Test Volvo XC60 Recharge T6: Less is more!

The XC60 is the worldwide top seller in the Volvo program, and as diesel becomes increasingly unpopular and not everyone wants to power the nearly 400 HP strong T8 plug-in, Volvo has introduced the T6 among others. Compared to the top plug-in, it saves 3,000 euros gross, which is 2,521 euros net in purchase, for which you have to "settle" with 50 kW less. Which is bearable when you have over 300 HP. Volvo saves the power on the 2.0-liter gasoline engine, while the electric machine supports with an identical 65 kW in both the T6 and T8. The T6, therefore, cannot save on weight: Our unerring test scale showed a good hundredweight more in the lavishly equipped T6 than in the last tested T8 in sporty R-Line trim.

Marginal differences between T6 and T8 in driving performance

There are also marginal differences in driving performance: From 50 to 80 km/h in kickdown, both are tied at 2.4 seconds up to the second decimal place. Only from 80 to 120 km/h does the T8 distance itself from the T6 by a negligible 0.2 seconds, achieving 4.3 instead of 4.5 seconds: Too little to experience noticeable differences here. It's similar with the sprint: From 0 to 60 as well as 80 km/h, the T6 keeps up to the second decimal place again, but from 0 to 100 km/h, it needs its 0.2 seconds more. So, it's not the driving performance that makes the difference, which is why the extra euros should be better invested in equipment or saved.

A good keyword, because maybe the T6 also saves fuel? Yes, but even here we remain in the marginal range: At the end of the test round, we refilled 11.10 instead of 11.77 liters, which means 7.0 instead of 7.4 l/100 km, plus an additional 10.28 instead of 9.34 kWh of electricity, equating to 6.4 instead of 5.8 kWh/100 km, making it slightly cheaper in terms of costs. However, we must concede in favor of the T6 that we tested it in the deepest winter and the T8 in milder spring. This quickly made it clear that in the case of the XC60, less is clearly more, especially since you don't have to make any compromises otherwise. It was also interesting that in such a harsh winter, we were absolutely grateful for the all-wheel drive, which helped us out of a dip once and always provided strong traction on flat ground. 

The XC60 also offers typical Swedish coziness and already comes with high-quality haptics and clean craftsmanship in the base model. This includes the highly adjustable seats, which can also be further refined at an extra charge, and numerous other possible additional options to meet premium standards. This doesn't quite apply to the infotainment and the operation of the central screen. You can get used to it, but it could be more intuitive. The voice recognition could also be more "understanding." How it can be done better was shown by the new electric XC40 Recharge P8 AWD, which is based on a Google platform and was already more responsive here, although some commands from Google are not directly transferable to "Automotive" or Volvo.

It was also interesting to look at our cost calculations: If you go all out with the configurations and lease the XC60, you quickly end up with four-figure sums for 30,000 kilometers a year and per-kilometer costs exceeding 0.60 cents. If you "settle" for a preconfigured model under the Care by Volvo subscription, you end up at just under 0.52 cents – and again, almost exactly at the per-kilometer costs we calculated for the T8 two years ago. Incidentally, the T8 seems to be deemed less relevant within Care by Volvo: While the T6 starts from 798 euros, at the B5 diesel level, the T8 doesn't even appear among the immediately available offers...

What does this mean?

For the XC60 Recharge T6, less is definitely more. And due to the small differences between the subscription and leasing prices, "Care by Volvo" could be an exciting alternative, particularly for smaller fleets: While you don't have the extensive option to pick and choose from the vast, premium-brand typical configurator, you have zero stress with your subscribed car!