2019 Volvo XC60 review - MPG and running costs

MPG and running costs

Diesel XC60s are, on paper, relatively efficient for their size and weight, although we still struggled to match the quoted figures in real-world driving. Front-wheel-drive D4 models lead the mpg game, despite being one of the few remaining non-electrified models in the range, with a best-case 47.9mpg on the new WLTP cycle. B4 and B5 models are both all-wheel drive, which unfortunately more than counteracts the benefits of the mild-hybrid system (in terms of consumption anyway) with 46.3mpg for both.

Like the mismatched ethos of the XC60 and petrol engines, so too do petrol models have quite astonishingly bad economy figures. T5 and T6 models are rated at 32.5mpg and 31.7mpg, and will quite honestly struggle to match even those numbers in the real world. The T8 model has its figures skewed, taking into consideration a certain amount of driving in EV mode, so its 122.8mpg is impossible to achieve unless the electric batteries are full before every drive. If you have the facilities to charge it every 20 miles or so, then it is possible to make it a very efficient way of moving over two tons of Swedish SUV. The flipside is quite hilarious figures when the batteries are depleted, with the already thirsty twin-charge four-cylinder engine needing to work extra hard to move about the extra mass of the electric components.

Volvo’s usually high running costs haven’t particularly subsided either, but thanks to some pretty major gains in resale value, all Volvo models (within reason) aren’t quite as painful to run as they once were.