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This Is What Ice-Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks Like

The weather continues to be unusually hot for this time of year, creating some weird driving conditions in Sweden. Even though this lake is frozen, the top surface has melted, thus allowing the new Volvo V90 Cross Country to go completely sideways and splash water everywhere.
This Is What Ice Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks Like 6 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
This Is What Ice-Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks LikeThis Is What Ice-Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks LikeThis Is What Ice-Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks LikeThis Is What Ice-Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks LikeThis Is What Ice-Drifting a Volvo V90 Cross Country Looks Like
The V90 CC is the fourth and probably last Volvo model in the 90 series. Carfection says it's good, but they can't give us an honest opinion because of the abnormal studded winter tires fitted to the car, giving it superior grip. Still, watching a Volvo wagon going fully sideways, even for a few seconds, makes the video worth it. It's no Focus RS, but Volvo never claimed it was.

A car that can perform in off-road situations has to absorb much stronger bumps. Likewise, a car that performs on the highway has to deliver confidence at high speed. So with the V90 Cross Country, expectations are set high, since it needs to do both.

The crossover has had its suspension lifted by a massive 60mm over the standard wagon. That was only possible because the suspension systems of the new Volvo platform respond well to tuning. Engineers also fitted the car with a softer tire with rounded edges for better grip and comfort.

Electronics also play a big part. AWD, hill descent control, continuously controlled damping and stability control have had to be adjusted for the unpredictable off-road conditions.

To accommodate the bigger wheels, designers have created arch extensions that are part of a rugged body kit. On the inside, this is by no means related to the agricultural Volvos of old. In fact, it's as pleasant a place to be as any top-shelf German luxury wagon.

Under the hood, we have the familiar T6 powertrain, pushing out 320 PS thanks to a supercharger and a turbocharger. Normally, the power goes to the front, but the computers are helping the driver keep the V90 CC sideways on that lake, so it's ready for all sorts of conditions.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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