Volvo S60 T8

Volvo S60 T8 Polestar Engineered £53k approx

WE SAY: VOLVO PROVES THERE’S LIFE IN THE SALOON FORMULA YET

It’s a brand-new saloon car, just as we’re being told the unstoppable march of the SUV is killing off the traditional four-door. But the new Volvo S60 counters by purporting itself to be a modern-thinking saloon car. Not least by offering no diesels; it’ll only come as petrol and/or hybrid.

The engine range is a little complex, but every single S60 will have a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo at its core. Kicking off the range at around £30k is a 190bhp T4, while at the top is a T8 plug-in hybrid with as much as 400bhp if you spec it in ‘Polestar Engineered’ form.

This is designed as a stepping stone between regular Volvos and the Swedes’ Polestar performance sub-brand, and it’s as hot as the S60 will get. It brings Öhlins dampers and Brembo brakes, traditionally some of the tastiest ingredients of a really fulfilling sports saloon.

When your saloon’s a two-tonne hybrid with brake regeneration, though, they both feel a little superfluous. The T8’s got a proper turn of pace when it’s fully charged, and with the electric motor driving the rear axle, it becomes AWD when you’re using both power sources. But we’d love to see Volvo apply the serious suspension and brakes to lesser, lighter S60s, which don’t feel much slower than their hybrid equivalent. And perhaps a bit sharper, given they’re less challenged by physics when you’re turning or stopping them.

Elsewhere, it’s prime modern-day Volvo. Both interior and exterior are cleanly styled and ought to age well. There’s a huge media screen that’ll incorporate any app worth using, it has the comfiest seats south of a Rolls-Royce, while all the seeds of self-driving have been sewn via copious cameras and radars. For now, they provide an autonomous cruise control system that steers, accelerates and brakes for you in traffic and motorway conditions.

In short, a 3-Series, Giulia or XE is still sharper to drive, but the S60 counters with cooler looks, cleverer tech and more rear space. It’s a comfy place to be, and does more than enough to justify its existence and to stop you from ending up in that seemingly inevitable SUV.

SPECIFICATION

1969cc turbo 4cyl + e-motor AWD, 399bhp, 317lb ft 134.5mpg, 47g/km CO 0–62mph in 4.7secs, 155mph 2020kg

VERDICT: Looks great, drives well. The top-spec T8 version is probably overly complex in its specification, though.