Volvo XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid details revealed

Volvo potentially has a winner on its hands with the new XC90. The Swedish carmaker’s scalable product architecture is going to lend the carmaker a handful of new products that will be easy to build and make them easily flexible for all sorts of permutations and combinations. More so because they were conceptualized with hybrid powertrains right from the drawing board. So not only will Volvos in the next decade or so come with capable petrols and diesels but also hybrids, and the first one to come out of the new look Volvo is the XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid. Volvo has revealed details about what the company calls, ‘World’s most powerful and cleanest SUV’ and some of these details if they stand true in the real world will truly grab some headlines. 

The XC90 T8 packs in a 2.0-litre supercharged and turbocharged petrol motor developing 322PS of power and 400Nm of torque. Another 83PS and 240Nm are contributed by the battery, to bring a combined total to 406PS and 640Nm. That can propel the seven seater behemoth to the ton from standstill in just 5.9 seconds. And while these numbers will get you interested, the even more impressive fact is that the XC90 emits on 59g/km of CO2. To put that figure in perspective, the Maruti Celerio emits 99g/km of CO2 from its 1.0-litre petrol motor. 

Most of that eye catching CO2 emissions figure must have been attained with the battery doing most of the haulage so it’s important to know its range right? You can do 40km on a full charge and you can charge the batteries on the go if it’s low on juice. Regenerative braking is standard in the XC90 T8 and the battery also has a save mode so you can keep the battery for times you need it the most, like in stop-go traffic.

The XC90 T8 will come with AWD and the hybrid powertrain comes mated to a 8-speed automatic gearbox with shift-by-wire technology. Another interesting bit of tech is preconditioning. The XC90 T8’s drivetrain, battery and cabin can be preconditioned to heat or cool before you drive the car. This can be done via Volvo’s On Call mobile application.