Volvo XC60 Recharge hybrid performance, engine & drive

The Volvo XC60 Recharge has to cover many bases. We’ve already seen efficiency, quality and standard equipment are among its plus points, but you can add comfort, speed and respectable handling to its talents, too. The car was designed to be a plug-in hybrid from the outset, so there are very few compromises you have to make compared with a regular XC60 when running the Recharge model.

Volvo XC60 Recharge hybrid electric motor, 0-62mph and acceleration

There are two powertrain options for the XC60 Recharge, although both are based around a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels and an electric motor driving the rear. The T6 setup makes 345bhp total, while the T8 manages to produce 448bhp. That’s more power as the latest hot hatchbacks, so even though the Volvo is a little heavier, performance is still rapid. The company used to offer an XC60 ‘Polestar Engineered’ but this version has since been discontinued; no great shame, the standard plug-in hybrids make more sense.

Models equipped with the T6 powertrain will do 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds, however T8 models will accelerate from 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds. Top speed for all models is limited to 112mph – as on all new Volvos – for safety reasons. We think the less powerful of the two plug-in hybrid engine options fits the XC60 well, and is the one we’d recommend.

With that electric motor supporting the petrol engine, there’s lots of easily accessible acceleration at any speed. We found it most noticeable off the line and at low speed, where the motor fills in for the engine until it can deliver maximum performance. There’s a strong surge of acceleration on even half throttle, and as long as you keep it like this, refinement is good.

Ask for everything from the plug-in hybrid setup and the petrol engine starts to get more vocal, but the engine is a little quieter and it manages the shift between pure-electric and hybrid running a little more smoothly than the plug-in hybrid Audi Q5. At motorway speeds, the XC60 is particularly quiet and comfortable.

In electric mode, there’s enough low-down power to drive around town without troubling the petrol engine – and not at a snail’s pace, either. The XC60 delivers decent acceleration from just its electric motor. This also means it’s very quiet, as the petrol engine is off and not making any noise, while other noise from outside is well suppressed.

Handling

Even on standard suspension, the XC60 rides with a relatively relaxed and composed feel. The higher ride height versus the Volvo V60 hybrid means more travel for the suspension, so the XC60 feels mostly plush and smooth over bad roads. You can tell the wheels are large, however; even on the basic 19-inch alloys the car can occasionally feel a little unsettled if you hit a bad bump. But otherwise we think the XC60 is among the most comfortable cars in its class.

Choose the optional air suspension and suppleness goes a step further. While the adjustable air setup still can’t control the big wheels as well as you might like over rough surfaces, for the majority of the time the suspension is even smoother, which gives a nice relaxed feeling to the way the Volvo rides.

Because of its weight of 2,110kg – around 300kg heavier than a diesel automatic XC60 due to the battery and electric motor – the Recharge doesn’t handle as well as it accelerates, but then most buyers looking for a car in this class will prefer the comfort this car serves up rather than extra agility.

There’s still plenty of grip, but the steering is quite light, too, so it's easy to apply too much lock too quickly, and while this might make the XC60 feel alert initially, it does lean and struggle to keep up after your initial input. However, even judged against a regular diesel SUV, its agility is good and changes of direction are fairly positive. In truth, in most situations you won’t notice a handling penalty in this plug-in hybrid.

It’s worth mentioning the XC60’s regenerative braking, too. While the power of the conventional brakes is fine (helped by the motor working in reverse to slow the car down and divert electricity back into the battery to recoup energy that would otherwise be wasted) we found the feel through the pedal a little dead.

As the motor does all the braking when you lightly brush the brake pedal, it’s difficult to get a sense of just how much pressure to apply to slow you sufficiently, which means bringing the car to a halt smoothly can sometimes be a bit difficult unless you’re very gentle. Put the Volvo XC60’s gearbox in 'B' mode and the regenerative braking effect is maximised, meaning you don't need to use the brake pedal to slow down as much as you'd normally do.