Crossing my fingers
I had a tough time deciding between a BMW i3, a Tesla and this Volvo. Living in Wisconsin with a ton of snow in the winter I decided to go for the hybrid AND AWD option just in case. The disappointing part is that I got a check engine light less than 24 hours after getting the car. Not even 50 miles on the odometer. Apparently it was a faulty battery thermostat that had to be changed, which took almost 2 weeks to get it done. No check engine lights after that but it's been only 4 months. So I'm crossing my fingers hoping nothing else happens. Another crazy event was the head up display not working right after fueling but that was just once and resolved on it's own. The car is great on electric mode and the charge is more than enough to make it to work and back home but I can charge at work if needed. It's nice to be able to forget when it was the last time the car was fueled while having the baseline power to make it through a nasty snowstorm with a foot of snow on the ground. The interior is impeccable, sound is excellent and safety features are a must. 360 degree cameras and parking assistance eventually become second nature and you may miss those when driving something else. Pilot assist has worked as expected during long distance drives of course depending on reliable road markings and weather. It's nice to get used to the quiet ride while on Pure or electric hybrid mode but the engine is loud and angry when kicking in during extreme weather changes. Fans turn on and off all the time while charging which can be annoying but I've had the same strange noises happening while the card is parked on a fuel engine XC90. If you're thinking about buying a T8, invest in the higher output outlet for faster charging and have realistic expectations regarding electric range factoring in the use of AC/heating and audio. Driving in B mode helps a bit but won't get anything meaningfully recharged. Last thing. Visibility. It's like seeing for the first time and having extra eyes at the right time.
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Aviator's Choice
The technology reminds me of a fly by wire aircraft. From the electronic crystal embedded gear shift to the voice integration and pro pilot assist, this vehicle is loaded with technology and features that make you think you should file a flight plan before taking a road trip. The plug in hybrid has multiple engine modes but be sure to use the Power mode to warm the 4 cyl turbo before use. A 240 volt plug in your garage or carport is a must to keep all of your options available. The daily commute to the office (6 miles round trip) is quiet and smooth in all electric ECO mode. If Volvo would add a dash button (right side of volume knob) that selects the 360 degree camera that would be the gradde pa moset!
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T8 iXC60 s an awesome but niche car
First off, I’ve seen some allusions to Tesla here and elsewhere, which is ridiculous. This car costs way less than the Model X and has a stated electric range of 17 miles. If you are commuting more than say 30-40 miles a day, this car probably makes no sense. It’s mileage with no charge as a “normal” hybrid is not great, I would say bad even by hybrid standards - and might even be worse than the full gas version if you drive on the highway a lot. With that out of the way, for the right person, this is a wondrous technological marvel. The interior is luxurious and I’m getting about 80mpg. I’ve had it for almost a month and have used a third of a tank of gas because my daily commute is about 13 miles round trip. I live in an urban area and my trips rarely exceed the battery range, so for me it’s perfect. Now, one thing I will emphasize that I didn’t realize at first and I feel is not talked about enough with this car I s the need to “precondition” the climate before leaving. You can do this through the Volvo app or set a timer. It only works when it’s plugged in, but doing so will get the interior climate comfortable, which is nice, but more critically it gets the car’s other components prepped and to the right temp range so you can go straight away in all electric. Otherwise, like on my return trip home (no charger at work), the engine will run for the first few minutes, regardless of charge. For me the biggest con is the infotainment and nav system. The infotainment system controls a raft of features, down to surprisingly fine detail in some instances. But that makes it really complex and hard to navigate. It seems needlessly complex in some ways, like audio and other settings existing in two separate menus (somewhat different controls in each) and something as seemingly simple as setting and moving through favorite radio stations is completely unintuitive. I find the nav system confusing and the street labels do not match on occasion on the heads up display, which is an otherwise cool feature. I prefer waze or google maps thru Apple Car Play, even though for some reason it isn’t able to integrate with the heads up display. And the whole system is pretty slow to boot up, as noted by others. On the whole though, I’ve adjusted and it’s a relatively minor gripe. Other minor gripes: it would be great to have one touch access to the 360 camera like others have noted, and the self-parking mode is cool but doesn’t always work completely right (if you are paying attention at all it’s easy to override it to keep from hitting the curb) and also takes some time to set up. I have yet to really test the AWD but so far in rainy conditions I’ve had no traction problems. It’s not uncommon in my area for dealers to push 21 or 22 inch tires on these things and that could make a big negative difference I would think. I will also note that I see no need to invest in the faster charging. I use the regular plug and it charges overnight. On the weekends I never really drive so much that I need the quick charge either, but I suppose that depends on your personal situation. One other thing I will note is the talk about depreciation in some reviews. Well yes, I expect this to have a severe drop upfront. Partly because this is a niche car, really best for those in a more urban environment, and partly because of the $5k tax break that comes with it. Getting that plus model year end pricing allowed me to close much of the the gap with the non-hybrid. Hopefully it holds close to the gas version over time. Overall, we have had no complaints at all with this car and could not be more satisfied. I would definitely recommend reading the manual for this if you do purchase. The mileage has been even better than I thought it would be, once I figured out the preconditioning. It is a truly luxurious experience driving in this thing. We upgraded from an older Mazda and this is just a totally different experience, to the point we still can’t believe this is our car.
Swedish design at its finest!
There’s not much to dislike about the XC60 T8. There has been no issues with it after having it for nearly a year and putting 12k Kim’s on it. It is a beast of an SUV and the 400hp combined output is transferred well to the road. It isn’t the quietest in its class but the funnest to drive. The combined consumption for the 11k Kim’s driven is 4.2 l/100kms which is absolutely insane for a 2 ton suv. This includes daily work commutes, weekend trips and longer road trips with charging every day when at home. So far there is nothing not to love about the xc60. It handles very well, is balanced, has the most beautiful interior and crushes most of the other SUV’s in its class such as the Lexus’. It is great value and performance for the money.
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Very disappointing.
If you think you will be getting anything near the stated 54mpg you will be sadly disappointed. The battery is ridiculously small, I get less than 20 miles with the battery! My golf cart does better. After the battery is dead you basically are running on the 2 liter 4 cylinder engine. My mileage is running at 21 mpg. You have to basically recharge/plug the vehicle in everywhere you go. The "auto pilot" adaptive cruise control is actually dangerous. If the road has any curve to it the car wanders out of its lane. I won't use it anymore. Test drive one for a couple of days please before you buy. I should have and now am sadly disappointed. If you want a full battery vehicle then perhaps get a Tesla. You might consider this car in the full gas version but the hybrid is a joke. As far as autonomous functions Volvo has some work to do, this does not auto pilot like a Tesla that is for sure.
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Don’t buy this suv
Volvo doesn’t have parts on hand for their recalls and can/will take weeks to order... so you are stuck in the least expensive rental
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DO NOT buy this car!!!
I have had this car for nearly a year and it has been in the shop 6 times for random electrical issues to include the check engine light that has come on numerous times (the first time the day after I bought the car). The airbag light "go to dealership immediately" warning has come on twice and various other weird electrical issues. The dealership has had to keep my car each time anywhere from 3-16 days! Additionally, the MPG is far less than what is advertised, but I find the electric only range to be a few miles longer than advertised. Worst purchase EVER!