Is there anything this station wagon can’t do?
Volvo V60 Recharge plug-in hybrid can ferry a family on holiday or for daily chores. And it scoffs at winter
As I weave through the perpetually plugged 401 corridor as best I can, I’m aware the 2024 Volvo V60 Recharge’s shapely two-box design doesn’t exactly blend in. It sits lower and has a sleeker profile that makes it conspicuous amongst the seas of crossovers and SUVs. The station wagon has long fallen out of favour around these parts and there’s chatter that even this Swedish stalwart will soon disappear.
Which is tragic, really. This V60 Recharge is a lovely machine. Thanks to the stop-and-slowly-go nature of our city, I’ve almost taken my leave from it without burning a single drop of fuel. This plug-in hybrid is rated for 64 kms of electric range (which it can actually almost do), and, by the time the traffic un-jams and the turbocharged, four-cylinder engine ignites under my impatient and weighty right foot, I’ve even managed to spare a few electrons for fun later ….
The interior is virtually unchanged, but that isn’t exactly a bad thing; Volvo is renowned for the quality of its seats and these ones continue to impress. Heated and seemingly infinitely adjustable, the only thing they lack is cooling. A massage feature would be nice, too, especially at this price point (and to enjoy whilst moving at the snail’s pace I’m enduring). The instrumentation is well laid out, with Google maps data appearing front and centre, and there is a heads-up display working away with vitals as well. Typically, my blood would be starting to boil in these conditions but the acoustically in- credible 15-speaker Bowers and Wilkins sound system is pump- ing a playlist that soothes my savage beast.
Rear seat occupants are also treated to bun warmers and there is ample room for average sized adults in both headroom and legroom. Should you be eyeing a V60 with family get- aways in mind, know that there are 471-litres of cargo space be- hind those rear seats and for even more capacity, a roof- mounted carrier can be acces- sorized.
There are a few cabin frustra- tions. First, this car relies on the large infotainment touchscreen too heavily. I applaud Volvo for maintaining buttons and dials for audio control and cueing up the defrosters, but wish they’d continued to do the same for the seat and steering wheel heaters and the remaining HVAC — my fully kitted tester even had blank button spaces available. And in previous iterations of this same car, control of the driving modes was handled by a beautifully textured roller. These are now buried a few distracting stabs at the screen away.
A major misstep is that Apple CarPlay can only be achieved via a tethered connection, and, despite being powered by Google, Android Auto didn’t seem to be an option. The idea is that you can simply “sign in” to your Google account in your car to use or download the apps you’d like, but I’d wager most households — especially those with more than one driver — would rather let the phone sync up wirelessly and work like they do in almost every other new vehicle on the planet. I’ll admit this is entirely a first-world problem if ever there was one, but, if a Nissan Micra can hack it, I expect a Volvo that costs nearly four-times as much to do so.
My mood lightens again as the GTA and now Durham are in my rearview and the sight of brake lights ahead is replaced with open road. Niggles about infotainment evaporate pretty quickly when I get the chance to engage Polestar Engineered mode and flog this car.
I put those e-ponies I saved up to good use as soon as I get the opportunity. As civil as it was to meander around the GTA smugly and silently in this car, the V60 Recharge feels noticeably happier when I’m exercising it. The combination of its engine and electric motor will eagerly serve up 455 horsepower and 523 pounds-feet of torque, or motive force. A spirited sprint to 100 km/h takes a mere 4.6 seconds. That sounds like it would be a visceral experience, but this Volvo does it with no drama at all. Even better, this is just as true as the curves approach.
The station wagon delivers a slightly stiff ride but you can adjust it — if you feel like using the tools you will need to do so. But, in its factory settings, combined with a GKN ActiveConnect, all-wheel-drive system (AWD), the V60 feels unflappable.
There is a noticeable frontwheel bias when pushing — the GKN power transfer unit only calls the rear wheels into play when needed (and does so in less than half a second) — but you can select a full-time AWD mode should you be faced with inclement weather or dodgy roads.
There is little the Volvo V60 can’t do. It can ferry a family away for holiday comfortably, tackle most day-to-day chores easily and electrically, scoff at winter conditions and deliver a fun and spirited drive at a moment’s notice. And it is a much better looking vehicle than any crossover or SUV out there. Let’s just hope it’s not the last Volvo wagon we see!