Volvo XC60 facelift driving REVIEW (2026 T8 PHEV) – now refreshed and competitive?
this is here the updated Volvo XC60 now a fresh development officially the most sold Volvo of all time truly a bestseller here of the brand and the question is with this update can the XC60 fight the competition because BMW X3 Mercedes GLC Audi Q5 they are basically all newer vehicles the base model of this one here is now quite old but now with some changes exterior and interior we’ll go through all of them and also drive it and then tell you all you need to know about the XC60 update with Thomas Nautical Fuel in 4K full screen full length let’s go here with the new front new grill either dark design or bright design this is the dark scheme updated logo as well so the dark scheme is the one that used to be the arrow design before and bright would be more chrome this also new vehicle color called forest lake and we are at the forest lake here a beautiful one at this moment in Sweden so we picked the right scheme right surrounding for this vehicle color than here today and we also have 21in wheels here 18 to 21 even 22 with polestar would be possible theoretically but these are already quite large the length is 4 m 71 or 185 in mentioned the competitors already earlier this one is also equipped with the optional air suspension they do offer that and we also are driving it here today for you classic SUV style more the upright styling so not like copes-ish and so on that’s why also Volvo customers appreciate the space you have on the inside for example update here also at the rear because the tails are now a little bit darker same like the XC90 facelift recently and this one is here you can see the beds the T8 plug-in hybrid so more to the engines and also rather clean design in lower part no fake exhaust or something like that always 2 L 4cylinder petrol engines at Volvo either with the mild hybrid or then here in this case with the plug-in hybrid drivetrain you either get 250 horsepower for the mild hybrid or for the plug-in hybrid and this one in the T8 with 310 horsepower the most powerful version 4.9 seconds and in the excavation and of course also all-wheel drive and here the charging is only 6.4 4 kW AC not too quick more in the sense of putting it at home on the wallbox the battery capacity net is 14.7 so around 15 kW hours not too large not too small this 18.8 figure is by the way the gross figure realistic pure electric driving some 60 km 40 mi something now towards the interior standard Volvo key fob it’s nothing special door closing sounds let’s check it out it’s all fine yeah the rear door is actually better than the front one but both solid then inside of the doors top part here is nicely structured and also somewhat soft i also like here these chrome style door handles bows and Wilkins sound system is really amazing like that one then here soft for your elbow and the only thing is here there’s no real cover for the inside of the door then we have entry batch typical Volvo floor mat as well and over here some nice wood matte wood Scandinavian inserts steering wheel material is also element free feels really nicely still some real buttons and important just one left click here and this EU speed chime warning is deactivated that’s a cool feature then seats different ones are available with the surfacing so you get fabric seats soal citywave for example or then here the Nordico is a high-grade leatherrett also with some quilting structure here and they are even made from recyclables plus some pine oil that’s also going full circle and yeah they’re actually very comfortable headroom here with 1 A9 602 is fine although this one is here the panoramic glass roof you can still open that one here so that’s actually pretty cool and then there’s also a shade available the only thing is I don’t like this slider here uh that much if you now think about the competition by the way so first of all here the uh it’s like the shade you can apply for really hot days would of course also cover all the way if you think about the competition Volvo is always very good in the seat ergonomics just BMW is a little bit better as for seat ergonomics meanwhile and also for example in the Mercedes GLC and in the BMW X3 you would get a high-grade leatherrett which is perforated and can also be cooled that is not done here with this seat for €1,000 extra by the way you get here the insulation for the windows this is a package and it’s both for the front and also for the rear windows and by the way this color of the seat here of this Nordico leather red is called cinnamon and now to the cockpit perspective which is to me the highlight of this vehicle because I mentioned maybe some things where the Germans are ahead but here we find some things where where Volvo is still ahead for example here the dashboard you can get here with the high-grade leather red covering and the stitching this feels amazing looks amazing also the integration here of the sound system here the bows and wigan sound system this is really lovely i love this design detail work for example here also this silhouette of the Swedish flag and also the matte wood insert here you can hear it how you can feel it this is really nice so I love this cockpit indeed and new 11in infotainment system yes as on the one hand it’s a little bit popped out before it was like more integrated but now it’s larger you can easier access things the icons are bigger and so on so yeah it’s maybe like a trade-off but it looks more modern you still have a manual volume jock in the lower part at least this one however the climate unit is done here and always in this two click scheme one and then h and also for the seat heating for the steering wheel heating it’s good that we have one but um I would like to control that physically that’s counting for all the manufacturers and especially not in two steps i think if you put in the climate unit at least make it plus minus directly accessible on the first layer then here glove box also smoothly dam like that also when you close it is interesting that they have this very central scheme here from the lines