Volvo XC60 review: Why this SUV became its biggest-ever hit
Volvo’s hugely successful family SUV combines a beautiful interior, tremendous comfort and everyday practicality with up to 449bhp, although the less powerful version may be the cleverer choice.
Almost poetically, Volvo has become one of the last bastions of the estate car, with its V60 now being the last survivor of what was once a glorious era of Volvo estate cars.
The reason? Buyer preference, we're told. People just want SUVs. I still don't personally understand why, but enough about my sour grapes. If you want a biggish, roomy, safe, and reliable Volvo these days, and if you like to peer over roadside hedges for reasons you keep to yourself, the popular choice is now the XC60.
It was launched in 2008 and it has now become Volvo's best-selling model of all time, so it's clearly doing something right. It's also had something of an update recently, so I've spent a week in the latest version to see what all the fuss is about.
The nice people at Volvo kindly sent me the T8 PHEV version, which tops the propulsion tree with an 18.8kWh battery bolted in and a power output of (brace yourself) 449bhp.
It's borderline unnecessary in an SUV, and even the toned-down T6 PHEV has 345bhp, but what a glorious time to be alive, eh?
When you finally tire of sprinting to 60mph in 4.9 seconds, you'll get time to take in the other fine attributes offered by the current XC60. The first thing that will strike you is the interior.
Especially in a light colour, it feels absolutely wonderful. Everything is so elegantly styled, the ergonomics are all spot on, and the quality of the materials is remarkable.
I doesn't have the absolute luxury feel of its bigger sibling the XC90, but I'd certainly go as far as saying it's a nicer place to sit than its German rivals.
It doesn't have wireless Apple CarPlay, and I'm obviously going to join the chorus in appealing for more physical buttons, but the infotainment system is actually pretty good these days, made more familiar and simple with the welcome addition of a Google-based infotainment screen.
The back seats are nearly as comfortable as the front, which is a bit like saying a really good armchair is nearly as comfortable as a first-class airline suite, and boot space is decent at 483 litres with the seats up. You don't lose a lot for having the plug-in system, either.
That plug-in system, incidentally, is what really lifts the XC60, and it's the one to pick if you can afford it. Volvo claims you get up to 51 miles on a charge, but you'll struggle to manage that. Budget for 30-35 and you won't be disappointed. Crucially, if the battery fizzles out, you're left with a small engine powering a heavy car. And fuel economy will reflect it.
Charging the hybrid battery is a slow affair, but given most people will be plugging in at home overnight, it's not much of an issue.
As I mooted earlier, the supercar-like power output of the T8 is broadly unnecessary. The T6 feels more appropriate in terms of grunt, and it costs around £7,000 less, so it's likely to be the more popular choice - but having all that power to hand is quite useful, despite the XC60's comfortable and undramatic ride.
It's possible to buy an XC60 for less than £50,000, but add the plug-in system and you're looking at a premium of around £3,000. I personally think it's worth every penny, if you can charge at home, that is.
You'd be wise to creep up the spec ladder a bit, though, and adding the trinkets that come with the more premium versions can quickly take you north of £60,000, with the T8 wobbling more closely to £70,000 - but you're honestly looking at one of the nicest SUVs you can live with by the time you get to that level.
Maybe one day the estate car will make a comeback. I'll be jumping for joy if it does but, for now, it's good to see the spirit of the segment Volvo was so synonymous with lives on in models like this.
There's honestly so little to dislike about the XC60, and it's quite obvious why it sells in such huge numbers.
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