Volvo acknowledges that this is not a car it will sell in large numbers in the UK. But do you think that's going to stop us writing about it? Come on. You know us better than that.An odd fish, this one. It's part of the recently-introduced V40 Cross Country range which was introduced at the same time as the R-Design, and you can find an overview of both models here.Briefly, the point of the Cross Country is to give the impression of off-roadiness while actually providing very little of it. Despite its appearance, more rugged than that of other V40s, the only genuine response to the call of the wild is a 40mm increase in ride height which improves ground clearance but does considerable damage to the handling.Combine that with the 251bhp produced by the 2.5-litre turbo petrol engine and you could be forgiven for shifting uncomfortably in your seat at the thought of how wayward this car must be on corners. But wait. There's more.You see, it's a general rule with the V40 Cross Country that you don't get four-wheel drive, but there's one exception, and that's the T5. Just as well. The Cross Country is inferior on the road to any other V40, despite Volvo's assertion that "a huge effort" has gone into ensuring that it wouldn't be. It feels clumsy, and in the specific case of the T5 it definitely doesn't feel like it should have 251bhp.But the four-wheel drive system, rather than turning the Cross Country into the semi-SUV it looks like, spreads the power across both axles rather than concentrating it all on the front one. And because of that, you get the straightline performance (0-62mph in 6.4 seconds) without having to fight to keep control.This is in no way a sporty car, and there's not much temptation to drive it quickly, but if you do it's your hands rather than your right foot that dictate the direction of travel. If the T5 Cross Country were front-wheel drive I'm not at all sure that that would still be the case.It's perhaps also significant that the T5 is the only V40 not available with manual transmission - the six-speed Geartronic automatic, which slightly dulls the car's response to anything the engine does, is all that's on offer.Still, an ability to accelerate hard without jumping into the scenery hardly justifies a list price of nearly £34,000. If you want a performance hatchback and you have that amount of money, you can do so much better. And if you want a V40 that's fun to drive without necessarily being quick, a non-Cross Country D2 model with the least powerful diesel engine in the range blows this one out of the water.Volvo has said that it believes 10% of V40 buyers in the UK will choose the Cross Country. Of those, only a tiny minority are expected to opt for the T5. Quite how tiny a minority is a matter for speculation, but I have to say I'd be surprised if anyone bought one at all. Engine 2497cc, 5 cylinders Power 251bhp Transmission 6-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 34.0mpg / 194g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 6.4 seconds Top speed 146mph Price £33,875 Details correct at publication date
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