At a time when drivers’ curiosity in battery EVs has been cooled by their excessive costs and persevering with charging complications, automobiles like Volvo’s V60 plug-in hybrid are getting extra consideration.
As we identified two years in the past with the RangeRover Sport PHEV , hybrids that allow drivers use electrical energy completely when driving round city whereas switching to fuel for longer drives will present drivers with EV advantages with out EV ache whereas ready for battery EV costs to fall and for the charging community to develop.
Volvo doesn’t at present promote the V60 PHEV within the U.S., however I had the chance to drive the T6 Twin Engine AWD in Eire. The low-slung station wagon is right-sized for U.S. roads, whereas its low roofline minimizes aerodynamic drag in comparison with taller SUVs, for improved EV driving vary and higher gasoline financial system when working on fuel energy.
Eire has some examples of public charging that the U.S. may gain advantage from making use of. The nation’s EasyGo EV charging community has quick 22-kilowatt AC Stage 2 chargers along with DC quick chargers. The Volvo fees utilizing solely AC charging, however with such quick chargers – twice as quick because the 11-kW chargers which might be usually the quickest within the U.S. – the V60 can cost its 18.8 kWh (14.7 kWh useable) lithium-ion battery pack in 4 hours.
This pack is sufficiently small to slot in the automobile’s central tunnel, so there’s no intrusion into the passenger or cargo house and the V60 doesn’t have the excessive flooring that’s typical of battery EVs that fill the ground with battery cells. A full cost is nice for 34-to-42 miles of purely electrical driving vary, which is adequate not just for native driving, however even supplied ample vary to drive from the Dublin airport to the Summerhill Home Lodge in Enniskerry, County Wicklow.
The V60 on the entrance to Powerscourt Waterfall, Co. Wicklow. DAN CARNEY
Whereas the resort lacked charging services, the village’s free parking zone has EasyGo chargers as does the close by Powerscourt property. The quick 22-kW charging charge meant that the battery might get cost throughout a leisurely lunch at a café in Enniskerry or throughout a stroll across the Powerscourt Backyard (which they level out is rated the #3 backyard on the planet by Nationwide Geographic).
The EasyGo community is straightforward to make use of for those who be part of forward of time and get a card you can swipe on the chargers for immediate entry. In any other case, you need to use the smartphone app, however you will want for wi-fi web entry on the charging level to work, the place you may be out of vary for wifi.
It’s well worth the effort to plug within the V60 to take pleasure in it as an EV. VOLVO
EasyGo’s 22-kW Stage 2 chargers can be a welcome addition to the U.S. EV charging community as a result of their fast charging pace makes it simpler for plug-in hybrid drivers to remain on electrical energy as an alternative of switching to fuel. As a result of they don’t draw the big present that DC quick chargers do, they require much less infrastructure assist, so they’re additionally cheaper and simpler for charging networks to put in than DC quick chargers.
Driving on electric-only energy, the V60 makes use of its 145-horsepower electrical motor to maneuver the V60 as rapidly as you’re more likely to need. The utmost mixed output of the electrical motor and the 253-hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder combustion engine is 350 hp, which accelerates the V60 to 60 mph in lower than 5.4 seconds. The 2 motors’ mixed output doesn’t equal the addition of every motor’s most energy as a result of the 2 motors obtain peak energy at totally different speeds.
Volvo’s well-known security cage development makes use of quite a lot of supplies for optimum safety and minimal weight. VOLVO
Both approach, they drive all 4 wheels by way of a easy 8-speed computerized transmission. The shifter is of the spring-loaded, return-to-center kind that you simply press ahead to have interaction Reverse and pull again to have interaction Drive, which is counterintuitive to anybody popping out of a automobile with a traditional PRNDL shifter that slides sequentially by way of Reverse, Impartial, and Drive when pulled rearward from Park.
Underway, Volvo’s safety-first mentality contributes to the V60’s Metropolis Security with Autobrake system, which acknowledges pedestrians, cyclists, and huge animals and mechanically applies the brakes to stop collisions. Such a security web is all the time appreciated, however whereas negotiating the hectic rush hour drive-on-the-left streets of Dublin, with folks and automobiles approaching hurriedly from unfamiliar instructions, I used to be particularly comfortable to know the pc was trying over my shoulder. Simply in case.
The V60’s instrument panel and infotainment show. DAN CARNEY
The V60’s infotainment system employs a 9-inch vertically oriented central touchscreen system that features the Google Maps app that did an distinctive job finding locations by their names and offering good instructions. The check automobile was not outfitted with the non-compulsory head-up show to place turn-by-turn instructions instantly in my discipline of view, however it does show them on the digital instrument panel, which is sort of pretty much as good.
The system helps each Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for utilizing telephone apps as an alternative of the automobile’s native apps. An inductive wi-fi charging pad on your telephone is out there in different variations of the V60, however it’s excluded from the T6 Twin Engine AWD PHEV. Curious.
The V60 at an overlook on the street by way of Sally Hole. DAN CARNEY
Additionally curious was the technical hiccup I skilled with the system. After restarting following a fill-up for the fuel that the automobile did burn, all sound from its audio system was silenced. This meant that not solely did the radio go quiet, however I additionally misplaced my voice instructions from the navigation system. Even the press of the flip indicators went silent. I did a fast restart of the automobile whereas stopped at a visitors gentle, however that didn’t assist.
After parking in a single day, sounds for the automobile’s numerous methods returned, however the radio nonetheless didn’t work. A fast session with Volvo recommended holding down the button beneath the display to drive a system reboot, and that did the trick, returning the radio’s sound to service.
The V60’s different inside appointments have been characteristically Scandinavian, so the cabin is comfy and engaging with neither the ascetic minimalism of a Tesla nor the luxurious opulence of a Jaguar. My Silver Daybreak check automobile was fitted with Charcoal leather-based upholstery and included goodies like seat heaters and steering wheel warmth. The underside line was 69,500 Euros, which converts to $73,670.
As a lot as I take pleasure in a comfortable station wagon just like the V60, I perceive that American drivers will in all probability choose the XC60 crossover SUV that’s constructed on the identical Scalable Product Structure (SPA) platform. However the V60 T6 Twin Engine AWD’s plug-in hybrid system and assist for quick Stage 2 AC charging are a pair applied sciences that may assist drivers use extra electrical energy for driving and fewer fuel, so they are going to be welcome regardless of the physique fashion.
