Volvo’s V90 Cross Country is a kind of halfway house between the vanilla V90 and XC90 SUV.

It isn’t just a reaction to the modern driver’s desire for high-riding family transport either because the Volvo V70 XC, launched in 1997, is the car that established this particular category.

It has surprisingly few rivals but, chief among them is the Audi A6 Allroad and Mercedes-Benz E-Class All-Terrain, so despite a legacy that dates back more than 20 years, the V90 Cross Country isn’t going to have it all its own way in this sector.

Ride height has been increased by 60mm over the standard V90, and it’s equipped with intelligent four-wheel-drive as standard across the range. There are also a number of modes that allow you to tailor your driving experience both on and off the black stuff.

Exterior changes are limited to the addition of plastic cladding – black, unless you stump up a bit more cash for body-coloured items – around the wheel arches and at the base of the front and rear bumpers. That’s actually a good thing though, because in my humble opinion the V90, and its little brother the V60, are two of the best-looking estate cars on the market.

And, dare I say, the Cross Country, with its large signature concave grille and Hammer of Thor daytime running lights looks, to these undeniably untrained eyes, pleasingly imposing. In fact, with just a few modifications, like armour plating and a gun turret, I could very easily imagine myself driving around the set of the next Mad Max movie.

That’s all well and good, of course, but you need to know how the Cross Country copes in the real world. If you’ve driven the standard V90 you’ll certainly notice more compliance in the suspension, meaning that there are fewer shocks in store when you’re faced with sharper-edged potholes and broken tarmac.

The trade-off is greater roll when you push it through tighter corners, the raised ride height also plays its part, but it doesn’t seems like an unreasonable compromise when you factor in the increased levels of comfort that the Cross Country offers.

As standard it rides on passive dampers at all four corners but you do have the option of swapping those out for adaptive ones, that allow you to stiffen up the suspension by selecting Sport mode.

An off-road mode allows you to take advantage of the additional 60mm of ground clearance by engaging driving, including hill descent control, and adjusting the four-wheel-drive system so it’s better suited to tackling a rutted dirt track or muddy field. If you forget to switch back to an on-road mode when you’re back on the black stuff the system will do it for you when the pace picks up.

The steering is precise, but vague, and you’ll find yourself in the dark about what’s going on beneath the front wheels. It’s a little too eager to return to the straight-ahead, and it can feel like you’re fighting against it when you’re trying to negotiate a flowing series of bends.

Volvo uses four-cylinder engines across its entire range – both diesel and petrol – using various forced induction installations to offer different power outputs. Under the bonnet of my T5 trim review there is a turbocharged petrol engine that produces 254hp.

It’s a strong performer and produces impressive mid-range grunt when you need to overtake or merge onto a motorway but the eight-speed automatic gearbox is a little sluggish, leading to irritating little pauses while it makes up its mind about what it wants to do.

There’s a dead spot in the initial travel of the accelerator. It’s something to be aware of or you might find yourself pressing the pedal more than is necessary, trying to prompt the car into action, and then getting a little more acceleration than you’d been anticipating.

Refinement is generally reasonable, but perhaps not as good as you would expect in a premium model. Under heavy acceleration there’s some engine noise permeating the cabin, but that quickly disappears once you’re at cruising speed unfortunately, however, that’s replaced by a degree of wind noise and tyre roar. It isn’t overwhelming, but it is noticeable.

The cabin shares much with other models from the across the Volvo range with a centre console that’s dominated by the large, vertically-orientated, Sensus touchscreen display. It’s a system that has allowed Volvo to rid the dashboard of the majority of all those unsightly physical controls and integrate them into the touchscreen interface.

It’s very much like interacting with a tablet computer which means that you can pinch, prod and swipe to your heart’s content.

It responds very well to touch inputs without being overly-sensitive, but I do wonder about the wisdom of putting all your eggs in one touchscreen basket, forcing you to check that your finger has reached its intended target and, even momentarily, taking your eyes off the road.

Leather seats are standard (heated and electrically adjustable at the front) and, on the whole, the fit and finish is exemplary. However, a forensic examination will reveal some areas where the plastics don’t quite live up to the expectations created by the quality of the rest of the cabin.

Passenger space, as you’d expect in a car of this size, is generous. There’s lots of adjustment in both seat and steering wheel position so drivers of any proportion should have little trouble getting comfortable. The seats are comfortable supportive too.

Rear seat occupants should have no reason to be disappointed with the amount of head and legroom afforded them, and you can comfortably accommodate two six-footers riding in tandem. There’s also enough shoulder room across the rear bench to seat a third person, although they will find themselves straddling the transmission tunnel.

The boot is a useful 500 litres. There’s also a decent amount of oddment storage capacity in the cabin with a large glovebox, a tray between the two front seats and large bottle holders in each door.

The standard V90 introduced some upgraded safety systems and these are also present on the Cross Country. The automatic emergency braking is now able to recognise pedestrians and large animals, as well as cars that you’re about to hit head on, and hopefully stop you in time. You also get a speed limit display and lane-keeping assistance, which automatically steers you back into your lane, while blindspot monitoring is an option.

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Other than the slightly compromised ride – and the body armour – the Cross Country is the same as its lower profile sibling, including Euro NCAP’s full five-star crash safety rating. The Cross Country isn’t as comfortable to drive as the standard V90 but if you’re likely to take the occasional trip along a dirt track the additional ground clearance and four-wheel-drive make it worth considering.

Volvo V90 Cross Country Plus T5

Price from: £48,660

Engine: 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Max power: 250hp

Max torque: 350Nm @ 1,800- 4,800rpm

Max speed: 140mph

0-62mph: 7sec

WLTP low: 26.2 – 24.6mpg

WLTP medium: 36.7 – 33.2mpg

WLTP high: 43.5 – 39.2mpg

WLTP extra high: 39.8 – 33.2mpg

WLTP combined: 37.7 – 33.2mpg

Emissions (CO2): 157 – 159g/km

For more information visit www.volvocars.com/uk