Volvo Might Be Spinning Up a New Off-Road Trim Level, and You've Already Seen It

Motor Trend

2 days ago

Volvo's Cross Country trim level has been around since 1997, when it was first applied to a lifted V70 station wagon decked out in Subaru-es que plastic body armor. For a time, the Cross Country name was also used interchangeably with the 'XC' moniker before reverting back to the longer Cross Country when XC came to underpin Volvo's SUV naming scheme. (Do you have that all straight?) Until now, the trim has adorned only cars (mostly wagons, though there was one sedan!) modified like that original V70. So, what does it mean, if anything, that for the first time ever, an SUV—namely the 2026 EX30 electric SUV—is getting the Cross Country treatment?
Volvo is introducing the Cross Country trim to the EX30 electric SUV, marking the first SUV and EV to get this off-road treatment. This could expand to other Volvo SUVs if successful, leveraging the brand's off-road heritage and appealing to adventure-minded buyers.
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As a practical matter, the use of the Cross Country name on the EX30's more off-road-y variant is one of convenience. The EX30 Cross Country, with its mildly raised suspension, special black plastic styling elements and fender flares, and available all-terrain tires closely follows the established Cross Country formula. What else would Volvo call it?
But that simple explanation glosses over the "firsts" this Cross Country represents: As outlined, it's the first Volvo SUV to bear the name, and the first EV. Every other Cross Country has been a car modified to (vaguely) resemble an SUV. Applying the name and treatment to an actual SUV, even one that blurs the line between SUV and hatchback like the EX30, is a major development. What's In a Name, Then?
We don't think Volvo ginned up the EX30 Cross Country simply to convince people the EX30 is an SUV, since the EX30 already is SUV-shaped and the EX program goes beyond what any standard XC product gets. It's additive, not equalizing, relative to Volvo's internal-combustion SUVs. Again, it follows closely the beefed-up Cross Country guise that is now the only way to buy a V60 or V90 station wagon in America. (Those are available as regular cars, sitting lower to the ground sans fender flares and toughened-up styling, in other markets.) In other words, it is a proven, repeatable off-road-ish format that Volvo has now spread to multiple models over the years.
So, our natural question posed to Volvo after driving the new EX30 Cross Country was this: Will other Volvo SUVs get the Cross Country option, and is the automaker looking at spinning it off into a new off-road sub-brand? Shiqian Li, vehicle product lead for the EX30 hinted as much, but noted that Volvo is seeing how the market reacts to the EX30 Cross Country first. If people like the EX30 Cross Country, then Volvo could look at adding Cross Country variants to other SUVs where it makes sense.
Other automakers are flirting with such off-road-lite sub-brands of late, with Honda spreading its TrailSport trim level from the Passport to the Pilot and CR-V; Kia introducing its X-Pro guise on the Telluride three-row SUV and other models; and Hyundai offering an XRT trim that, applied to the Ioniq 5 electric SUV, largely matches the EX30 Cross Country's upgrades and up-armored look.
It makes sense for Volvo to go there, too, especially given its Cross Country heritage and name recognition. On the EX30 specifically, the Cross Country setup gives the fun, small SUV appeal to a different crowd and lets Volvo go full ham sandwich, offering adventure-minded buyers outdoorsy accessories and add-ons such as mud flaps, roof racks, and more. History Repeats Itself
In a way, every Volvo SUV today—save for the new all-electric models—owes its name to the original Cross Country. For the V70 Cross Country and its successors, Volvo shortened the name to XC, as in, XC70, until the 70-series cars went away. The smaller V60 and larger V90 wagons that came later readopted the Cross Country nomenclature for their XC'd variants. In the meantime, "XC" came to underpin Volvo's naming scheme for its internal-combustion SUVs: XC40, XC60, and XC90. Volvo could, in theory, append "Cross Country" to those names for off-road-ish variations similar to the V60, V90, and EX30 Cross Country models without creating a redundant-seeming word salad, at least to those not steeped in Volvo naming history. Same goes for the brand's all-electric SUVs, which are emerging with "EX" naming that mimics the XC names (the upcoming EX60 is the XC60's electric sibling, while the EX90 is the XC90's electric counterpart—ditto the EX40 and XC40). The EX30 has no internal-combustion-powered counterpart, but it does have a Cross Country model.
Right now we're not sure whether the Cross Country treatment could or would expand beyond Volvo's electric SUVs (the upcoming EX60 seems like the natural next candidate for the off-road upgrade). The internal-combustion XC products are older, and Volvo has said they'll eventually go away near the end of the decade. But until then, those aging products—two of which, the XC60 and XC90, just received light, mid-cycle-style upgrades—could use a shot in the arm; and the XC60 and XC90 offer adjustable air suspensions, making them somewhat easy starting points for Cross Country status. Simply add some fender flares, tougher bumpers, and voila, right? We'll see how people respond to the first Volvo Cross Country'd SUV first, but we wouldn't be shocked to see the Cross Country sub-brand's second act.