerates excellently and brakes superbly despite the added weight. Show it a corner though, and then it understeers throwing in a bit of wheelspin, despite the all-wheel drive when exiting out of a corner. Still, I like it. I drove it to Tagaytay and it was so relaxing that I envied my companions as they snoozed like babies. It’s quiet, comfortable and smooth—a Swedish massage on all-wheel drive. |
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