RE: New Volvo, same practical magic | PH Footnote

[Lotusgav]

I have an outlander phev which is great but the interior is rubbish. But similarly is suits my lifestyle perfectly.

I’m not sure If these are coming to Aus but if they do I’m going to have a look for sure…

[Demonix]

Not a bad looking wagon and for lugging offspring to Uni and back it has potential and for those of us with only on street parking a hybrid makes more sense than a PEV.

[captain.scarlet]

cerb4.5lee said:

captain.scarlet said:

I've always thought the XC60 is far better looking than the XC90.

I've had both a 2019 XC60 and a 2019 XC90 as loan cars, and I personally thought that the XC90 was the better looking car, and a much better car overall too(granted you would expect that though because it is a higher class of car).

Edited by cerb4.5lee on Saturday 25th June 18:24

I totally agree with you on the looks front. The XC60 has sufficient room without it being too big and the rear light clusters are ergonomically a prettier sight (that should age well IMO) than those on the XC90 by contrast, which overall as a car looks like a tad frumpy despite it supposedly being a jacked-up S90 (again a better looking car).

[FaustF]

Excellent review

Thank you

[TypeRTim]

gl20 said:

sandys said:

whilst you can do those things with respect to charging on an EV6 with the granny cable, to get the range via the granny cable would take 3days to go the distance in an EV6, he said he has no chargers, so can't fast home charge, 70 litres of petrol means he doesn't need to worry about if any of that charging infrastructure doesn't work, or is of the appropriate speed to provide a quick top up midway.

I went for the PHEV for this reason also, a T8 455, most local stuff done in EV mode but I can tow anywhere do anything as petrol is quick and easy. Downside of Volvos setup is the rubbish charging speed for such a large battery, meaning it is only really suitable for destination charging.

new Merc c300e comes in estate, has a 25kwh battery(~60 miles) and a 50Kw DC charger for on travels charging, might be an even better alternative for some, can tow 2000kg too, you can even choose a PHEV diesel for the mile munchers.

Yes, but I assumed with a granny cable you could still get, say, 40 miles of charge in the same time as you could filling up the battery in the PHEV to its max of 40 miles? (And that 3 days is if you want to go from empty to full?)

So my point was that,’during the week, I do 20-30 miles a trip here and there, may be 100-150 at the weekend and would only have a 300 mile plus journey a couple of times a year. So, so long as an EV can suck miles through a a granny cable no slower than a PHEV, then I think I’d have been better overall with an EV. (Ie barely less convenient and not carry 2 types of power train)

But if an EV can’t suck at the same rate as a PHEV then fair enough, my logic wouldn’t work.

I think the point is, he can still get home after without having to make a stop at a services. So he can still charge daily, pootle around all the local journeys on electric and still have enough range to get home again without having to make an unnecessary stop.

I've been seriously considering a PHEV as it really suits our lifestyle. We do a lot of local, less than 10 mile journeys which are really inefficient for ICE, but electric bread and butter. But, we also do a lot of 150-200 mile journeys (each way) regularly with no charging at the destination which is perfect ICE territory and would leave us worrying about whether or not we would be able to complete the return leg without an unnecessary stop increasing journey time in a BEV.

Thing that puts me off the Volvo is that there are no physical HVAC or Entertainment controls - just the touchscreen.

[Digga]

In real world use, there's a lot to be said for erring on the side of the more compact V60, rather than the V90. Country lanes, cark pars, can all become tiresomely challenging in anything a bit too wide.

Similarly, for now at least, a hybrid gets you places EV's simpy cannot. If your daily commute, to and from home, is under 40 miles, but your travels also take you into the (currently, largely charge-pointless) sticks, PHEV is the way.

I make both of the above comments as some who's main, daily driver is a Taycan Cross Turismo.

[Ralphthemouth]

Breaking news....rich Londoner buys second home in Wales and enjoys his expensive new car.

[Baldchap]

Ralphthemouth said:

Breaking news....rich Londoner buys second home in Wales and enjoys his expensive new car.

If cars aren't your thing (they're all expensive), I can't help but think perhaps a different website might suit you better.

[parabolica]

PistonTim said:

Sounds like the stop/start at the gates? Most Audi / BMW etc I’ve seen have a button to switch this off - is the Volvo not the same?

