If you look closely at the Indian automobile market , one type of car is conspicuous by its absence. From hatchbacks to sedans and the current favourite SUVs, there are different types of cars, but estate or station wagons have been noticeably absent.It is not that car manufacturers have not tried. We have had estates like the Premier Padmini Safari, Tata Estate, Opel Corsa Swing and Fiat Palio Weekend/Adventure, but none could drive into the fast -lane. Even the country's largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki , dabbled with an estate car by introducing the Maruti Baleno Altura, but that did little in terms of volume.It comes as some surprise that Scandinavian luxury car-maker, Volvo, would want to wheel in the Volvo V90 Cross Country , and hope to create a difference.From the front the V90 Cross Country is similar to the S90, which is a good thing. The grille is similar to the latter , but gets small metallic inserts. The front continues to be dominated by the 'Thor hammer' headlights and bold curves on the hood give it a muscular look.But, all comparison ends there as the Cross Country gets a sizeable amount of ground clearance - 210 mm to be precise. The 20-inch Pirelli wheels are specially designed for the Volvo V90 Cross Country, and about an inch bigger than what is found in P Zeros. The wheel arches get a plastic cladding that adds to the off-road stance of the vehicle.At the rear a big plastic cladding runs below the fender with Cross Country written on it. The tail light treatment is typical of what you find in Volvo nowadays, reminiscent of the XC90. However, the shapes and lines at the rear have enough differentiation to make you realise that what you have is a station wagon, and not an SUV.The problem with wagons have primarily been the fact that manufacturers often end up making them look ugly. Volvo engineers, have, however, done a good job in giving it a masculine look, , with a longer boot upping its appeal.The amber-coloured Nappa seatsis a good idea Beige seats in the Indian climate is difficult to maintain.. The interiors are familiar, minimalistic, yet elegant.The front seats have a massage facility - heating and cooling inbuilt - which means long drives become less painful. You can extend the thigh support, almost recliner-like! Headroom is good and the large panoramic sunroof makes the cabin airy. The rear seats are comfortable, but getting a third person in the rear bench can be a problem given the car has a high central tunnel.As with the others in the stable, gone are all the buttons and replaced by a 12.3-inch touchscreen that controls everything from audio, seat heating, climate control to navigation. Ditching the buttons is a great idea, although it takes a while to get used to it!. Despite using it on the XC90, and again on the S90, I still had to shuffle across screens to find a particular function - and this can be an issue, especially if you are driving and new to the car.The sound system is from Bowers and Wilkins and the 19-speaker system is easily one of the best there is in a luxury car in the country. The heads-up display unit provides all the relevant information to the driver's vision without being obtrusive.While there are different configurations of the engine for the V90 Cross country around the world , India gets the D-5, which is a four-cylinder turbo-charged diesel engine. The 235 Hp engine produces a 480 Nm of torque and is mated to an 8-Speed automatic transmission. Power delivery is not as seamless as we would have expected it to be. Floor the throttle and at times you do realise that it is a four-cylinder engine, however awesome it may be. But for normal driving there is enough juice on offer.The car deploys something called the Power Pulse technology to provide instant acceleration, but surprisingly in our review we did notice a hint of lag. At the moment only the D5 is available in India, but perhaps it would be nice to have the T8 Plug-in Hybrid. And while there no petrol version yet, the company says it can roll out one in six months if the need arises.Despite the taller stance and higher ground clearance, the V 90 Cross Country drives pretty much like the S90 sedan. The suspension soaks most of the bumps and potholes with ease, giving a sense of ease. The sharp twists and turns on the road to Coorg was handled with composure including corners.However, do not expect S90-like driving manners. The car employs the Haldex all-wheel drive and four driving modes are available - Eco, Comfort, Off-road and Dynamic.As with other Volvos, what you get is a long line of safety equipment. Pilot assist, city safety, lane keeping aid, park assist, hill start assist, hill descent assist, emergency brake assist, make up a fraction of what is on offer. Aspects like city safety and emergency brake assist work perfectly and we also got to test out aspects like hill start assist in the roads of Coorg.What do you do with a vehicle like the V90 Cross Country? It is as good as any SUV in the market and almost behaves like a sedan. It is practical, has a boot that can fit the Titanic and most importantly, does not compromise on luxury. I think in the end what Volvo has offered us is a quasi-SUV that can appeal to many. It is a bet no doubt, but a beautifully-crafted Scandinavian one.The Volvo V90 Cross country is available for Rs. 60 lakh (ex-showroom)