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By Jonathan Crouch

Jonathan Crouch drives the usefully improved version of Volvo's second generation mid-sized SUV.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 83

Think of a premium-badged mid-sized SUV and you probably think of something German - maybe also a Land Rover or Lexus product. We'd also suggest though, that you should be looking at the car we're going to test here, the improved version of Volvo's elegant and beautifully crafted second generation XC60, proof that in Sweden, they build SUVs just a little differently. Safe, efficient, clever, practical and stylish, it's yet another model that re-establishes this Scandinavian maker as a credibly prestigious automotive brand.

Backgroundword count: 245

Market indecision about EVs has prolonged the life of this car, the second generation version of Volvo's mid-sized premium SUV, the XC60. This MK2 model was first introduced back in 2017, then facelifted first in 2021. By 2025, the company should have been easing this combustion model out of the showrooms to make way for the all-electric EX60. Instead, this XC60 got a stay of execution - and the second facelift we look at here. Once, Volvo was a car maker primarily specialising in spacious estates and solid, safe saloons. It isn't true any more. The brand now builds fewer cars of that sort and today, the majority of its business is done in selling SUVs - cars like this XC60. So successful has the XC60 model line been that in 2025, it surpassed the brand's iconic Volvo 240 to become the best-selling Volvo model ever, with over 2.7 million examples sold. This second generation XC60 first arrived back in 2017, replacing an extremely successful predecessor originally launched in 2008. In 2021, the MK2 XC60 was lightly updated before in early 2025 being updated again to create the car we're going to look at here, which is still built at Torslanda in Sweden and Chengdu in China. It continues to use the 2.0-litre 'Drive-E' engines and 'SPA' 'Scalable Product Architecture' platform that Chinese brand owner Geely bankrolled as part of its brand takeover in 2010 for all ongoing mid and large-sized Volvo models to use.

Driving Experienceword count: 543

Volvo's softened up the passive dampers and worked on refinement for this further updated XC60 (it reckons this is its quietest mid-sized SUV yet). Otherwise, nothing significant has changed in terms of the engineering of this car. In the last few years, Volvo's efforts have been focused on the similarly-sized but unrelated EX60 full-electric model, so the brand had no further budget for engineering development with this second XC60 update. Drive dynamics continue to be based towards comfort. But you shouldn't gauge from that an expectation that this XC60 will be a complete duffer when the road turns twisty. It's very far from that, this model described as 'confident and predictable', which is what we've found it to be and precisely what most likely buyers will want it to be. There's unruffled poise and exemplary refinement, plus you get supple standards of ride comfort from the multi-link rear suspension and top variants continue to have the desirable 'Active Four-C' adaptive damping and air suspension package. A 'Drive Mode Settings' driving dynamics system allows you to tailor throttle response, steering feel and shift timings from the standard 8-speed auto gearbox to suit the way you want to drive. If you do decide to push on a bit, grip and traction are actually quite impressive aided by the standard AWD system, while cornering body roll is also decently well controlled. The engines on offer continue to be of a 2.0-litre, four cylinder configuration and come bolted to the same stiff, sophisticated 'SPA' chassis that also underpins Volvo's larger XC90 model. The brand has long ago banished diesel power in this car, hoping instead to convert customers to the merits of the Plug-in Hybrid powertrain we chose to try for this test. As before, there are two PHEV variants, badged T6 or T8, both with a battery size at 18.8kWh, facilitating an EV drive range of just under 50 miles (which is now a bit behind the prevailing segment standard for this kind of car). What remains top of the class though, is the prodigious 406hp output of the top T8 Plug-in Hybrid variant we tried. Even the lesser T6 version manages 335hp - more than most of its German rivals. So despite the prodigious 2.1-tonne kerb weight, performance is brisk, 62mph dispatched in 5.7s in the T6 or 4.9s in this T8 if you select the most urgent of the provided drive modes, Power. The reason for that performance has a lot to do with the fact that this car's PHEV system is a lot more complex that the set-ups used by rivals, the 2.0-litre petrol engine being both turbocharged and supercharged, its output boosted by a 145hp rear electric motor. If you really don't want to plug your XC60 in, there's a B5 petrol version with a more conventional 250hp version of the 'Drive-E' 2.0-litre turbo engine, embellished with 48V mild hybrid tech. this makes 62mph in 6.9s, on the way to the 112mph top speed that all versions of this Volvo model share. Another thing still shared by all XC60s is this model's very limited off tarmac capability, even though an AWD drive mode is provided. Thanks to the relatively low ride height, the wading depth isn't much higher than the door sills.

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