Itching to buy an electric car but range anxiety keeping you up at night? Volvo solves this problem with their XC60 plug-in hybrid.
Interior, comfort and convenience
The Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge (search AutoTrader for one) is a plug-in hybrid SUV or PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid EV) that gives you the convenience and range of an internal combustion engine (ICE with 233 kW and 400 Nm), along with the quiet and quick acceleration of pure electric power from a 18.8 kWh battery and 107 kW/ 309 Nm electric motor. It was released shortly after Volvo’s other plug-in hybrid, the XC90 T8 Recharge AWD, which has also been well-received by South African buyers.
Last week, we took the XC60 T8 Recharge on a mini-roadtrip to Cape Town and then Langebaan to see how effective the system is and if it’s a worthwhile buy as a whole.
Styling
The XC60 Recharge doesn’t look much different from the rest of the XC60 lineup – it has the usual Thor’s Hammer headlamps up front, large laser-cut alloy wheels, and muscular accent lines and indentations along the flanks. The rear view is just as fetching – the upside-down sickle-shaped tail lamps look especially lovely after dark. While the XC60 is no longer a brand-new car, it still attracted its fair share of attention wherever we parked.
Interior, comfort, and convenience
The Swedes always manage to merge elegance and functionality, and our test model (in R-Design trim) was no different, dressed in all-black with perforated leather seats, glossy piano black trim bits and metallic dash inlays that look glamorous in an understated way. I must admit that I prefer Volvos with a lighter interior and wooden inlays, as it just looks more Swedish. I find the black a bit boring but will look better for longer, making it the more practical choice, especially if you have kids.
Our test model’s all-black interior is built to last.
The central touchscreen is large enough but not so large that it overpowers the interior. With built in GAS (Google’s Android System), it’s ideal for Android users (just say ‘Hey Google’ to attract its attention for upcoming demands such as ‘Open Spotify’ etc), but as an iPhone user, I used Apple CarPlay, which isn’t quite as user-friendly and isn’t integrated into the car the same way. Our XC60 also had an optional Bowers & Wilkins audio system fitted, but I missed being able to select some of the preset audio settings that were available in the previous Sensus Connect infotainment system, such as ‘Concert Hall’ and ‘Studio’. We streamed our playlists via Spotify and it sounded great, but we had to settle for Surround Sound as there aren’t too many other settings.
A panoramic roof lets much-needed sunlight into the dark cabin.
Space-wise, people in row two have more legroom than they would know what to do with, and there’s a USB-C port in the back of the centre tunnel too. Three adults will be able to travel in the back seats in comfort – although it will probably be two to three kids in most cases.
. Underneath the boot floor you’ll find a compartment for the charging cables.
For our little road trip, however, it was just me and my other half. Our overnight luggage looked completely lost in the mammoth cargo area of 468 litres, which is even roomier than the normal models.
Power and performance
Don’t be misled by the XC60 T8 Recharge’s family-SUV exterior…
I received the XC60 with its battery fully charged (capable of doing up to 80 km on a single charge on electricity alone), and a nearly full 71-litre tank of petrol with around 800 km of range – so it was city-ready on the day we had to attend a lunch in a very congested Cape Town. We searched and searched for parking at the bustling V&A Waterfront until I remembered that we could plug in the Volvo right in front of Tasha’s near the entrance (score!). There was already an electric Mini charging at that specific point, but there was space for one more.
The security guard said I had three hours to charge, which was perfect timing – upon our return, the battery was about three-quarters full, and we could continue driving in Hybrid mode, which is the most efficient way to operate.
The T8 Recharge model, turbo- and supercharged, is almost insanely fast for an SUV and will power its way from 0 – 100 km in a mere 4.8 seconds. Its unassuming exterior had many road users in sports cars completely fooled as we left them in the dust thanks to the Recharge model’s powerful blend of petrol-electric power. If the battery is empty, the acceleration won’t be quite as fierce, but it will still be fierce enough to show boy racers and MIMCCs (Men in midlife-crisis cars) who’s boss.
