For more than a decade, drivers have wondered when the majority of electric cars would actually be good. The answer is now. Even some of the more affordable models on the market boast 300 miles of range, which begs the question: What does paying the premium for a luxury model get you? Well, with an electric compact luxury crossover brawl raging right now, how about the new Volvo EX60 P10? With up to 330 miles of range, handsome looks, and a lovely-looking interior, it looks mighty tempting, doesn’t it?
Mind you, there is reason to approach this with trepidation. The little Volvo EX30 sounded brilliant in concept but launched with an infuriating tech experience and felt like it was made cheaply. So, has Volvo learned its lesson? Yes, and then some.
[Full disclosure: I tested this Volvo EX60 as part of pre-voting proceedings for Canadian Car of the Year voting, a process that I’m deeply involved in. I’m on the board of directors for the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada which facilitates Canadian Car of the Year, along with the Canadian Car of the Year committee, and I want to disclose this in full transparency to give context to the day of testing cars I took part in. The vehicle itself was supplied by Volvo Canada, but the opinions expressed here are purely my own. Plus, I drove up to the test day and paid for my own fuel to get there.]
The Basics
Battery pack: 92 kWh net capacity lithium-ion.
Drive: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive.
Output: 503 horsepower, 524 lb.-ft. of torque.
EPA Range: 330 miles (531 km) on 21-inch wheels, 312 miles (502 km) on 22-inch wheels.
Peak DC Fast Charging: 400 kW.
Curb Weight: 5,030 pounds (2,282 kg).
Base Price: $62,145 including freight ($80,700 in Canada).
Price As-Tested: $69,545 including freight ($88,700 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
When it comes to European luxury marques, the arms race has shifted from the sport sedan to the compact electric crossover. Practical, easy to park, and hugely popular, it’s no surprise that BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo are throwing absolutely everything at this segment. The EX60 is Volvo’s latest creation, built on a brand new platform and designed to do battle against the BMW iX3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC 400e.
How Does It Look?
We’re in the midst of an epidemic of excruciatingly ugly cars. Apparently, nobody told Volvo. In an age of gaping faux-grilles and enough creases on one car for three or four, Volvo is keeping things fit, tidy, and really, really, ridiculously good-looking. Gaze at how the T-shaped lamps and one line draw your eye towards the nose of the car, how a thoughtful relief cleaves visual mass out of the doors, and how subtle round arches frame the wheels perfectly. Oh, and those haunches? Lovely.
The only controversial bit on the outside of the EX60 are the electronic exterior door release winglets, which aren’t accompanied by an emergency-use keyway for if the vehicle’s high-voltage and 12-volt systems are both completely flat. Instead, Volvo’s fitted the EX60 with a 12-volt jump point behind a panel under the rear bumper, which cannot be used with a power source of more than 30 amps. A portable charging bank should be fine, but another car’s 12-volt battery is too much for the circuitry. Strange. While the interior door handles have integrated mechanical releases, a similar arrangement for the outside handles could save a lot of aggravation in the event of an unresponsive vehicle.
What About The Interior?
These days, minimalism often feels like a pox of the car industry. A conspiracy by Big Small to sell more less. However, if it’s done well with a blend of lovely materials, it can still work. The Volvo EX60 is proof. Climbing behind the wheel of this loaded example reveals cascading layers of fabric, leather-like textile, and wood serving up rich textural contrast. Scant dashes of metal and crystal are all that’s needed to lift the light ambience of what Volvo calls its Dawn interior colorway, and the end result feels far more high-end lounge than Best Buy, even with a massive 15-inch touchscreen sitting front and center. Sculpture plays an outsizes role here, from the plinth for the forward-firing tweeter to the floating-panel grab handles for closing the doors, to the multi-tier center console. It’s all interesting enough to make the tech almost fade into the background as you contemplate how Volvo moved the glovebox to the middle so you can stow things away without kneecapping your passenger.
As for comfort, come on, this is a Volvo. The marque already has a reputation for building some of the best seats on the planet, and the front thrones in the EX60 are no exception. Not only are they wonderfully supportive from your thighs to your shoulders, they join forces with a hugely adjustable steering column and well-placed armrests for mile-munching ergonomics. Oh, and their accompanying seat belts use data from various sensors to tailor their pretensioning to your specific shape and size, just in case. As for the rear seat, it’s plenty roomy, and the floor is low enough to give passengers in the back proper thigh support. A pair of USB-C ports lets riders charge their devices, while reclining backrests are a nice touch for long journeys.
How Does It Drive?
