The Volvo XC60 might not be the newest compact luxury crossover on the market, but it’s still rather good. The interior’s lovely, the seats are all-day comfortable, the optional Bowers & Wilkins sound system is excellent, and the styling’s wonderfully refined. A small nip/tuck for 2026 brought in a crisper infotainment screen, a revised grille, new wheel designs, and a variety of revamped interior finishes. Compared to a current BMW X3 or Mercedes-Benz GLC, Volvo’s compact crossover just feels lovelier. However, the plug-in hybrid variant is now in a weird spot.
While a 2022 update increased electric range to 35 miles, the plug-in hybrid segment’s come a long way since then. A Mercedes-Benz GLC 350e can do 54 miles on a charge, and then there’s the deadly rival within Volvo’s lineup. Not only is the new EX60 compact electric crossover a proper 322-mile EV in P10 trim, it’s actually at price parity with the XC60 plug-in hybrid.
The obvious solution here is to rework the XC60 plug-in hybrid, especially since battery chemistry and construction techniques have come a long way since the XC60 PHEV’s powertrain update for 2022. As Automotive News reports:
The standout upgrade is a beefier battery for the 2028 XC60 T8 plug-in hybrid that is expected to more than double — and potentially nearly triple — its current 35-mile electric-only range, people with knowledge of the plan told Automotive News.
Needless to say, a 70-mile plug-in electric range would be a significant upgrade in usability. Even though such energy capacity would make it harder to completely juice up the whole battery pack from empty overnight on a 120-volt socket, a big upgrade in electric-only range means more commuting and errands could get done before dipping into combustion power. Critically, extra battery capacity could play a significant role in cold-weather performance, as having the energy aboard to run a PTC resistance heater and provide propulsion for a decent distance could result in proper winter readiness.
Of course, a longer-range plug-in hybrid isn’t the only major update reportedly planned for the XC60. Automotive News reports that a more powerful variant of Volvo’s familiar four-cylinder engine will appear, and critically, the XC60 will be made in America. You’re probably sick of hearing about the tariff situation by now, so I’ll keep things brief: The XC60 is currently built in Sweden for the U.S. market, which means it’s subject to tariffs on the whole car. Meanwhile, Volvo has an assembly plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina which is in America. Moving production locally should result in better supply and lower costs.
Even though we first saw the second-generation Volvo XC60 nearly a decade ago, it sounds like there’s still plenty of life left in it. It’s still a beautiful thing, and if the reported longer-range plug-in hybrid model comes to fruition for the 2028 model year, it could continue to live for a very long time indeed. More than 70 miles of distance on electric power alone would be a big deal, enough to tilt the tables in Volvo’s favor.
Top graphic image: Volvo
Finally the US starts getting what the rest of the world gets. 70, or even better would be 100, miles of electric range is worth plugging in for. It also makes better use of slow public 6 kW L2 chargers. Those aren’t powerful enough to charge a 300 mile range BEV much in the time most people spend there. But they’ll charge a 70 mile range battery a meaningful amount and cheaper than gas.
Nope, they won’t. No one will, because it doesn’t exist.
The rest of the world simply lists numbers in ratings that are more advantegous than the EPA cycle used in the US.
Even the Euro cycle is less stringent than the US one, the Chinese cycle is completely unreliable.
The best currently available anywhere is 50-58 miles per US standards.
Cheaper than gas is not true across the board. Places with heavy population, like southern New England where cars like this sell well, have relatively low gas prices but high electricity prices which make it generally a wash at best (excluding during this brief interruption by the Iran conflict).
The larger battery, if it could power the HVAC system would be a huge plus. My old PHEV used to have to run the engine more often than not throughout the year to provide heat, even if you wanted to drive in EV only mode. I basically drove to work with a full charge using it as hybrid because the temperature was cooler in the morning and usually resulted in the engine coming on for heat anyway, might as well use the engine power to warm it up faster since the engine just running to warm up for heat seems like a big waste and bad for the engine as it never fully warmed up. I would then engage EV only mode on the way home, after waiting for the engine to run long enough to warm the cabin, hoping the one warm up cycle provided enough core heat to not have to come on again before getting home. This is way more thought than your average driver wants to do.
After having V6, turbo diesel, PHEV, turbo 4 cyl gas car (87octane) and now full BEV for my last 4 cars in the same climate over the past 16 years (and other cars before them), my favorite so far is full BEV (’24 Y Performance), even with the few range shortcomings I deal with a few times annually. In normal times though, it is barely cheaper to run than the 290 hp turbo 4 cyl (Sonata N Line) I owned. If I factor in the electricity used to precondition it everyday, almost full year round, it might even cost more to operate. Basing my math on observed mpgs, and efficiency along with 2025 historical fuel costs ($2.90 or less per gallon 87 octane / $0.33 per kWh for electricity in the Boston area).
Still waiting for this style system to show up in a Colorado/Ranger.