new inductive charging pad this new position here in the front that the smartphone is more open and easier to access that you don’t have to squeeze it in somewhere this also has this optional um crystal glass uh shifting lever you don’t have to go for it one start stop here and then here a matte wood that looks also pretty cool just this segmentation here is in this vehicle here not let’s say not that well built maybe it’s a one-off we have to see about the other vehicles but the problem is that it belongs to the mechanism that they are individual segments that you can slide it open and then you have adaptive cup holders four dot design that holding bottles tight as well and then you can also Yeah this maybe could be a little bit softer for your elbow you can slide it open well built then you have space for your smartphone if you especially like connection with the cable which I usually prefer actually we can soon go into the infotainment details for you driver PV here once again with these buttons here for example you can change stuff in the digital instrument like map or no map view we also have a head display always hard to see on camera it’s not flickering then here you either have this Google Maps view here also with a satellite view so we’re in the Swedish countryside for you here today you also have this main menu it’s a whole new system in here for this vehicle we know it from the other new Volvos and also Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are possible vehicle controls are here you can also for example set the different driving modes and definitely Bows and Wigan sound system yeah to us it’s really the best and uh especially when you set it here to the um Gothborg concert hall stage that’s just amazing especially for electronic music and also for acoustic music and after Leah and I have enjoyed something of the sound system she can show us some more features here the sun visors light integrated can they be extended no they cannot but we have actually four door handles so and then also for the rear a little bit dark there but still all the way with the door handles and the lights here in the middle are with touch
ah yes
in the middle right or is it is it ah it also works individually and here for ah
double light
let there be light rear seating first of all inside of the door is also soft on the top part that’s nice good build quality here also a little bit softer for the elbow just hard back here in the lower part but this also here even in the lower part has a structure to it and then we have ISOIX on the outside seats each you can just fold them open here then you also have the same quilting here then cup holders are also somewhat adaptive with these lips so here a small ski hitch you can open from the back part relatively large middle tunnel here and you have two USBC chargers in here in the rear and you can also get seat heating for the rear you can see here with three levels with a real button that’s cool and as for the space we have here headroom with the panoramic roof still works with 1 A9 62 good upright seating position and also exactly fits with the knees when a tall driver is driving maybe I could make it a little bit upright but overall that’s fine from the space you have here for four tall adults now to the trunk or the boot which is 470 L here in the plug-in hybrid version here the trolley fits underneath no problem and this cover here you can set to different uh levels basically you can set this one here then this or you can just remove it completely then here this is more than a meter or 40 inches so it’s a very good width of the trunk and the length here is a little bit less than a meter 40 in yeah almost fits in here and the height also good dimensions 29 in or 74 cm so well usable here this trunk area there is no remote unlock from here but you can actually easily grab over like this then you can see also the head restraints they fold automatically it’s cool thing there we go and then the full length here to where we are sitting here this is like 1 m 75 or 69 in and here you can also see nice transitions all flat go bit good build quality and this is here an additional floor mat so you can also remove that there’s also like a rubber side to it from the accessory parts um but you can of course also completely pull it out there you can see there’s an even better transition then to the rear seats and underneath here there’s just a little bit more space yeah this is here the plug-in hybrid power mode that is 50 to 100 km an hour pretty quick here in this T8 plug-in hybrid strongest version 310 horsepower 4.9 seconds 0 to 100 and that’s the combined power then of the combustion engine and the electric motor here in that power mode you always have the power of both drivetrains and usually you would just put the hybrid mode and let the car do its thing you could also go in the pure mode and then you are pure electric you al see it in the instruments for example if you have like this um as like a like a petrol drop which is filled then in the power mode you also have a special RPM meter and on the right side and on the motorway for example it also somewhat still makes sense to use the combustion engine longterm of course you can have both then so here at 1 km an hour 60 mph we do have the dual insulation here so that’s good that there’s no disturbing wind noise or something so dual insulation for front and rear windows we feel that got to say though here the tarmac is kind of rough that’s why lot of sound comes from underneath but here the tarmac is now changing let’s listen to that it’s interesting right now it’s it’s already already different um I have the feeling that as I said like wind noise wise you hear nothing but you hear quite some rolling noise from underneath in comparison yeah but I think we can test it later also maybe on different tarmac situations but here also this one should be a little bit less noisy it is actually a little bit less than the bright tarmac than here so I wouldn’t say it’s the most quiet from underneath but it’s very quiet like from this um ear area around with the windows and