Performance and 0-60mph time
Of the three models in the UK XC90 range, the undoubted star of the show is the T8 Twin Engine, which is a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid. Despite the Volvo SUV weighing comfortably in excess of two tonnes, the T8 TE can hit 60mph from rest in less than six seconds - not far off the pace a Mk2 Ford Focus RS could muster. The Volvo’s top speed is ‘only’ 143mph but if the battery has plenty of power to back up the combustion engine, the acceleration is startling.
The T8 feels every bit as rapid as its 395bhp headline figure would suggest, gathering pace in an eerily smooth but deceptively quick manner. As alluded to earlier, the multiple forced induction petrol can get a trifle coarse as you home in on 6000rpm, but other than that there’s little to fault about the sheer grunt the T8 possesses.
Subscribe to evo magazine
The T6 is punchy as well, with a 0-60mph time of 6.5 seconds and the same top speed as the T8, but it’s the D5 that really impresses. It doesn’t seem appreciably slower than the two petrol cars, despite being more than a second tardier than the T6 to 60mph, at 7.8 seconds. This is because its peak torque is available from just 1750rpm. What’s also more intriguing is that, at a relatively unstressed 222bhp, it’s likely the twin-turbo four-pot could take a higher state of tune for a potential D6 model.
