2020 S60 T8 Hybrid
 

Hi there,
New member to the Forum. UK based.
We currently have a V40 D4 however looking to buy a S60 T8 Hybrid.

I wanted to check if anyone has used this for commutes of around 60-70miles journeys per day? Its only a 35mile trip each way but no charging facilities at work?
I have seen a lot of conflicting information about fuel consumption, with some saying it can get >150mpg... and some saying just 30mpg.
Just wanted to speak to anyone who has one and what they are getting on average with the car, and any other issues may need to look out for?

Thanks.

I don't think there are many, or even any, on the forums. The S60 is quite rare, the T8 even more so.

Your best bet is to look at data from T8 XC90s or XC60s and adjust a bit for weight and drag.

The electric range is only about 24 miles (realistically probably closer to 20)

The rest of the time you would be running a heavy sedan with a 2L engine which not known to be the most frugal (high twenties city driving in my T5 XC60, the T6 which is what engine you would have in the T8 is even more thirsty)

If you had a charger in work. I think it could be a goer. But without that, agree with previous comment. Personally for that sort of daily I would be looking full electric or diesel.

I think that's the older T8s. The 2020s (i think) got a bigger battery. Volvos listed WLTP for my car is 58km (google convert says that's 36miles) which definitely is an over estimate. WRT to the petrol - it's not as simple as the petrol being in play 100% of the time after the "36 miles" as the car works as a normal, very heavy, hybrid after that so there's a factor of energy reclamation. For example according to the VoC app I did a 33.8 mile journey this morning and "reclaimed" 2.5kWh (Fast A road).

I have the PE version of the V60 T8, which I got in June although I haven't had a chance to do a huge mileage due to Covid 19 (Odo is on 1052).

What I have found is the range is about 28miles in pure but you have to be fairly careful on the throttle/AC/Heating/Auxiliaries. For example trying to keep up motorway speeds on a hill will cause the petrol to kick in.

With PHEVs it's difficult to equate the real figures so I've attempted to calculate 2 values,
Petrol MPG, I don't trust the computer so these are just tank to tank values. This is IGNORING the electric usage.
"True" MPG. This is a bit more complicated but I take the cost of the electric at 13p/unit (The cost of my current supplier - I play to move to Octopus' EV tariff when I come off my current deal) and work out how many litres of petrol that would have bought at £1.20p/l and add that into the amount of petrol consumed in order to reduce the Petrol MPG by the cost of fuel not just petrol.

I get roughly 58 mpg PETROL / 54 mpg "TRUE" on my normal driving which is mainly on electric with some longer out of town trips.

I did drive an almost fully petrol only run whilst on a short break last month which was a mix of a couple of miles on the motorway and the rest on A/B roads each way. We only used the car once for a 8 mile journey whilst we were there. The total mileage was ~438miles and I did a tank to tank MPG of 35.8mpg.

I don't drive like a complete lunatic most of the time but I'm no old granny - my right foot really isn't the lightest.

For a 2000+kg estate car with a fair (although not amazing) amount of oomph it's relatively light on fuel and for me is a great introduction to electric.

If it wasn't for it being the next great satan I'd suggest a diesel as a better solution for the OP as others have said.

That’s a great and very detailed response and good to hear from a real life user. I must say though 36 mpg for a weekend away makes Satan’s fuel look wonderful, I was getting similar (slightly less) from a 350hp V6 petrol Audi SQ5, and would reckon the latest S4 Avant will break 40 under similar usage (and be just as quick).

Hybrids are for a very specific type of user currently - most seem to be company car drivers more worried about BIK than the environment...

I have shelved plans for a V60 PE as much of my use is weekend trips with no chance to plug in whilst away (unless I use motorway services and make my 2.5 hour journey 3.5 hours long!) and a return to Satan’s fuel for a rapid refined economical estate does seem on the cards...

Well I had a Diesel X3 20d before the PE and I only got about that MPG out of that so I'm happy mpg wise as it's "no worse" but you're spot on from the point PHEVS are really only useful for a specific group of people.

I've not driven the S4, I've not driven any of the modern Audis as I don't really like audis (personally I'm not keen on the interior) but I suspect it's a far more exciting car.

Frankly although the PE is a great compromise for short distance commuting with a bit of poke for longer trips it's really not that much of a drivers car. Sure it's nice and refined and great for long trips but it's just a bit dull.

If I'd have known I wasn't likely to get back into the office this side of the next millennium and therefore not have to do a 30 mile round trip (with a free charger in the work car park :teeth_smile: ) monday-friday I'd have bought a 340i x-drive or 540i x-drive as the V60 isn't all that exciting a car and I hate the Sensus infotainment.

They are pretty though,
https://i.ibb.co/0r6XppF/IMG-4857-3.jpg

My commute is about 27 miles each way - I only charge at work.
I used to do what Volvo recommended and use Hybrid mode and set work as destination and home as a waypoint but have had better results (in terms of mpg) by using my individual mode (similar to Pure) and basically using only electric to get home and then coming to work on Hybrid - using basically petrol only. I always use a little fuel on the way home as it can't handle steep hills on electric only but normally manage an average of anywhere between 160-220mpg. On the journey to work its typically 33-38mpg using almost only petrol (plus any regenerated electricity).
Journey is almost 100% motorway/dual carriageway cruising at 70-75mph and using air con etc.

Thanks for the frank and honest verdict. Since the SQ5 I have had an F90 M5....an absolutely unbelieveable piece of kit and ludicrously fast. But you couldnt use the performance in the real world in UK, and it was a bit too much of a target to want to leave it anywhere....

So now trying to work out best estate (possibly SUV) option for 10k a year, mainly on long runs as I can walk to the station (when I actually go!). May just stick with the Mini for a few months and see what the end of year brings....