so on we have the setup here of air suspension you feel it then when we have some waves for example it’s evened out very well however we have 21in wheels there that look amazing but of course that reduces the comfort a little bit when you have some smaller potholes that you feel that you don’t have too much dampening from the tires was pretty cool that we can only deactivate with one click here on the left side of the steering wheel that we can turn the speed chime EU law off that you don’t have this annoying effect so that’s easily done and also here one click to turn on the cruise control and there’s also the active steering assist available if you like that let’s see how it keeps us in the lane also when now the motorway is making a slight left bend blind spot monitor very well integrated with this red kind of like boomerang in the side mirrors so that’s really really nice and here there are some corrections back and forth but overall so far well done the German assistant systems like Audi be BMW Mercedes they are a little bit smoother than as for the corrections here but so far so good than in this respect you know that both has always been you know strong in assistance systems in in safety that was always also one of their unique selling points and so far this also working very well I’m really like like the visualization of the blind spot monitor um that’s larger than with most other manufacturers actually got to say though again I’m not sure if if Leah agrees that um considering we have dual insulation I would have believed that it’s a little bit more silent in here right
it’s lower yeah it’s too together in the city
yeah yeah definitely so so motorway could be a little bit more silent um so definitely I would go for the dual insulation because otherwise it would be um even a little bit louder good ergonomics from the seats as we also know from Volvo so uh it’s also nice for long-term and so on and here on the Swedish motorway this also a typical speed now we at 1 or 10 km an hour because we cannot go faster like on the German autoban than here so it’s a a good longway cruiser because of the comfort and so on especially of the seat a ergonomics and um with this new infotainment system some things go quicker it’s more responsive and it’s also cool that we can use the Google Maps then again changing the temperature while driving you always have this two click thing you know um that’s not the best i still prefer the physical diets at least we have one for the volume still here you know that’s That’s good to have that definitely staying also in the hybrid mode so let the car do its thing yeah not sure if you if one of our cameras catches uh once again the blind spot monitor if you don’t see it it’s like really like a red boomerang which is actually pretty cool so for the best comfort I would stick with smaller wheels because 21 in are already quite large and then you have more pothole comfort so to speak but the air suspension we do feel that it gives you this this floaty ride and it’s really nice when you have some waves on the road here especially in on the motorway that this is also evened out very well that’s that’s actually pretty cool when we’re going downhill I also see it in instruments we have recharging recoperation and when I have set the Google Maps here the internal Google Maps I also see the Google Maps guidance here in the instruments that’s a very handy thing to do so I can show you the driving modes here i have my maps here in the my line of sight i also see the head-up display if you have the Google Maps via Apple CarPlay you do not see them in the instruments so that’s why I also switched it then uh and use it with the car internal Google Maps and of course you don’t use your smartphone data uh if that’s any relevant for you if you don’t have unlimited data or something like that and let’s also drive here off the motorway here’s also a road that um yeah it’s not so well done we also have some speed humps here there you feel again this aspect that the 20 21in wheels yeah they reduce the comfort yet the air suspension is doing a good job you know so and that’s kind of like a contrary thing I would maybe stick with 19in wheels um then you have definitely more comfort that that would be something that definitely helps you we also have some um like some rougher tarmac here on in the potholes and you again feel this comfort loss due to the big wheels but you can really control that you know if who think hey the sportier ride and the looks is more important to you you can do it if not stick with the lower ones what I find cool is that the steering is very precise and direct so there’s no dads on area always there’s something happening when you control the steering wheel you don’t have to steer too much and it doesn’t feel too unnatural so sometimes we had the Volvo steer steering wheels that were kind of like unnatural but this one here feels sporty at the same time there’s always like response and it’s um a very likable experience from the steering actually better than recently in the XC90 for example so it gives you a good controlled feeling of the car and because it’s at the same time also pretty light it creates the feeling that the car would be smaller and lighter than it actually is oh there horses on the road
