Volvo V60 Cross Country Review
As with all modern Volvo products, the V60 Cross Country majors on comfort. The V60 is slightly bigger than the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series estates, meaning there鈥檚 plenty of space inside for passengers and luggage. From the driver鈥檚 seat you鈥檒l just about notice the higher driving position offered by the raised ride height, but this is no tall-riding SUV. All-round visibility is still good, however. The Volvo V60 Cross Country measures in at just under 4.8m long, just over 1.9m (a shade over 2m including mirrors) and one millimetre shy of 1.5m in height. It鈥檚 a little larger than conventional executive estates from Audi, Mercedes and BMW, but around the same size as the Subaru Outback - although the latter is around 100mm taller. The V60 has a greater focus on practicality than its stylish V90 sibling, featuring a tailgate that鈥檚 far less raked and therefore a boot with a more practical shape.
Up front, you鈥檒l find some of the best seats in the business - something of a Volvo hallmark - while the rears offer enough space to sit two six-foot adults in comfort. The rear floor isn鈥檛 flat, so legroom becomes an issue with three rear passengers - even if shoulder space is fine. It鈥檚 worth noting too that while rear legroom is okay, it can be hampered if the front seats are set to their lowest positions. There are Isofix points on each of the two outer rear seats. The V60 Cross Country鈥檚 boot measures in at 529 litres - larger than that of the conventional Audi A4 Avant (504 litres) and BMW 3 Series Touring (495 litres), but trails the Subaru Outback鈥檚 559 litres ever so slightly. The Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer is the biggest near-rival, with 560 litres. It鈥檚 interesting to note that the Cross Country does not lose out on space versus front-wheel drive versions of the V60. Folding the seats flat can be made easier with the optional Convenience Pack (拢500), which adds electrically folding rear seats amongst other practical luggage organisation features and extra power sockets. A total of 1,441-litres of space is available with the seats down. The Volvo V60 can tow braked trailers of up to 2000kg when specified with the optional retractable tow bar at just over 拢1,000.
For Dickinson, the checkered flag initially awarded him fourth-place finish behind Root and Thompson. However, Thompson鈥檚 move past Dickinson for third place resulted in a 29 -second penalty equivalent to an in-race drive through and promoted Dickinson to the podium. Thompson was relegated to 10th-place finish overall. Like De Angelis, Thompson also earned points this weekend towards both the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and USA championships. Root鈥檚 Wright Motorsports teammate Fred Poordad collected another podium finish for the team in Race 2 driving No. 20 Porsche. Poordad scored the Platinum Masters victory over GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and USA competitor Alan Metni in the No. 99 Kelly-Moss / AM Motorsports Porsche, who bounced back from retirement in Saturday鈥檚 race. Earning the Yokohama Tire Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions during the race was Gold Class driver Efrin Castro in the No. 65 ACI Motorsports Porsche. Rounding out the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada podium were Patrick Dussault in the No. 77 Lauzon Autosport Porsche and rookie Ethan Simioni in the No. 40 Porsche for Policaro Motorsports.
The runner-up result matches Dussault鈥檚 best of his GT3 Cup Challenge Canada career, which he first recorded at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last month. It also comes on the heels of a frustrating Race 1 at Montreal for the Quebecker, who was spun early but salvaged a ninth-place finish. For Simioni, a rookie in the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada, the third-place finish is his best to date. Teammate Jeff Kingsley in the No. 16 Porsche - who also earned points towards the GT3 Cup Challenge USA championship with JDX Racing - finishing just behind Simioni in fourth. In the Platinum Masters class, Marc Cirone was seeking a weekend sweep of his own in the No. 88 Mark Motors Racing Porsche. However, a spin due to contact from another competitor demoted his Porsche down the leaderboard. Taking the Platinum Masters win in his first weekend this year with GT3 Cup Challenge Canada was Michael Levitas in the No. 37 TPC Racing Porsche. Levitas was the highest finishing Masters driver in the field on Sunday. Sam Fellows earned both the GT3 Cup Challenge Canada Gold Class Victory and the Yokohama Tire Hard Charger Award in the No. 35 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. About Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd. Established in 2008, Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd. Porsche 911, 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman; Panamera; as well as Cayenne and Macan. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, since 2017, PCL employs a team of more than 50 in sales, aftersales, finance, marketing, network development, and public relations. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience in keeping with the brand's 70-year history of leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. In 2019, a Parts Distribution Centre will open its doors and service the countrywide network of 19 Porsche Centres. PCL is the dedicated subsidiary of Porsche AG, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2018, Porsche sold an unprecedented 8,904 units in Canada, up 7.9% over the prior year.
The new Audi A6 Matrix. An updated version of the luxury sedan, the new car gets more features and some design changes, all packed in a single fully-loaded diesel variant. The design changes include a more ornate front grille, revised front and rear bumpers, new side skirts and dynamic side indicators. However, the most important change is the addition of the new Matrix headlamps, which is such a big deal that Audi has even added it to the nomenclature. The Matrix headlamps offer better illumination than almost everything else on the road and yet without troubling the oncoming traffic. The technology uses multiple LED light sources that are intelligently controlled by a camera, so the headlamps self-adjust depending upon oncoming light, thereby providing maximum light without hampering the visibility of others on the road. Our short drive did not allow us to test the technology fully, but these are the most expensive headlamps available in India today and by that simple logic should also be one of the best. The only problem in the new set up is that the DRLs are straight lines and the car loses the little bit of exclusivity that it had compared to the rest of the Audi range. The A6 by itself is a good looking car, but the design is now old and certainly not the most alluring in the segment. The facelift does bring in the novelty factor with the new headlamps, but that is the only difference that one can make out.