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2023 Volvo XC60 Review: Get the Recharge plug-in hybrid

Pros: Elegant styling and beautiful cabin; excellent plug-in hybrid option; solid value Cons: Middling handling; pricey and strange Polestar performance model The 2023 Volvo XC60 is the bread-and-butter SUV for Volvo since it’s in the very popular compact luxury segment. Thankfully for Volvo, the XC60 is a good, solidly competitive offering and one of our top-recommended choices in that segment. The most enticing part about the XC60 is its superb plug-in hybrid “Recharge” option. With 36 miles of range, a very strong electric motor and tons of power on tap from the gasoline engine, thereÂ’s no luxury compact SUV plug-in hybrid weÂ’d rather have. Of course, many of the XC60Â’s other elements are what make it so desirable. The 2022 update to revamp the vehicleÂ’s infotainment system give it a top-notch suite of tech offerings. ItÂ’s practically impossible to find the exterior styling offensive. Plus, who doesnÂ’t love an elegant Swedish-style interior? You can even get wool upholstery! One of our editors loved the XC60 so much that he actually bought one, so thereÂ’s a true endorsement coming straight from our wallets. Compared to other compact luxury SUVs, the XC60 wonÂ’t carve corners as well as a BMW X3 or Mercedes-Benz GLC. Plus, the Polestar Engineered performance model is a tad questionable considering it doesnÂ’t provide extra power and has manually adjustable dampers — yeah, you have to go twist the knob yourself. Those arenÂ’t exactly dealbreakers, though, and given the spacious back seat and cargo room, comfortable driving characteristics and excellent fuel efficiency, the stylish XC60 is an impossible-to-overlook option. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Trim Levels   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2023? For 2023, Volvo revamps its trim naming structure. Instead of the familiar Momentum, R-Design and Inscription options, buyers are now faced with Core, Plus and Ultimate. Additionally, the number of options packages are reduced and bundled together. The more important updates happened last year for the 2022 model where Volvo completely revamped the powertrain options, adding a mild-hybrid assist to the B5 and B6 models and providing big upgrades to the Recharge plug-in hybrid. You can read about these changes to the Recharge in our first drive story from 2022.

Current-generation Volvo XC90 will be sold alongside its successor

Volvo's next-generation XC90 sounds like it will be more of a revolution than a simple evolution — even the name will change. The firm doesn't want to alienate buyers, so it will sell the current-generation model alongside its replacement for at least a couple of years. Allegedly called Embla, the XC90's successor will inaugurate an evolution of the existing SPA2 platform and a number of driver-assistance features. Some rumors claim that it will be offered exclusively with an electric powertrain. Keeping the second-generation model around is a way for Volvo to prevent buyers who don't want an electric car and who don't need the latest and greatest tech features from going to the competition. Making the two people-movers in separate factories will ensure that both can be built without creating logistical issues. "That is an advantage of building the new one in Charleston, South Carolina. Why should we close down the old one in Torslanda when you still have a market for hybrids, especially in America and in China?," said outgoing company boss Hakan Samuelsson in an interview with Automotive News Europe. He stopped short of saying precisely how long the current-generation XC90 will remain in production for, however. Far from worrying about internal competition, Volvo plans to give the XC90 at least one more update in order to help it fend off a growing list of rivals, especially in key markets like the United States. "We will even look into upgrading it so it looks a bit better," he told the publication. As of writing, it's the oldest member of the Volvo range: it spearheaded the brand's revival when it made its debut for the 2016 model year. More information about the XC90's replacement will emerge in the coming months, and we expect to see the model in late 2022. When it lands, it will be clearly positioned as Volvo's flagship, a spot that the XC90 has occupied since the first-generation model arrived in 2002. As new cars become more advanced and correspondingly more expensive, keeping an older model around as a budget-oriented option is a strategy that's slowly gaining ground. Porsche confirmed that the current- and next-generation versions of the Macan will coexist for a few years for reasons not unlike Volvo's. Ram keeps the last-generation 1500 in its range and charges $6,385 less for it than for the new model. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Volvo XC90 Coasting Transmission Deep Dive | How, when and why of coasting

In our recent 2021 Volvo XC90 Recharge review, its turbocharged-supercharged-hybridized powertrain delivered impressive horsepower and fuel economy. But Volvo has one additional trick up its sleeve, propelling a car with power that's simpler, cheaper and all-natural: It's the power of momentum and gravity. I've always been halfway to a hypermiler. I'm not obsessive about it, but in city driving, I enjoy timing stoplight approaches to keep the wheels rolling and avoid the inertia of restarting from a stop. There's little point to needlessly racing and braking between red lights, wasting kinetic energy (and therefore fuel). So I tend to drive strategically instead, often catching up with the drivers who jackrabbit but get hung up at the lights. And, back when I owned a long line of vehicles with manual transmissions, I coasted. Coasting used to be slightly controversial. Some claimed it doesn't actually save gas, though my mileage calculations showed otherwise. Another school of thought insisted that removing engine braking from the equation, even momentarily, constitutes a dangerous loss of control. Of course, an experienced driver can slip a manual transmission back into gear in a flash when engine braking's actually needed. And one should always use some common sense and judgment about when and where to coast. I'm not talking about careening down a 15% grade into a school zone.  Anyway, those arguments became moot when automatic transmissions pretty much took over. (And no, never coast with a typical automatic transmission. Even if it weren't damaging to your type of automatic — but assume that it is — the risk of screwing up a nudge of the shifter from drive into neutral is too great.) XC90 Recharge 8 View 18 Photos But happily, some automakers in recent years have added a coasting feature to their automatics, with the aim of eking out more fuel efficiency. Volvo calls the feature on its Aisin eight-speed "Eco Coast." Some Mercedes, BMWs and others call it "sailing" or "gliding." The Hyundai Ioniq, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Polestar 2 are among EVs that allow you to cancel out all regeneration and freewheel downhill. And future cars such as the BMW iX are also being designed to do it. By building coasting into the clockworks, automakers have taken any traffic safety concerns out of the question, because the car will instantly switch you back into gear when needed.