Even against a curb weight of more than 5,000 pounds, 503 electric horsepower is nothing to sneeze at. Despite its artificially low top speed and safety-first image, the EX60 P10 is happy to fire itself at the horizon with surprising haste should you mat the skinny pedal. Less surprising is the sheer comfort fastidiously baked into the ride. Compliant, but well-controlled. At a time when automakers are more than happy to keep throwing spring rate and rubber at a hefty problem until you’re checking your fillings over mildly pockmarked tarmac, the EX60 P10 is an old-school powercruiser. Even the light, aloof steering adds just enough weight at speed to add a great deal of confidence.
Of course, driving feel is only half the equation of an EV, and a range of 312 miles on these 22-inch wheels is a good clip behind the 350 miles of a summer tire-equipped Mercedes-Benz GLC 400e, let alone the 392 miles of a BMW iX3 on 22-inch wheels with summer tires. However, the P10 trim isn’t the longest-range EX60. A P12 model is coming with more power and a great heap more range. Regardless, an 800-volt architecture and peak DC fast charging of 400 kW means that if you pick a good charger, you’ll juice up from 10-to-80 percent in a jiffy. Not bad.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Yes, but there’s a learning curve to climb, starting with getting in. Volvo gives drivers three ways to unlock their EX60: With their phone, with a key fob that has no buttons, or with a key card that needs to be tapped against the driver’s window frame. Once unlocked, if you’re using the key card, you need to put it on the wireless smartphone charger in order to start the car, which you do by putting your foot on the brake and shifting into drive or reverse. Beyond that, there’s a virtual hazard warning lamp switch in the screen but a physical one in the ceiling, mirror and steering column adjustment is selected through the screen, and changing the focus of the vast cross-dashboard air vents is done electronically.
However, once you figure these things out, the rest of the EX60 is more user-friendly than you’d expect. There’s a roller wheel for volume front-and-center, flanked by buttons to skip audio tracks (Mercedes-Benz, take note). Tiles on the screen for heated seats are large, the cube-shaped power seat controls are pretty much foolproof, the buttons on the steering wheel are real, and the stalks for wipers and indicators make total sense. Even the menu structures of the infotainment are laid out far more intuitively than in the BMW iX3 or Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric, let alone the EX30.
As for toys, the big optional extra is the Bowers & Wilkins sound system, which is about as crisp and scintillating as you’d expect, given the brand’s precedent. It blows the Harman/Kardon system in the BMW iX3 out of the water, and offers a more balanced sound signature than the Burmester system available in the Mercedes-Benz GLC 400e. Beyond that, this loaded EX60 comes with three-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats, a hands-free power liftgate, a heated steering wheel, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an air purifier, LED exterior lighting, rain-sensing wipers, dusk-sensing headlamps, and a robust suite of advanced driver assistance features. Everything you’d expect at this price point, really.
Three Things To Know About The Volvo EX60 P10
- There’s a learning curve to some of the tech.
- The interior is made of absolutely lovely stuff.
- It’s less expensive than a rival BMW or Mercedes-Benz.
Does The Volvo EX60 P10 Fulfil Its Purpose?
For the most part, yes. It feels weird to say that up to 330 miles of range on the smaller wheels is behind the curve for the segment, but that’s the world we live in now. Sure, some of the tech takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s the same deal with the Mercedes-Benz GLC 400e and the BMW iX3. The difference is that the Volvo EX60 P10 rides better than its rivals, feels made of nicer stuff, and looks a great deal less Marmite. It also helps that at $62,145 to start including freight, it’s a few hundred dollars cheaper than a base BMW iX3 and $4,255 cheaper than a Mercedes-Benz GLC 400e.
In Canada, the value proposition’s a bit different, with the cheapest EX60 P10 starting at $1,745 more than a BMW iX3 but $2,050 less than a Mercedes-Benz GLC 400e. However, the EX60 does include more standard kit than the iX3, and rides a great deal better over real roads. If you can live with between 502 and 531 km of rated range, it might just be the posh electric crossover to have.
What’s The Punctum Of The Volvo EX60 P10?
More than just a handsome face.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
lol it’s hideous
This looks lovely. I hope it doesn’t have the quality problems Volvo has had with its EVs. Range is good enough, but boy BMW sure seems to have found the magic with getting great range. IMO, 400+ miles range is an EV magic number for not having to worry about any kind of driving including winter and road trips.
If you do the formula of keeping an EV between 20-80% charge for daily driving, that leaves you with 240miles of range for daily driving. If you throw in winter and you use a severe number, like 30% loss of range, you now have 168 miles in the worse case for daily driving, and 280 in the worst case for winter road trips. All of that equals piece of mind for all but the most extreme scenarios.
Lovely? I don’t think the word means what you think it does. And while I like that it’s a color, that color is blech. And it sounds like the ergonomics would make me stabby. Which has been true of Volvo since they discovered screens, so I am not surprised.
And it’s sad that 2.5 tons is the new normal. Eesh.
I’ve owned 13 Volvos in the past 40 years, I doubt I will own another one.
Meh. 5,000 pounds!!