THE SMARTER UTILITY VEHICLE (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Volvo's XC60 is at its cleverest - and priciest - in T8 Plug-in hybrid form. Jonathan Crouch drives the revised version

Ten Second Reviewword count: 82

The top T8 Plug-in hybrid version of Volvo's XC60 mid-sized premium SUV combines turbocharging, supercharging and electrification for impressive efficiency returns, despite this Swedish crossover's huge power output. There's a significant price to pay for this technology and you'll need to tailor your motoring life to suit what this car can offer but if you can deal with these caveats, then this is a potentially very likeable package, especially in the further improved form that Volvo introduced for the 2026 Model Year.

Backgroundword count: 214

Volvo's XC60 is at its cleverest - and priciest - in this T8 Plug-in Hybrid AWD form. This PHEV premium mid-sized model is now on its second facelift and here, we're going to tell you whether it still has enough to offer over more modern rivals. The Swedish brand first introduced its Plug-in Hybrid powertrain for XC60 customers in 2018 in powerful T8 form, then in 2020 added a slightly more affordable T6 version of the same powerplant to sell alongside that flagship variant. In 2021, as part of a light facelift, both models got larger drive batteries and more powerful rear electric motors. And both cars were further improved in mid-2025 to create the XC60 PHEV model we're going to test here in top T8 form. Volvo was quicker to offer PHEV tech in the mid-sized premium SUV segment than its German rivals, but since then, Plug-in Hybrid versions of contenders like the BMW X3, the Mercedes GLC and the Audi Q5 have all appeared and been evolved to offer this plug-in petrol/electric XC60 stiff competition, though this Volvo's still remained one of Europe's best-selling Plug-in Hybrid premium mid-sized SUVs. To keep it current, in 2025 the brand added extra media and safety technology, creating the car we're going to look at here.

Driving Experienceword count: 377

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 this top T8 variant continues 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 that we're looking at here. 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. 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 the 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.

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