Volvo has confirmed the high-riding V40 Cross Country crossover will come Down Under but won’t be drawn on when.
A variant of the V40 premium hatch, launched locally this week ahead of its March 1 on sale date, the V40 Cross Country will be the first model to wear the resurrected Cross Country moniker to make it to Australia.
Volvo Australia box Matt Braid told motoring.com.au that the car was confirmed for Australia but wouldn't confirm details.
“We’re concentrating on getting the V40 [hatch] into the marketplace. That’s the priority, but the decision has been made to add the Cross Country to the line-up,” he said.
Both front and all-wheel drive versions of the V40 Cross Country will be offered locally. Braid cautions, however, that the Cross Country will demand a premium over the hatch. The just announced front-drive only V40 hatch range kicks off at under $35,000.
According to Braid, the Cross Country line-up will be skewed towards the top end of the line-up to compete against the likes of BMW’s X1.
“The X1’s a more logical competitor than the [Audi] Q3,” Braid said.
Volvo will use the Cross Country label to differentiate between SUV and crossover high-ride variants of its mainstream sedan, hatch and wagon models. The XC label will in future be used only for pukka SUV style vehicles ie: XC60 and XC90.
Lifted wagons and the like will be ‘Cross Countrys’ – a label the Swedish marque previous applied to special versions of the V70 from the late 1990s through to introduction of the XC70 in 2003.
motoring.com.au believes Volvo Australia is targeting an onsale date for the highriding V40 before the end of 2013.
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...