2025 Volvo XC60 Polestar: The same but made even better
The midsize SUV from the Swedish automaker offers a seriously fun time, but is it worth 25% more than last week’s Evoque?
2025 Range Rover Evoque Dynamic SE vs. 2025 Volvo XC60 T8 AWD Polestar Engineered PHEV: Battle of the pricey little SUVs from northern Europe
This week: Volvo XC60 T8
Price: $77,345 as tested. The $800 22-inch wheels and tires were the only option.
Conventional wisdom: Motor Trend likes the “attractive bodywork, powerful PHEV variant, capacious cargo area,” but not the “sophisticated but cumbersome infotainment,” or that the “interior shows its age,” and “loaded models get pricey.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Performance where it matters the most. Intelligent design at every turn. Meet our smart plug-in hybrid midsize SUV with Google built-in.” Wordy.
Reality: Is it really worth another 15-grand for a plug-in Volvo?
What’s new: Not much is new for the 2025 model. But maybe grab one while you can? The V60 Polestar Engineered model has disappeared for 2025.
Competition: Besides the Evoque, there’s the Acura RDX, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Genesis GV70, and Lexus NX.
Up to speed: Ooooh, now this is how an XC60 should feel. Pop it into Polestar mode and it’s super quick. In fact, leave it in Pure mode, tromp on the accelerator, and it’ll switch to hybrid and handle the pickup for you.
The 312-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged engine gets a 143-horsepower electric motor added to it, for a hefty 455 horses.
It’s funny because among the XC60s littered about my driveway and yard over the years, I had a similarly named model for 2024 without the Polestar Engineered tagline, and it was nothing like this. The 0-60 time is 4.2 seconds, but somehow this seems even faster than last year’s knock-your-socks-off unit.
Shifty: Crystal shifter. Nice. And the gears worked themselves just fine in the 8-speed Geartronic automatic transmission.
On the road: Handling is also helped immensely in Polestar mode. The vehicle is comfortable and easy in other modes, but when Polestar takes over, it becomes taut and fun and dialed up to 11. That must be where it makes full use of the stiffer springs, Ohlins dampers, and front start bar, noted on the bill of sale but included in the price of the Polestar designation.
The 2024 XC60 tested lacked the Polestar touches, and it was far less fun to drive.
But I’ll mention that the buttons to change from mode to mode are a thing of the past, and it’s all through the touchscreen now. I’ve finally become one with this process — click the cog for settings, then the top tab, then choose your drive mode. Then click the cog to get back to your music or map. A button would be so much easier, but this is fairly simple.
The XC60 would occasionally balk at being sent back to Pure electric mode. I understand it will have to do that if there’s not enough juice for the drive, but I would have a nearly full battery and no dice. Switching into another mode first usually got me where I wanted to go.
Driver’s Seat: The Nappa leather front sport seats are quite comfortable and supportive. The bright yellow seat belts that come in the Polestar model are garish, but you’ll know right away if someone’s not wearing one. I was thinking that would be a good feature for airplane seat belts; flight attendants would know right away who’s wearing one and who isn’t.
Friends and stuff: The rear leatherette seat seems extra firm. The back sits at a nice angle, which is good, because there’s no adjustability. That seems pretty chintzy for this price point.
Also good are that legroom, headroom, and foot room are plentiful because, again, you’re stuck with what you have.
The middle seat occupant faces a tall, flat hump and a tall, uncomfortable seat, so assign your most annoying passenger there. They’re going to complain anyway. (Why is my family all looking at me?)
Cargo space is 22.4 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 63.3 when it’s folded. Towing maxes out at 3,500 pounds, just slightly less than last week’s Evoque.
In and out: It’s a bit of a step up into the XC60, more than I’d expected.
Play some tunes: Sound from the Bowers & Wilkins Premium system is about an A. It does a nice job on some songs and not so nice on others. The various concert hall and studio settings seem to have muddied up over the years, but we’re better than we were in the last Volvo I drove. I was able to pinpoint a perfect place, but the graphic interfaces may make it hard to get back to exactly what I wanted.
Keeping warm and cool: The controls are all in the bottom of the touchscreen as usual, opening up a larger touchscreen system that’s fairly easy to understand.
Fuel economy: I averaged in the high 20s. Plus you can get up to 35 miles on electric power alone.
Where it’s built: Torslanda, Sweden
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of the XC60 PHEV to be a 3 out of 5.
In the end: I’d definitely choose this over the Evoque, if I had the money for either. It’s even worth 25% more of the magic pretend dollars I have to spend.