Yes; swipe right on the main screen and push the tile for stop/start. But it resets each time you start the car.

I love my V60, will be a shame to see it go as I'm moving overseas and the price of the equivalent where I'm going is astronomical (as are most other offerings of the same ilk) but glad I got to scratch the V60 itch.

[shea89]

When considering a used PHEV, how do you determine how many miles have been done on the engine vs the battery? are they all required to store this information and you just access it through a menu? Just thinking mileage isn't as simple an indicator of drivetrain wear with PHEVs

[SunsetZed]

If more plugin hybrids had the same boot space as the petrol powered equivalents they'd be more popular (with me at least!).

The compromise on boot space was the reason I didn't upgrade earlier this year.

[RicksAlfas]

I bought a V60 Cross Country earlier this year. If they had done a plug-in hybrid version of that I would have gone for it, but sadly that drivetrain/trim combo doesn't exist. I will echo the reviewer's thoughts that it's a very practical and comfortable car. Handsome too without the in your face aggression of some of the German cars. I am also sure if he had fiddled around with the menus he could arrange the ignition to stay on with the door open. I've never had a car where you can personalise so many bits. Do you want the rear wiper to come on when you reverse? Do you want cornering lights. Do you want the heated seats to stay on or go off. Loads of stuff. I think it's great!

[PistonTim]

parabolica said:

PistonTim said:

Sounds like the stop/start at the gates? Most Audi / BMW etc I’ve seen have a button to switch this off - is the Volvo not the same?

Yes; swipe right on the main screen and push the tile for stop/start. But it resets each time you start the car.

I love my V60, will be a shame to see it go as I'm moving overseas and the price of the equivalent where I'm going is astronomical (as are most other offerings of the same ilk) but glad I got to scratch the V60 itch.

Yes every car I've had with this system switches it back on by default when you turn the ignition on.

[ducnick]

PistonTim said:

parabolica said:

PistonTim said:

Sounds like the stop/start at the gates? Most Audi / BMW etc I’ve seen have a button to switch this off - is the Volvo not the same?

Yes; swipe right on the main screen and push the tile for stop/start. But it resets each time you start the car.

I love my V60, will be a shame to see it go as I'm moving overseas and the price of the equivalent where I'm going is astronomical (as are most other offerings of the same ilk) but glad I got to scratch the V60 itch.

Yes every car I've had with this system switches it back on by default when you turn the ignition on.

I went through a phase of running a modern bmw 5 series with stop start. Wonderfully fuel saving in town, great I thought…. Until the “intelligent battery controller” failed at the lights on day, rendering the car immobile and locked in gear. Once fixed, I always switched the system off immediately after starting the car.

[t66gal]

I purchased a Mercedes C350e hybrid last May and I did have some reservations regarding the PHEV setup but overall it has been a great car- Day to day we don't use the engine for short trips around town- Circa 14 mile range. We have now placed an order on a Tesla model Y but it has definitely been a worthwhile stepping stone. I am not so sure of the resale values of these cars though.....

[t66gal]

I purchased a Mercedes C350e hybrid last May and I did have some reservations regarding the PHEV setup but overall it has been a great car- Day to day we don't use the engine for short trips around town- Circa 14 mile range. We have now placed an order on a Tesla model Y but it has definitely been a worthwhile stepping stone. I am not so sure of the resale values of these cars though.....

[TypeRTim]

t66gal said:

I purchased a Mercedes C350e hybrid last May and I did have some reservations regarding the PHEV setup but overall it has been a great car- Day to day we don't use the engine for short trips around town- Circa 14 mile range. We have now placed an order on a Tesla model Y but it has definitely been a worthwhile stepping stone. I am not so sure of the resale values of these cars though.....

I would be extremely hesitant to buy one secondhand. But I would be the same about BEV as well. Possibly more so. At least with PHEV you have a second power source to fall ack on when the battery has an issue.

[Mezzanine]

As an addendum to this, I went in to a dealership this morning to enquire about ordering one of these and the sales guy said it would be 12- 18 months before you were likely to see delivery, with a heavy emphasis that it was more likely to be 18 months rather than 12.