Plugged-in Volvo XC90 has real shocking power

Like it or not, but the motoring industry is charging towards an electrified future (did you see what I did there?). In first world countries, this technology is being adapted at a rapid pace. Here on the tip of Africa, not so much. There are a few basic reasons for this. Unlike most other countries around the world, our government is not so forthcoming with financial incentives for those that import electric vehicles.

Pure electric vehicles in South Africa cost exponentially more than they should when compared to what they sell for overseas. And our ”favourite” state owned enterprise, Eskom, who have an ever increasing problem in just keeping the lights on in our country, don’t help matters when it comes to confidence in embracing the future.

I recently had Volvo’s refreshed XC90 T8 R-Design on test, which is a state-of-the-art PHEV SUV. In simple terms, a PHEV is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which means the battery can be recharged by plugging it into an external source of electric power, as well as by its on-board engine. This is like a bridging model between a conventional combustion engine car and a pure electric car.

The concept is a great compromise at the moment in South Africa. Our public charge station infrastructure is starting to roll out in the bigger cities and along major routes, but right now you would still need to plan properly if you wanted to take a long holiday type drive in a pure electric car.

Make no mistake, it can be done, but if you are a regular long distance driver or are just a bit paranoid about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere or even in your garage because there is no electricity available, then a PHEV is the way to go for now.

I am not going to spend too much time on the changes to the XC90, as they are not as important as understanding the benefit of using a PHEV in my opinion. On the outside R-Design means 20-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, black door mirrors and a gloss black mesh front grille.

Inside, you are greeted with a spacious class-leading interior as before, with the biggest change being you can now order the XC90 with a range of different seating configurations, from seven seats to a brand new six-seat configuration.

You get sports and leather-trimmed steering wheel complete with gearshift paddles. And to make use of the power available, you also get Drive Mode Settings and Adjustable Steering Force as standard too, which allow you to choose between different settings for the engine, transmission, steering and the optional air suspension.

Talking of power, this range-topper features a supercharged and turbocharged 2.0-litre engine combined with an electric motor that produces a punchy 300 kW (235 kW + 65 kW) of power and a torque figure of 640 Nm (400 Nm + 240 Nm). This is more than enough to keep you entertained and get you going in a hurry if so required.

Living and charging the XC90 is an uncomplicated process. If you think how you live with charging your cell phone these days, then think charging your plug-in hybrid. It’s that easy. Get home at night and simply plug the supplied 220V cable in a normal plug socket, forget about it and the XC90 manages the rest while the 11.6 kWh battery is topped up.

For the record, should you want to charge the battery from empty to full, this process will take around three and a half hours, at a cost of R22 using the electricity tariff for my home. For this R22, I was given a range of 32 km. Now this might not sound like a lot, but if you take that 32 km of in town driving with a 300 kW SUV would easily see you use at least three litres of fuel, if not more, at around R14 a litre at current prices. This translates roughly into a cost of R42 for that 32 km, almost double.

For the first few days, I only drove around town the petrol engine wasn’t even required. So if you are a city slicker, I fail to see how the XC90 T8 does not make perfect sense. The SUV takes care of selecting the most efficient mode of operation and I left it in this default setting most of the time.

What I did do when I finally got out on the open road was use the facility to ”force” the XC90’s petrol engine to charge the battery while on the move and this is done by a simple touch on the Sensus Connect touchscreen infotainment system. This way, as soon as I got off the highway I was able to make use of electricity again and drive the average fuel consumption down.

Volvo claims an average fuel consumption of 2.1 litres per 100 km and if this sounds too good be true, it is! Well sometimes. As said earlier, in electric mode I used no fuel, but if there is a negative in this equation, it is that the supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine is not the most frugal option when off electricity and the fuel consumption can easily go over 10 litres per 100 km. For the record, my average for the weeklong test duration came in at around 6.5l/100 km and was falling the more I used the SUV.

The XC90 T8 R-Design comes in at a suggested retail price of R1 303 410 and this includes a five-year/100 000 km warranty and maintenance plan.

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