Which hybrid Volvo V60 should you buy? I’ve lived with both to find out
Car changing is a big deal
Volvo offers the V60 with two plug-in hybrids, one with quite a lot of power and the other with absolutely loads of power. Managing editor Darren Cassey has been finding out which you should choose.
One of the advantages of an electric car is that they tend to offer lightning fast acceleration, even in more modest models. So it’s perhaps no surprise that some plug-in hybrid cars – which strap an electric motor to a petrol engine and ask them to work together – offer frankly hilarious performance.
Take Volvo. This safety-focused brand best known for building big, comfortable family wagons has two plug-in hybrid engines available for its cars. Called T6 and T8, the latter has so much power that it can challenge proper performance cars in a straight line.
That statement is not just based on theoretical on-paper comparisons, either. I’ve been running a Volvo V60 for a few months, initially taking delivery of a T8 model. When we drag raced it – because that’s the sort of thing we do over on our YouTube channel – the humble estate car beat everything except Mat Watson’s very own BMW M5 Touring.
Hilarious fun, yes. But in my eyes the idea of a plug-in hybrid is about efficiency rather than performance. And because I’m insufferably boring I asked Volvo if I could swap my T8 for the less powerful T6 to see what the difference in real-world fuel efficiency might be.
Spoiler alert: it’s quite remarkable.
Volvo V60 PHEV T6 v T8: what’s the difference?
First, a quick explainer. Both cars combine a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor, but the T6 has a combined power output of 335hp and has an official electric-only range of almost 61 miles.
My T8 on the other hand had a whopping 455hp, which gave it a 0-62mph time of 4.6 seconds – that’s sports car quick – while the electric-only range dropped to 57 miles.
In truth, there’s not a huge amount of difference between the cars’ electric-only range in the real world, with both reading about 40 miles on a full charge. But the difference in fuel economy was stark.
Volvo V60 PHEV T6 v T8: which one is more economical?
My typical driving week is quite a good use case for a plug-in hybrid. Five days a week I tend to do short local trips on electric power – nursery drop offs, lunchtime gym sessions, cup of tea with my parents, that sort of thing – then twice a week I have a 100-mile round trip to the office where the petrol engine can take some of the strain. And because I’m fortunate enough to have a driveway and a home charger, I can maximise the time I drive on electric power by charging regularly.
The official figures don’t tell the true story, because even by the ludicrously inflated industry figures achieved by plug-in hybrids, the V60’s numbers are comical: 471mpg in the T6 and 353mpg in the T8.
In the T8, over the best part of three months, I averaged 66mpg. By the standards of pure petrol or diesel cars, that’s a hugely impressive number, but given I drove what felt like a high percentage of miles on electricity, I was slightly underwhelmed.
Over a month in the less powerful T6 and I’m much more impressed. My charging habits and journey types were largely identical, but over the course of a month with the car I achieved a whopping 88mpg.
In fact, so efficient was the V60 that I nearly eked 1,000 miles from one tank, finally having to admit defeat after driving about 10 miles in pure EV mode with “—” reading on the petrol tank.
Volvo V60 PHEV T6 v T8: which should you buy?
In my eyes, there’s only one winner. Sure, the T8 is great fun when you floor it on a motorway slip road or if you happen to work for a company that drag races cars on YouTube, but the reality is that it feels a bit unnecessary.
So it’s the T6 that wins it, for me. With 335hp it’s still more than quick enough, but during a cost of living crisis impressive MPG gets my vote over impressive MPH.
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