Efficiency
The XC60 T8 Recharge’s default setting is Hybrid Mode, allowing the car to cleverly switch between the petrol engine and the electric motor, based on the power needed and general driving conditions. It will always choose whatever option or combination will save you the most fuel and energy – so don’t be surprised if the trip computer indicates a consumption figure as low as 3 litres per 100 km.
If you didn’t have time to plug in your car at home or at an EV charging point, there’s a charge-on-the-go function where you can charge the battery while you drive via the kinetic energy generated when braking and this energy gets stored in the battery. In charging mode, you’ll lean more heavily on the internal-combustion engine so that fuel consumption will be higher. If you activate one-pedal-driving (which applies the brakes every time you lift your foot off the accelerator pedal), it will charge even faster. I quite enjoy driving in this mode because of my inherent laziness.
Driving with the battery on empty will leave the XC60 no choice but to rely on ICE power alone, and that’s when you’ll see your fuel consumption rise. Once we had depleted the battery in hybrid mode, our consumption rose to over 13 litres per 100 km, which so upset me that I forced my husband to drive to the nearest charging point where I could plug in the car to calm my frazzled nerves.
Should you want to blow your hair back and drive in Power Mode, you’ll have exhilarating hybrid power at your disposal, but it chomps power as well as petrol, so in the spirit of efficiency, it’s best left for when you need to overtake a truck or take a quick gap somewhere. Or when someone reckons they can beat you to the next robot. (Just kidding, but you’ll probably win.)
On the flip side, if you don’t commute very far or fast, driving in full EV mode (or Pure Mode) will save you tons of money, if you can start every day with a full battery. Many city-dwellers opt for hybrid cars precisely for this reason, as there’s never much need for activation of the ICE engine at all. Up to 80 km of electric range is pretty decent – and you have the ICE engine as a far-reaching backup for when you need to go on longer drives, or on holiday. And if you’re a city mouse who sometimes goes off-road to visit the country-mouse family, power will be sent to all four wheels for maximum stability and traction in AWD Mode. It employs both the ICE and the electric motor for the job, ensuring the best performance in slippery or uneven conditions.
The takeaway is this: If you keep the XC60’s battery fully charged, stick to Hybrid Mode (and not get seduced by Power Mode), a range of around 850km – maybe even 900 km, is not far-fetched.
Safety
Volvo’s XC60 is one of the safest SUVs on our roads and gets the full monty of five-star EuroNCAP ratings thanks to its safety equipment and systems galore.
One of the most impressive features is Volvo’s Pilot Assist, which takes semi-autonomous driving to the next level. It’s highly intuitive and effectively does its own thing by following other traffic, stopping when necessary, reading road signs, and keeping the XC60 on track. (Yes, you could probably put on your mascara while you drive to work, but we would never recommend it.)
I found the rear-autonomous-stop function a little extreme, however. Once, when I was reversing into my parking spot, it stopped the vehicle dead in its tracks when the sensors spotted the car guard trying to do his job at the rear of the vehicle, and another time when it sensed tall grass. I nearly lost all my fillings. But better slip a disk than run over a person or a cat, right?
Price and Competitors
Considering this vehicle’s almost ferocious power, excellent (combined) fuel economy, interior comfort, and build quality of the XC60 Recharge, I’d say the price tag of R1 284 000 for the base model of the XC60 Recharge Plus is justified.
At the time of writing, the Recharge models were only available in Plus Dark (R1 284 000), Plus Bright (R1 310 000), Ultimate Dark (R1 347 000) and Ultimate Bright (R1 349 000) packages. The R-Design variant we drove is not available new at present.
Volvo XC60 vs Lexus NX vs Jaguar E-Pace: here’s our winner.
Verdict
While the new all-electric C40 (read my Volvo C40 launch report) is one of my new favourite Volvos, we all know that range anxiety is a real issue for South Africans – after all, we’re not Sweden or Germany (you only have to drive the two hours from Laingsburg to Beaufort-West to realise this), but this worry is alleviated if you’re in the XC60 T8 Recharge, which is as sophisticated as it is practical and is one of my new favourite cars.
Keyword: Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge AWD R-Design (2023) Roadtrip Review