2022 Volvo XC60 Recharge Review _ Plugging In Volvo's Popular Crossover

The XC60 is Volvo's most popular model. It's been on sale since 2009, and we've always found it to be a pretty compelling option. Now, Volvo has made a strong commitment to electrification in recent years, and they're using their hybrids as a way to transition customers towards EV ownership. Today, we've got the new 2022 Volvo XC60 Recharge. It's the plug-in hybrid version of the XC60 that we all know. As a compact luxury crossover, it competes in a super crowded segment, so we really want to dig into what's new for 2022 and where these updates put the XC60 Recharge relative to its rivals. But first, thanks for joining us. Please make sure you're subscribed to the YouTube channel, and remember, you can now sell a car 100% online with CarGurus. All you have to do is plug in your information. We'll source an offer from our network of thousands of dealers, we'll make sure you get paid, and we'll even come and pick up your car. It's super easy. The XC60 Recharge just got an exterior styling refresh. It still has these classic Volvo Thor's Hammer headlights, but the grille, the front bumper, and the Volvo iron mark have all been updated. The rear fascia has also been updated, and the tailpipes are now hidden. There are also new wheel designs. 19-inch wheels would be standard on this, the inscription trim, but we have the upgraded 20-inch five-multi-spoke black diamond-cut alloy wheels. Volvo's website indicates that any color except for ice white costs an extra $695, although the base color changes to black stone if you go for the Polestar engineered trim. Either way, this color, Silver Dawn, is an extra charge. So for me, if I'm paying extra for the color anyway, I'm going with Denim Blue. But what about you? The cabin is beautiful in an elegant, understated way. I've been impressed with the super-luxe interior of modern Lincolns, and this is completely different. Lincolns are plush, but a little shouty about it, whereas this feels like it's not overtly trying to reel you in. It's just going to let you come to it. It's subtle, with the possible exception of this Oraphor's crystal shift knob, which is super cool and super Swedish. We've also got Swedish flags on the seats and on the dash. They're covered in a tailored wool blend in a color called Midnight Zinc, but Nappa leather is also available for no extra charge, so it's your choice. I know, Volvo is moving away from leather for sustainability and ethical reasons, and I do respect that. But for me, it's precisely because I am an animal lover that I really prefer to have a seating surface I can wipe off. I also just like to have one cat hair-free environment in my life. That said, in defense of this upholstery, the wool is going to be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, and since we have about eight months of winter here in Boston, I could see that making a lot of sense. The front seats are heated, and the climate package adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel as well. Legroom is pretty darn good back here. It's better than most in the segment, and the headroom is competitive too in spite of this panoramic moonroof. By the way, I really like that they've used a sunshade rather than an opaque panel. The XC60 Recharge has 21.1 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats in place and 49.3 with them down. We have the power rear hatch, and this is a super cool thing. Because this has the optional air suspension, we can use these buttons over here to raise and lower the car for easier loading and unloading or tailgating or whatever it is that you want to do back here, and that's not all that the air suspension is good for. It also offers automatic leveling. It will raise and lower the car a bit depending on your driving speed, and if you turn on easy exit mode, it will lower the car when you turn it off and raise it when you start it to make it easier to get in and out. This XC60 Recharge is the newer extended-range version, so it has the new and improved T8 powertrain, which makes a combined 455 horsepower and 523 pound-feet of torque. The 2.0-liter 4-cylinder gas engine is now turbocharged, no longer twin-charged. It makes 312 horsepower on its own, and the new electric motor contributes another 143 horsepower compared with 87 from the old one. The extended-range model has a much larger battery. It's 18.8 kWh as compared to 11.6 previously. This nearly doubles the pure electric range to 35 miles. The extended-range version is faster, too. Volvo says it'll do 0-to-60 in 4.5 seconds as compared to 5 seconds for the standard range version. This crossover is really a pleasure to drive. The suspension feels nice and firm so that it feels responsive, but not so much so that you're crashing down over flaws in the pavement. It uses an 8-speed automatic transmission and e-all-wheel drive. The brakes feel great. It's important to note that this does have blended braking, so it's always regenerating some power back into the battery. You can click the shift knob back to B to turn on one-pedal driving. You just have to first go into the infotainment