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Volvo’s medium XC60 has been one of the Swedish brand’s most popular products since its launch in 2009, and became one of the first premium mid-sized SUVs in the process.
It’s even enjoyed success as a fully fledged highway patrol car in country NSW (in T6 form). An all-new XC60 was launched in 2017, built on top of a new, flexible platform that is set to go underneath all of the company’s cars, and already underpins the larger XC90 SUV and S60 sedan.
The XC60 Plus B5 Mhev starts at $73,990 before topping out at $101,390 for the XC60 Ultra T8 Phev.
Although both these cars are similar in many ways, there’s one area where they take difference philosophies. And that’s in the way their hybrid systems are configured and prioritised.
While the Lexus is more of a conventional hybrid with the electric motor doing a lot of the heavy lifting, the Volvo is what’s called a mild hybrid., As the name suggests, that means the electric power is limited to a 10kW boost when taking off or when the driver requires maximum acceleration.
A mild hybrid layout does still operate the stop-start function and can harvest energy when slowing down, so it’s still a worthwhile slice of tech, but it won’t affect fuel consumption as much as the Lexus’ full hybrid system.
Reliability is a bit of an unknown with any new car, but it’s fair to say that the Lexus’ reputation will count for something come trade-in time. Not to mention that, as the more hybrid-focussed of the pair, the Lexus might also be a little more future-proof.
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Australian delivered Volvo XC60s built between 2009 (when the vehicle was launched here) and 2017 were built at Volvo’s plant in Ghent, Belgium. For the current-model XC60 (launched in 2017) production moved to the Gothenburg plant in Sweden.
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This is a pretty common complaint from owners of a lot of European makes and models. To maximise braking performance, a lot of manufacturers (including Volvo) use a relatively hard brake pad and a relatively soft brake rotor. With the result that by the time the brake pads are worn enough to be replaced, so too are the rotors (discs).
However, the general expectation is that a vehicle should be capable of covering about 60,000km before this work needs to be done, so the 30,000km on your car suggests the brakes work harder than perhaps you think they do.
As for the price, I’d assume that to be using genuine Volvo parts. Shopping around and using aftermarket replacement parts could almost halve that quote.
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The interior style of the XC60 can be summed up in two words - understated elegance.
The cabin isn't as flashy or wowing as some of its rivals and that might be because it lacks the visual impact of customisable ambient lighting, or because the chunkier dashboard looks more solid and dependable than sleek and fancy.
There is a plethora of soft-touchpoints throughout the car and visual highlights like chrome accents and a solid steering wheel. And although the dashboard is robust looking, it features beautiful-looking technology to complement the overall look.
The B5 boot space is a great size at 483L. The T8 Recharge has a slightly smaller boot space capacity of 468L but you can boost the cargo capacity to 1395L if you pop the back seats down.
The loading space is level and the back seat has a 60/40 split and a ski-port door to open up storage options. There is a temporary spare tyre underneath the floor. You can adjust the height of the car using the air suspension and all variants enjoy a hands-free powered tailgate.
The XC60 is very well specified even before you add option packs.
The standard features list includes four-zone climate control, pre-entry climate control, a 12-inch digital instrument cluster, a 9.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 360-degree camera system, front and rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping and stop and go functionality, adaptive power steering, full LED external lights, traffic sign recognition, a tyre pressure monitoring system, leather-accented upholstery, premium trims, keyless entry, a cargo blind, a powered tailgate, electric front seats, electric lumbar support, extendable under-thigh supports and two-way memory function for the front seats.
The XC60 comes with five seats in a 2/3 seat configuration. The rear seats feature a 60/40 split with a ski-port.
Even on the base model, the front seats are electric and feature electrically adjustable lumbar support, under-thigh support and side-bolsters. The front seats have a two-position memory function and are heated.
In certain option packs, you can upgrade both front seats to also feature a ventilation and massage function.
Leather-accented upholstery comes standard in a choice of two colours - black or 'Blond' (grey).
Optional at cost options also include Nappa leather upholstery.
There are two engines available for the XC60, a mild-hybrid engine that is seen in the B5 variants and a plug-in hybrid engine for the T8 Recharge models.
The B5 has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a maximum power output of 183kW and 350Nm of torque. It is an AWD and has an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The T8 Recharge has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a maximum power output of 340kW and 709Nm of torque. It is an AWD and has an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The XC60 B5 has a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.9-seconds and a top speed of 180km/h.
The XC60 T8 Recharge has a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.8-seconds and also has a top speed of 180km/h.
B5 variants have an official combined cycle fuel figure of 7.6L/100km and a large 71L fuel tank. Expect a driving range of around 934km on average.
The T8 Recharge has an 81km pure electric driving range and an official combined fuel consumption of 1.6L/100km (WLTP). To get from 0-100 per cent charge, you will see a charge time of around five hours when plugged into a 3.6kW AC charging port. It has a Type 2 charging port.
Volvo recommends a minimum 95 RON unleaded petrol to be used.