Launch Drive: Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine hybrid

Seated behind me in Volvo’s  XC90 T8 Twin Engine, one of the technical guys is goading me into unleashing the car’s hybrid power to the full extent. My mission is different; I’ve trimmed the consumption down to 1.2l/100km (yes, you read correctly) and to be honest I haven’t altered my driving style all that much or caused any form of traffic backlog heading through Sandton.

Eventually, I surrender to his pleas, dial the most aggressive engine mode which couples lithium-ion with fossil fuels and give the XC90 T8 Twin Engine a hard stab of the throttle and this two-tonne machine catches me a little unprepared.  Suffice to say hybrid technology has now matured to a genuine solution.

The only seven-seater plug-in hybrid on sale, this new model extension is only visually different by the omission of fog lights (to lower wind resistance) and subtle badging. Perhaps though you just want to alert other road users to your early adoption of hybrid technology with a little more fanfare…

The range is spread over the same derivatives Momentum, Inscription and R-Design each with their own discreet changes like the roof rails, wheel design or exhaust garnish. XC90 remains an attractive design, arrestingly modern, bold to the point of intimidating and devoid of fussy lines.

The design inside and out has not been compromised by hybrid technology – something we can attribute to Volvo’s scalable product architecture. You’d never guess that down the car’s spine sits 200kg of battery technology. No humps under the carpet, no oddly shaped boot either.

Twist the ignition key, remind yourself that the absence of noise or even a slight engine shiver is completely normal, and pull back the crystal gearlever into D. I’m extremely delicate with the throttle, knowing full well that these systems usually revert back to combustion mode at the slightest provocation. But the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine is different; its EV range is broader, the systems are more predictable and the allowed speed doesn’t feel restrictive.

I still find myself fixated on the readouts and hyper-sensitive to every movement but I’m really applying myself to what the car has on offer. The tablet-sized infotainment screen has been given a seamless software upgrade which makes provision for a couple new option tabs and some functions like being able to store the battery power for use at a later time (in the city or traffic) is marvellously clever. The driver can also choose to fast-charge the batteries on the move, or when approaching a downhill, pull the gearlever lever into a new brake mode which increases regenerative braking through added resistance on the electric motor. How much effort you regualrly invest in these systems is up to you but the default hybrid mode is there to optimise the settings and manage them in the background with similar results.

Despite the extra weight, XC90 T8 Twin Engine has a higher kW/ton output than its siblings and just as the Swedish company can market its technology with with an efficiency bent, so can they market it as a performance variant – an area where we thought XC90 previously sat in the shadows of stronger German muscle.

The Twin Engine 2.0-litre dual charged lump musters power in many different ways and measurements but crucially they act as one. The familiar bit produces 235kW and 400Nm but rear wheels are powered by Electric Rear Axle Drive which sees an electric motor fed by a 9.2 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack for an additional and on-demand 65 kW and 240Nm. Calculations done, the 100km/h time of 5.6 seconds and top speed of 230km/h are not far off the S60 Polestar we tested not so long ago.

A typical two-pin power outlet negates the need for an expensive bespoke system and a full charge, at the highest amperage, is achieved in 3 hours – the equivalent of R20. The charge status is displayed on the car’s digital instrument cluster.

Like the models below it, Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine is superbly crafted and the incorporation of next-generation technology is unobtrusively engineered into an already stunning package that you simply have to acknowledge it as a gamechanger.

Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine AWD Momentum                        R1 053 400

Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine AWD Inscription                          R1 092 100

Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine AWD R-Design                               R1 117 700

As with all other Volvo models, the new XC90 T8 Twin Engine is available as standard with a 5-year/ 100 000 km warranty, a full 5-year/ 100 000 km Volvo Plan, Tracker Connect and laminated glass for added security