system to make sure that creep mode is off. You can also adjust the air suspension to firm or soft in here, and it's also where you access the drive modes. There's no longer a dedicated knob for drive mode, so it is helpful if you have an assistant in the passenger seat. Running on only gas, the XC60 recharge is rated for 28 miles per gallon combined. It will charge in 5 hours on a 240-volt charger. It does not support DC fast charging, so I left it plugged in at a charge point charger while running errands, and in 2 hours 6 minutes it went from 0 to 19 miles of electric range. The whole idea is that you should be able to just get around town on electric power only and then add in gas power for your longer trips. You can use the hold function to tell the car to conserve the battery charge for later, and I should note that it's also possible to charge the battery from the gas engine. However, that is the least efficient way to charge, and it's going to tank your gas mileage. So given that gas is so expensive right now, you're much better off just plugging it in. It only cost me $1.93 to add those 19 miles, and it would have been even less on a 240-volt home charger. As happy as I am in this cabin, I don't love the infotainment system. This 9-inch touchscreen is running Volvo's Google-based software, so if you're an Android user you can sync your Google profile to the car. That also means that Google Maps is baked in, which I really appreciate, but Apple CarPlay is not here yet. It's supposed to be standard, and so hopefully it will be arriving through an over-the-air update soon. A 10-speaker stereo is standard, but there's also a 13-speaker Harman Kardon sound system option, and then there's the 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins premium sound system, which is what we have. It's really cool. If you're an audiophile, I recommend looking into it. It has these room modes, so you can change the acoustics to make it sound like you're listening in a concert hall or a jazz club or a studio or like the performer is on stage. The four-tile home page has infrared technology that allows it to work with gloves. In addition to the alleged Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, Android Auto, and a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot are all standard. Regular mode on the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster shows the map, or you can choose a calm mode that simplifies the driver display. The XC60 has a ton of standard driver assistance features. Collision warning, collision avoidance, post-collision braking, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, driver alert control, cross-traffic alert, a blind spot information system, and rear collision mitigation. The 2021 model earned a Top Safety Pick Plus designation from the IIHS and a five-star overall rating from NHTSA. We also have the Advanced Package, which adds the head-up display, Volvo's Pilot Assist system with adaptive cruise control, and a surround-view camera. The radar system is a real pearl clutcher. It's super alarmist, and it kept prompting me to wind up way too far from the curb. I guess that's the kind of thing that you would get used to if you live with a car for more than a week. The 2022 Volvo XC60 Recharge starts at $54,250. Incredibly, Volvo actually sells the extended-range configuration on every trim, and it only costs $500 more than the standard-range version. Now, because it has the larger battery pack, it actually qualifies for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, which makes this version cheaper overall than the standard-range version. Volvo also sweetens the deal with three years of complimentary scheduled maintenance. The one that we're driving today, the Inscription trim, that starts at $62,250, but this particular example also has several options that drive the price up. The Climate Package costs $750, the Advanced Package is $2,050, and then there's the paint, the power-operated tailgate, the Bowers & Wilkins stereo, the air suspension, the 20-inch wheels, and the $1,095 destination charge. That brings our grand total to $72,840 with cloth seats, but again, the Nappa leather is the same price, so your call. As I've said, the XC60 Recharge competes in a super-crowded segment. There's the plug-in hybrid version of the Audi Q5, the BMW X3, the Lexus NX, the Lincoln Corsair, and the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class. Of course, none of those other options are Swedish. More importantly, this is less expensive than some of your other choices, including the Audi and the Lexus. Granted, the Lexus has better gas mileage and a slightly longer electric range, but this has more cargo space and more legroom. It's a real joy to drive, and it's super, super nice inside in a real stealth wealth kind of way, and stealth wealth is superior because it doesn't have anything to prove. Thanks for watching. If you want to dig deeper, head over to CarGurus.com to read our full written review of the 2022 Volvo XC60. Please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check back soon. We'll be driving something else next week.