got to slow down here when we’re going downhill so when I hit the brake again the recuperation is working i also see this recharge meter then in this case and when we are stuck with it when we um slowly driving here then we are also driving all electric again because plug-in drivetrain here uses the electric capacity first and it feels really smooth you know like the transitions again driving braking at least when you handle the throttle pedal very nicely you can also change the recuperation Here I can also go to the B mode then we have really strong one here is like Yeah that’s the thing then you also have to be gentle with the throttle it’s almost almost like a one pedal driving here in the plug-in hybrid that’s very interesting you rarely have that that’s very interesting at the same time when you hit the throttle a little bit harder and that’s also difference to when you maybe have the my drive only it’s quite responsive also in the city so that’s the thing the 2 liter forcer in the engine is not the um like most responsive greatest performance engine here that’s also not the like the main purpose of it but when you have them like especially at the T8 here when you have enough battery capacity left also when you’re going in some corners um and so on and you maybe stopping at a traffic light want to get going quickly again it always has this instant response like driving an electric vehicle and that’s also then the the big advantage of the plug-in hybrid drivetrain next to some uh text benefits of course depending on where you live in Germany for example it’s very attractive to take the plug-in hybrids in comparison to pure combustion engines is when you have um like when you have it as as a co- company car be it self-employed or also as an employee so that gives you a monthly tax benefits then in comparison that that’s actually pretty cool another reason to go for this one here yeah and of course because you have the silent drive then here so especially when we’re here then a little bit in the woods driving back and forth so we don’t have any local emissions and it’s also silent for us more when we drive when we sit inside but also silent when we uh pass on the road here and maybe people sitting in their summer who’s it or something like that in their summer houses well it’s a nice American vehicle setup here so someone has some fable for American uh like light trucks and motorcycles interesting yeah actually um it feels light here driving through these uh forest roads here and there also we don’t have this like this NVH problem we maybe had at the at the motorway earlier and as I said the likable steering helps us during that more comfort than again you would have with the smaller wheels overall in agile driving how do you feel it’s fine
good
yeah it’s fine
yeah good economics from the seats and so on and yeah this is actually where this car also really fits here swedish forest Swedish brand this one here of course also made
Yeah best greetings to all our uh fans from SP
so you know I can take tell a little dansk that’s why the Swedish can also understand me when I talk Danish although um it’s always the funny thing like you know that people from Norway Sweden and Denmark they can understand each other even if they keep talking in their own language because the languages are very related um unlike the the Finnish which is not related language wise that’s uh also another peculiar thing yeah but also beautiful landscape here i hope you enjoy also this driving part together with us prices start below $60,000 in Germany and Northern American market prices are actually 10k lower in US dollars approximately but you can also spec this one here like with all-wheel drive and the T8 and some equipment on the inside to like 80 even above that closer to €9,000 and then gets really really expensive there again the northern American market prices are like 20k lower in the highest trim so interesting price difference as for that spilled here in Sweden and their heartland plant so to speak and the main question was of course the updates yeah I mean useful ones definitely looks a little bit fresher more modern on the exterior on the interior also with the new seating choices actually pretty cool update infotainment system that you get the Google map support and also with the more modern screen so that actually all makes sense so I like the changes that they have done here if you now compare to the German competition this one here of course here this Swedish luxury very beautiful with the matte wood on the inside and so on good ergonomics of the seats and also still this classic SUV proportion with good space on the inside especially in the trunk they always have a big emphasis on that driving wise the Germans of course drive more agile that’s actually no surprise and they’re a little bit more fun to drive the Volvo is more like settled back so to speak however the steering input is actually also quite precise and also the competition is a little bit less noisy on the motorway even though they have already improved NVH here and so on so the main problem is that when you spec it really fully to the max and it gets relatively expensive for what it offers it’s more the best seller versions in the lower and mid-trim for example especially of course here than in Scandinavia if you get good leasing rates and so on and if you want to directly compare now the competitors we have them for you right
This is our in-depth review of the Volvo XC60 facelift (2026 T8 PHEV). We’re taking a look at Exterior, Interior and technology.
00:00 2026 Volvo XC60 facelift
01:05 Wheels, length, suspension
01:57 Engines
02:42 Interior quality
04:57 Cockpit and interface
07:20 Driver POV and software
08:51 Rear seats
09:50 Trunk / boot
11:08 Acceleration T8 PHEV
12:59 Suspension and assistance
16:46 Agile driving countryside
21:51 Price
Data & facts:
Volvo XC60
Bestseller and now most sold Volvo of all time
Shown color: Forest Lake, dark theme, 21“, air suspension, interior Nordico cardamon
Updated front grill
Bright or black grill possible
Optional Matrix LED
Dark rear tail lamps
Better NVH (optional insulated glass 1.000 Euro)
Optional air suspension 2.400 Euro
Length 4,71 m 185“
18“-21“ wheels, even 22“ Polestar wheels available
New 11“ infotainment android based
Optional bowers and wilkins sound
Fabric seats city weave in black base, animal free steering wheel
Mid trim Navy (dark blue) Herringbone fabric or black or bright quilted Nordico leatherette
Optional animal skin / leatherette mix
Optional panoramic roof
Trunk 470 l PHEV – 1530 l
2,0 l 4-cyl
B5 AWD MHEV 250 hp 6,9 s
T6 AWD PHEV 250 hp 5,7 s
T8 AWD PHEV 310 hp 4,9 s
15 kWh net battery
6,4 kW AC charging
Vmax always 180 km/h 112 mph
Towing PHEV 2,25 t
From 57.000 Euro for MHEV, PHEV from 68.000 Euro, top trim PHEV AWD 88.000 Euro
From 48.000 USD, PHEV high trim AWD 69.000 Euro
#Volvo #volvoxc60
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