Yahoo Autos 2020 Volvo S60 T8 Long-Term Review Wrap-Up | Final verdict
Twelve months of motoring in the 2020 Volvo S60 T8 went by quickly. Our time in Volvo’s sharp, plug-in hybrid sedan is over, and it’s time for a final verdict. The S60 saw two entirely different worlds in its time with us. We took delivery in normal days — you know, pre-global pandemic — but most of its tenure here was in a Covid-19 world. That being the case, it didn’t get out and travel the country as much as our long-term test vehicles normally do.
Prior to getting locked down, our S60 took trips to Chicago, Buffalo, the northern reaches of Michigan and elsewhere in the region. Even once its extended driveway sessions began, we snuck it away once to the East Coast for a quick back-and-forth summer trip.
We limited our car swaps to once a month in an effort to stay away from each other on staff and keep each other safe. That meant that each of us got to spend longer stints than usual in the driver’s seat — our normal routine wouldn’t have encouraged this behavior pre-coronavirus. It was more like a true ownership experience, which is exactly what we aim to convey with long-term tests. We plugged it in every night, utilized the Volvo smartphone app to track it and integrated the car more fully into our lives.
The odometer reading sat at 16,866 miles in the end. A great number of those miles were done under electric power, thanks to the car’s 22-mile electric range when fully charged — our range testing saw it meet or exceed that figure if driven with a light foot. And since the car was sitting at home so often, it was working with a full charge in most circumstances. Long highway trips saw us match the car’s combined mpg rating of 30 mpg. Most fill-ups would return a much higher effective mpg number, though, as all the electric motoring helps it along. Folks with shorter commutes should take notice, as S60 T8 ownership will greatly reduce the number of necessary fuel stops.
Due to the Volvo’s long 10,000-mile maintenance gaps, it only needed to make one regular dealer stop in our time. Besides that, there were two other trips to the dealer. We had recall work done — there was an issue with the automatic emergency braking system — before the first regular service. And a sunroof snafu was the car’s second and last unscheduled trip to the shop.
Read on below for all of our final impressions on the 2020 Volvo S60 T8.
Road Test Editor Zac Palmer: The S60 T8 is a slightly sporty sedan, but it’s no sports sedan. My favorite thing about driving it is just matting the throttle from a stop, because this car is sneaky quick. It doesn’t sound fast or aggressive in the least, but the feeling of acceleration never got old over my months with the car.
It falls short of the sport sedan qualification for a few reasons. While the S60 is a decent handler, there’s no hiding how heavy it feels when you try to chuck it around. Steering is direct and weighted nicely, but the chassis doesn’t disguise its weight (4,447 pounds) well. You’re also limited by the drivetrain layout. This sedan is technically all-wheel drive, but the only power being applied to the rear axle is via the electric motor. Predictably, this isn’t always enough to keep up with the potent 2.0-liter turbo- and supercharged engine sending its torque exclusively to the front wheels. There's an imbalance to the power delivery that you don't get in other all-wheel-drive cars. All that electric torque is great, but it would be even greater if there were even more of it aiding the rear axle.
The brakes struggle to keep up when you really start to get after it on a miles-long road of successive corners, too. There’s a reason the Polestar Engineered version of this car has larger Brembo brakes. You’re not meant to drive the non-Polestar S60 as you would a sports car. That’s made even clearer by our Inscription trim’s lack of paddle shifters or any form of manual gear selection. There’s a Sport mode that improves the transmission’s tuning to hold gears and downshift in braking, but I’m still missing that connection to the car.
The point here is that the S60 T8, despite its 400 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque, is not a sports sedan. It’s a supremely comfortable and stylish cruiser that will bolt from a stoplight way faster than Volvo’s safety reputation has anybody expecting. This combination of straight-line muscle, pure electric range and Volvo style is a winner in my book. There are plenty of others in this class of four-doors that will fully satisfy the sports sedan itch.
News Editor Joel Stocksdale: I'm really going to miss our S60. In fact, I've already been missing our S60 since it never got back to me after the pandemic locked us down. But every time I got to drive it before then was a pleasure.
A big part of that was the way it drove. I agree with Zac, it's not a full on sport sedan, and the lack of paddle shifters is my biggest gripe. But it's still a fun car. The chassis is playful and responsive, even if it's a little heavy, and the acceleration is superb. But it's the fact that it's fun while also being really comfortable, quiet and economical that makes it great. The range is even good enough that I could pretty much do my commuting to and from the office on electric power, as long as I charged at the office. Or at least, I would be able to as long as I was able to keep my foot out of it.
The interior on the S60 is excellent, too. Volvo's minimalist design with welcoming, rounded edges is still as beautiful and calming as ever. And the seats are among the best for any car, offering support in all the right places without being overly firm. The infotainment system isn't the best, but the interior in general is such a pleasant place to be, it's hard to get upset by it.
One other thing, the S60 is seriously good looking, athletic even. Somehow it has a rear-drive car's dash-to-axle ratio. The sheetmetal is taut and crisp. It has a square-shouldered stance. But it's also uncluttered and doesn't make promises it can't keep.
It may not be an out-and-out sport sedan, but it's a killer all-'rounder with its good looks, comfy interior, and fun-enough driving manners. If I had the money for one, I'd love to have it as a daily driver.
