Handling is agile. You'd crash a traditional SUV driving it the way the XC was pushed quickly through demanding corners in the test. Off-road abilities are good. You don't expect a fancy-brand station wagon that cossets and corners to also wallow capably through mud, climb fallen limbs, step lightly through deep holes. But XC did all those.
Gripes are limited.
The cargo cover defied one-hand operation. There's no button that raises or lowers the windows all at once, and the individual buttons have hair triggers that make it hard to stop the windows partway up or down. The screen for the navigation system couldn't be seen through polarized sunglasses. Still, XC generally was a delight. The first few trickle into showrooms late next month.