Volvo V60 Recharge Polestar Engineered (T8) in the Garage - July 2023

What a long name for a car model! 

In late April 2023, the Volvo V60 we ordered in December 2022 finally arrived in San Francisco from Sweden. Its arrival date coincided with a $7,500 price reduction for a lease brokered by Volvo Car Financial Services. This seemed like a good offer and for the first time we leased a car instead of a straight purchase.

The V60 joined our Polestar 2 EV in the garage. We already had a Chargepoint Flex EVSE installed and the EVSE charging cable was long enough to reach both cars while in the garage.

What is a V60 Recharge Polestar Engineered Car?

This plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle (PHEV), with both electrical motor and internal combustion engine, has limited distribution in the US. An estimated 280 Model Year 2023 V60 Recharge vehicles will be delivered to the US (2024s are now being delivered to the US). Hence, you'll rarely find one on a dealer lot for general sale as just about all have been pre-ordered by customers. The V60's 455HP and 525 ft-lb torque are produced from the combination of a turbo-charged four cylinder and a rear electric motor. The V60 can be driven as an all battery vehicle, hybrid or high performance sport wagon. In this last setting, the V60 can reach 0 to 60 in about 4.2 seconds.

To handle this power, the all-wheel drive Volvo V60 has large gold colored Brembo front brakes with 16 inch slotted rotors. The V60 also has manually adjustable Ohlin dampers at front and rear and additional special suspension components. The Ohlin dampers can be adjusted to a stiff setting for track use or a more comfortable setting for daily driving. 

The V60 in the US comes standard with many features that are often options for other car models. The only items that can be ordered include color and some optional accessories (e.g., luggage cover, cargo liner). 

An informative review is available from the March issue of Car and Driver.

We decided to pay off the lease early and avoid the monthly lease payments. This process was simple and required one visit to the local DMV office to pay California and city sales tax and owner and smog transfer fees.

Fuel Economy

With charging the Volvo V60 on a regular basis (45-48 mile battery range), and using the battery only for local trips and hybrid for mixed city/freeway over 50 miles, I'm seeing about 44-48mpg. That is pretty good for a 4,500 pound high-performance "wagon" that seats five and is about 188 inches long. The vehicle qualifies as a California Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) and can be driven in high-occupancy lanes during commute times. As a CAV, the V60 receives some limited bridge and highway toll discounts. 

From Car and Driver, March 2023