Left feeling a bit flat
The T8 is a clever, if expensive, take on the plug-in hybrid SUV. But does it go far enough on electric power?
The great thing about a plug-in SUV is that you can enjoy guilt-free (smug even) zero-emissions commuting during the week, yet enjoy all of the versatility, space and range of a big family/luxury wagon in the weekends.
Or can you? The Volvo XC90 is a brilliant machine and so is the idea of the new T8 ‘twin engine’ version, which combines the 2.0-litre turbopetrol powerplant of the conventional T6 model with a plug-in battery pack.
In R-Design specification as tested here, the T8 costs a whopping $24,000 more than the equivalent T6. But it is the performance flagship because the electric motor is icing on the kiloWatt cake, and it can run sanspetrol when you drive to work.
Problem is, I couldn’t get any more than 20km out of a charge in the T8, and since I live 11km from work (which is not that far in a city) that didn’t give me enough electric power for my daily commute.
! felt a flat about the thing for that reason, to be honest.
Volvo claims 43km and a colleague reckons he achieved a best of 35km during his test-time, although he admitted that was purely urban driving. Once you hit the motorway, which I have to for a few kays on my commute, the battery drains very quickly indeed.
At the end of the day, the XC90 is still a heavy SUV that requires a lot of energy to shift. It’s even heavier in T8 form, which weighs 218kg more than the T6.
The key to T8 ownership, I feel, is to remember it’s a plug-in hybrid and save zero-emissions motoring for short, special occasions.
You can do that because the powertrain is cleverly configured. You can select Pure mode, for example, which prioritises electric power. Or Hybrid, which mixes and matches. Or Save, which holds the state of charge and even charges the battery so you can use it in the most suitable driving environment, later on in your journey.
Then you have Power and AWD (both self-explanatory) modes.
So it’s very engaging technology – providing you fully engage with it.
The petrol engine drives the front wheels, the battery pack the rear. So it can be FWD, RWD or AWD depending on circumstances. The T8 is the fastest XC90 you can buy, although not the best handling. See my comments above on weight.
I have mixed feelings about this car, which surprises me given how much I love the XC90 as a luxury SUV.
I love EV-motoring. I’m just not sure the XC90 T8 does enough of it to be completely desirable over the petrol or diesel versions. Price: $136,900.
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four with electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack, 235kW (petrol) plus 65kW (electric)/ 800Nm, 8-speed automatic, AWD. Performance: 0-100km/h 5.6sec, Combined economy 2.1 l/100km.
In a sentence: Plenty of power but short on charge.