About the Volvo XC60
Alf T purchased this Volvo XC60 new for $111,000 (including all on-road costs). Alf T would buy this car again because: “It’s a great package. Ticks all the boxes for styling, comfort, performance and economy. No ‘range anxiety’ with no need to wait at a Charging Station, but able to drive around my town all day on pure electric propulsion. Build quality is excellent.”
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
It has only been four months and there has been no issues to report so far. Over the air software upgrades have gone more smoothly than with my other a car (BMW 330i M). No software lockups and no mechanical problems.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
This is my first Volvo and I was hesitant to spend a considerable amount on a vehicle I didn’t know a lot about. However I read all global reviews and believed this vehicle would provide the EV experience I wanted to experience.
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
Purchase was straightforward. Vehicle was a month old, 1000km, ‘demonstrator’. Wait time in mid-2022 for a brand new one was way more than I wanted.
I was fortunate this demo vehicle was Crystal White Pearl, which I think shows the vehicle style in it’s best light.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
It’s expensive compared to ICE vehicles I have been fortunate to own over many years.
But if you look at all the standard equipment, usable size, build quality and mind blowing performance, it’s reasonable value for this day and age.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
This vehicle has a great performance/economy equation. It is possible to drive many short trips around my regional town (or in Sydney suburbs) without using any petrol.
I plug it into a domestic powerpoint at night. In my case, electrical power for the recharge is coming from a 13kW home solar/battery setup (ie: largely free). I’m not a ‘greenie’ but do think it better to minimise air pollution in our towns and cities and this may do a little to help.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
I’m a ‘senior citizen’ with decades of training and experience in the high-tech electronics field. So, I appreciate and (mostly) understand today’s vehicle technology.
Firstly, Volvo have done a great job with the imperceptible changeover of electric to ICE, the smooth gear changes when using ICE and the regenerative braking available in different modes. My criticism of the whole Hybrid/Charge controller is the human interface for those of us who want to set certain modes and/or fiddle.
One has to go through a few annoying steps on the middle portrait style display to get into the vehicle control menu. I think a couple of hard buttons would be faster and safer than trying to work through on-screen menus while driving.
The Volvo XC60 Recharge has Google maps (online) and an Android Automotive operating system. It’s fast, clear and generally reasonably easy to navigate.
Volvo have chosen to only provide very minimal technical info to the driver. From what I can see only tyre pressure status and oil level are available through the middle display. For comparison my BMW shows a plethora of info, including real-time engine output power and torque.
Also, my 2020 BMW has ‘Connected Drive’ and I can use that as a direct comparison to this 2022 Volvo. They both have built-in cellular (4G) connection allowing smartphone access to certain features in the vehicle, including assistance if the vehicle is in a crash.
The ‘My BMW’ application is considerably more mature than the ‘Volvo Cars’ app. The Volvo Cars app is apparently in it’s infancy and doesn’t allow interactions like ‘remote 3D view’, ‘current vehicle position’, ‘fuel level’, ‘odometer and status readings’, etc.
Volvo’s active cruise control and lane assist work very well. Auto detection of impending hazards works well most of the time but can be a little sensitive.
The sound system in the XC60 Recharge is the top of the line Bowers & Wilkins. It’s powerful!
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The XC60 Recharge has standard air suspension and the ride is superb. Roads around my town are really bad right now and despite this vehicle having lo-profile 21″ Pirelli P Zero tyres, everyone remarks how quiet and smooth the ride is.