Cape Town - It must have been 2004 or 2005 when I first fell in love with Volvo.
I was working at one of the country’s top radio stations and while on a weekend team-building exercise, one of my presenter colleagues picked me up in his XC70 and took me to the other end of the vast estate we were weekending at. I’ll never forget his words.
“Your Swedish limo awaits.”
At the time, Volvo seemed the only true rival to the Teutonic Trio - Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi dominated the luxury saloon market (and the status bragging rights) but I always found the Volvos to be the understated champion in the class.
The clean, Scandinavian lines, the unfussed interiors, the poised drive...
And it’s no different with the latest Volvo XC60. After spending a week driving the T8 Recharge hybrid, the Volvo remains my champion. To my mind, the X3, Q5 and GLC simply cannot compete. The svelte Swede ticks all my boxes.
It’s the little things... the tiny embossed Swedish flag on the dash trim under the passenger air vent, the Orrefors crystal gear selector, the superb Bowers & Wilkins sound system with speakers in the roof lining just afore the massive panoramic sunroof so the wind doesn’t interrupt your choice of music - every detail is so well thought out, it leaves nothing amiss.
Except a holder for your sunglasses... For a car touching on R1.3m (August 2022), I at least want somewhere to store my shades.
@lancethewit10 Things I love and hate about the @VolvoOfficial #XC60 T8 #Recharge 2.0l super- and turbocharged hybrid. #carsoftiktok #ReviewIn60Seconds #carreview #SUV #Volvo Full review soon on @IOLNEWS ♬ original sound - Lance Witten450
But it’s in the tech that the XC60 T8 Recharge excels. You’ll get about 65km out of the battery on a full charge (which you can charge at home overnight, or in between school runs, or even slightly while you’re driving), and I dare say you could fill up on petrol once every two months if you’re not doing too much distance driving. By playing around with the power settings during a particularly long weekend drive I returned 2.5l/100km, and after a few days of school and grocery runs, I was averaging 1.3l/100km.
Run the battery down, though, and it turns into a thirsty beast.
Not that you’ll notice - the transition from battery power to the petrol motor is seamless. Plant your right foot and you’re gone.
There’s a supercharger forcing air into the 2.0l petrol engine until the turbocharger spools up, and it slingshots this massive crossover with effortless delivery.
Don’t ask me how I know, but you could easily (hypothetically) beat a tricked-out Nissan 370Z in a robot-to-robot drag.
This was my whip for the week. It is undoubtedly the best car I've driven (considering practicality, comfort, performance, economy, features, luxury).
Video #ReviewIn60Seconds and full review on @IOL dropping soon 🙌🏽@VolvoCar_SA @volvocars #XC60 T8 Recharge pic.twitter.com/ur8j0qKvKg
But back to the tech... the steering controls can be fussy and I must admit I hadn’t quite gotten the grasp of all the functionality by the time it came to part with it. They’re just not very intuitive. But I’m sure you’ll get it in the same amount of time it takes to adjust from IOS to Android.
Volvo’s massive centre screen is now powered by Android and operates as seamlessly as any tablet. Gone are the days of stabbing at the touchscreen and getting a response a second later. Everything in the car is controlled from the screen, although there are additional audio controls just beneath it, and operating it is simple. You won’t need to go digging through deep menus to find your perfect setting. In fact, to pop the rear seat headrests up takes just three or four touches.
The mobile device-like functionality continues into the aforementioned sunroof controls. One swipe over the slot overhead and the shade screen shifts back. A second swipe lets the fresh air in.
The operating system allows you to log in using your Google credentials, so when you get in, you don’t need to wait for your device to pair, it’s already there. You don’t have to, though; the automatic pairing is just as seamless as everything else in this luxury crossover. Anything you need done in the car while driving can be accessed with a simple “Hey, Google”.
Comfort, space, luxury and effortless connectivity is what you get when you take delivery of your Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge.
There may not be a growl, but there sure is one helluva bite.
IOL Motoring