Volvo S60 T8 Twin Engine 2019 UK first drive

Volvo’s very modernist approach to the performance saloon format. And it will be a direction that the established elite in that segment have to follow as the electrification ramp-up marches on.

This is Volvo’s fastest-accelerating production car, but it does things a little differently to the Germans. That’s why this T8-badged S60 gets no big wing, no flared arches, no giant air intakes and no shouty, quad-tipped exhaust to announce its presence. 

That may cause some to lose interest already. And probably for the best: Volvo isn’t aiming to beat the BMW M340i at its own game here - it’s aiming for a more reserved customer less inclined to make a big song and dance about their car's power and pace.

We’re plenty familiar with the concept of Volvo’s ‘Twin Engine’ T8 system, which has proven its worth in the 90 series models and the XC60 to date. But for the uninitiated, here goes: it’s got a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that is both turbocharged and supercharged, but it’s also a plug-in hybrid, supplemented by an 86bhp electric motor driving the rear axle for all-wheel drive. It funnels all the propulsion sources through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.  

If that all sounds terribly complicated, well, it kind of is. For 2019, the T8 powertrain gets a slightly bigger 11.8kWh lithium ion battery pack, with Volvo claiming up to 30 miles is possible on electric power alone.

A darn sight easier to get on with than its complicated powertrain suggests. Like most PHEVs these days, there’s no need to ensure you’re in the right mode - just fire it up, off you go and the systems deal with the fine art of juggling the power sources as efficiently as possible. 

Of course, there are modes if you want them: one that locks the electric motor on for permanent four-wheel drive, an Eco mode for extra fuel-sipping at the expense of responses, and a Power mode that does exactly the opposite. You can also charge up the battery by shutting down the electric motors entirely, if you need to. But we found the standard Hybrid mode to be the most balanced for most situations.

Volvo has had several years of (under Geely ownership) well-funded development time for its plug-in powertrains, and it shows. In town or country pootling, it’s as delightfully smooth and serene as a pure EV, and when the engine is fired up, it does so almost imperceptibly unless you stomp inelegantly on the throttle. It’ll shoot up to 78mph in pure-EV mode, but that requires precision with the right foot as it’s easier to wake the engine in the S60 T8 than it is in the new BMW 330e.