VOLVO XC60 T8 TEST REVIEW

The most powerful SUV in its class is the XC60, which boast a Scandinavian design with Swedish creativity. A claimed century sprint of 6.8 seconds for the T5 and 5.3 seconds for the T8 with a top speed of 230 km/h on the T8 model. The XC60 is an all-wheel drive matted with an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The plug-in hybrid charging takes between two to seven hours for a complete charge of the 10.4 kWh battery pack but please bear in mind this depends on what charger is being used.

This is my take on the XC60 2.0 litre T8 plug-in hybrid – the T8 denotes having both a supercharger and turbocharger that produces a 320 hp, 400 Nm of torque, not to forget the electric motor that generates 87 hp with 240 Nm of torque. Combine both and you will get 407 hp with 640 Nm of torque. Yes 407 hp! And that is a SUV on steroids.

Slightly bigger build than your average SUV, the XC60 is amazingly easy to manoeuvre and has a small turning radius as compare to other smaller SUVs’. The XC60 is well planted and not so “floaty” in high speed as one would normally experience in a SUV. Pedal to metal and you get an instant respond and immediate acceleration. You would feel like you are driving a sports car rather than a SUV. The 8-speed automatic gear box has a seamless gear shift, and this has sort of becoming a Volvo trade signature, other than their renowned safety features of course.

A brief run through of Volvo’s Intellisafe suite, which come standard. The package includes City Safety (autonomous emergency braking), Blind Spot Information System, Oncoming Lane Mitigation, Driver Alert Control, Lane Keeping Aid and many more which awaits the owner to discover. The number of features in the XC60 is longer than a family grocery list. So, if you are getting one, do take your time to explore them all and discover the new meaning of driving pleasure.

For the younglings there are no integrated child booster seats; instead, the passenger seats are retractable and can be release by pulling the unlock lever under the seat. For the T8 variants there is a Pilot Assist semi-autonomous drive – adaptive cruise control plus steering, which works up to 130 km/h. Any higher speed, the system will disengage.

In Malaysia the CKD units have no air suspension, interior inlay options, an inclination sensor and sound system depending on the variant.  The not so noticeable differences are: the CKD XC60s comes with the Dynamic Chassis, which is made up of composite leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers, whereas the CBU unit comes with an Active Chassis air suspension and is RM30k more to the pocket.

The locally assembled versions, comprised of the T5 Momentum, T8 Inscription and T8 Inscription Plus, which are priced at RM298,888, RM333,888 and RM343,888 respectively and without insurance.

Credits : Photos courtesy of Jao Visuals Photography & Jeya@Cactus

                                                                                            Content By: Jeya@Cactus