Volvo aims its reinvigorated crosshairs at the medium-sized SUV ranks with a premium offering
The Volvo range is getting there with its maker’s ambition to be electric-only, but for now, the Volvo XC60 remains popular in showrooms with its ‘old’ technology.How quickly things seem to change. It only feels like five minutes since the new era of big Volvos launched under Geely ownership, starting with the Volvo XC90 with all new engines and underpinned by the same sparkly new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) technology.Yet Volvo’s pivot to electric cars has been quick. With the demise of the Volvo S60, Volvo V60, Volvo S90, Volvo V90 – yes, Volvo no longer makes any saloons or estates – and soon-to-be XC90 itself when the Volvo EX90 replaces it, only the XC60 remains of the SPA cars.That’s no bad thing because it’s always been the best of them. It sits right in the heart of the premium family SUV segment, going up against the likes of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, BMW X3 and Audi Q5. Indeed, even seven years after its launch it still sits in the top five of our best family SUV list.Yet with Volvo being a very different brand to 2017, the XC60 range also looks very different to then. As it nears the end of its life, engine and trim options have been reduced and the range is now solely all-wheel drive rather than the option of front-wheel drive with prices now starting at closer to £50,000 to sub-£40,000 when it first launched. For the 2024 model year, there is a B5 petrol version and T6 and T8 plug-in hybrids alongside three trims: Core, Plus and Ultimate. Wash your mouth out at the thought of a diesel version. VERSIONPOWERB5 AWD MILD HYBRID248bhpT6 AWD PLUG-IN HYBRID345bhpT8 AWD PLUG-IN HYBRID449bhp
Source: Autocar
