We recently reviewed the Mercedes-Benz EQC and took it on a test drive to Malacca to calm our range anxiety. The car passed the test and we feel pretty confident about driving EVs—not so much charging them.
For the skittish, the Volvo XC60 T8 is an EV and petrol car rolled into one big Swedish meatball. One luxuriously extravagant meatball that is.
It's one of Volvo's best-sellers and with a real-world range of about 60km per charge, it's a very practical city driver. We drove the car to a bungalow in Janda Baik to imagine what it must be like for the 1% to enjoy secluded luxury and contemplate the practicalities of this two-in-one.
Volvo XC60 T8 interior and exterior
The XC60 is a staple on the road, like the CR-V, X5, or the GLC and has gone through many iterations over the years moving from family-friendly to aggressive and sporty in more recent years.
We love the champagne colour on this one and reminds us of the MacBook Air 15 that we reviewed previously. It's subdued in the right way and is another form of quiet luxury that doesn't beg for attention.
On the inside however, the crystal gear knob scream the opposite while the bright infotainment screen with Google integration prove that this isn't your grandfather's Volvo. This Google integration is exclusive to Volvo and it has on board Google Maps that is accurate.
Sadly, air conditioning controls are hidden in the infotainment and the panoramic sunroof is gesture controlled on the roof. We fiddled with it for a bit and somehow managed to open it halfway sometimes, all the way other times, and it was overall not as precise as a button.
In the rear seats we have to give Volvo infinity points for the booster seat installed in it for kids. This was actually introduced in Volvo vehicles since 1995 and we wonder why more car manufacturers don't steal this design outright.
Overall, it feels proper expensive in here and the leather seats feel good and hug your body well. The seats are semi bucket seats and keeps snug in your chair.
How practical is the EV part of it?
The electric motor and 2.0-litre turbo charged engine can output a total 460hp and 709Nm of torque so it's fast. Zero to one hundred kms can be done in 4 seconds compared to the Honda City which does so in about 11 seconds. That's nearly 3-times as fast.
In terms of range, the company claims 81km on a full charge but in real-world use, we got about 60km range consistently. That's more than enough for a days' drive to and from the office and maybe a little more if you have to pick up children or groceries.
It's in this use case that we feel the XC60 is the perfect meeting point between EV and a traditional petrol car.
Where we work there is an electric charger so with this consitent journey, you can drive without petrol for a week, without having to pay for electricity, for a week. That's a lot of savings for most of us who have to fill petrol at the end of each week.
That said, if you don't have a charger at work or at your condo, the hassle of going out of your way to fill your battery just for a 60km journey isn't really worth it.
You need to consistently be able to charge the XC60 to be able to enjoy "limitless" range, but if it doesn't fit your lifestyle, having the battery hybrid on your car isn't going to bring you much benefit in terms of savings.
What is it like to drive the XC60?
The XC60 doesn't have the floaty bumpy characteristic of a regular SUV and the firmer ride allows for some sportier driving around the bends.
That said, it's not uncomfortable over bumps, so you can enjoy active driving while fully throttling if you want to. Since the battery for the EV isn't very big, it doesn't weigh the Volvo down too much so accelerating and braking feels uniform.
In this range, NVH is negligible and road clarity is great because of the height and the position of the driver in the cockpit.
Overall, we can say that it was actually fun to drive. Not in the same way a Mini Cooper is fun, but it's almost as close to driving a sedan as you can get in an SUV.
At RM357,888, the Volvo XC60 is more expensive than the BMW X3 and cheaper than the Mercedes-Benz, a perfect middle point. For our money, the GLC looks slightly better and more modern, but as an overall package, we think the XC60 provides more value.