2022 Volvo XC60 offers a unique perspective in the premium crossover segment.
In a compact premium crossover segment, German manufacturers come up with fancier, faster and more complicated offerings. Volvo XC60 offers simplicity, refinement and practicality that other premium entries are struggling to deliver.
Since 2008, Volvo has been offering the XC60 as a compact luxury crossover, rivaling with the German entries such as BMW X3. Current generation XC60 has been on the market for the last 5 years, so this platform is definitely one of the oldest in its segment.
Exterior and Interior
Like many other Volvo models, it represents current Volvo design language with modern body lines. The front fascia has a big grille, and sharp lines in the front bumper. Our tester unit’s color makes it look cold and subtle.
From the side profile, it has an elegant silhouette, but what makes the XC60 unique is that silhouette looks both like a crossover and station wagon. You can opt for the 20″ alloy wheels which makes it look more upscale.
The rear design looks very upscale and uniquely Volvo. It has huge L shaped taillights, and chrome piece wrapped around the rear bumper. Thankfully there is no fake exhaust vents, and even the actual exhaust tips are hidden behind the rear bumper.
Premium and simple design language continues in the interior. It looks very similar to other Volvo products, and when you get into the details, that’s when you start to feel Volvo did a great job with the material choice and overall build quality. It gives you that premium feeling right off the bat.
Anywhere you touch, or reach is wrapped with leather, textured wood or soft-touch plastics. The colour combination also increases overall premium feeling, but it would be very hard to maintain and keep it clean. Of course, you can choose dark interior colour combination.
Regardless of colour choice, Volvo XC60 seats offer class leading adjustability and comfort level. You can also get optional massage function which would be a great addition for longer drives. Seat adjustment buttons are one of the few physical buttons available in the interior.
You don’t get same level of adjustment in the rear seat, but you still get decent amount of legroom and seat comfort. You actually get significantly more legroom than rear wheel drive biased premium entries, and heated seats are available for the rear seat passengers.
Few premium compact crossovers can rival the 2022 Volvo XC60 when it comes to cargo space. Behind the second row, it has 22.4 cubic feet (634 L) of cargo space, which can be increased all the way up to 63.3 cubic feet (1792 L) if you fold it down.
Engine and Drivetrain
For 2022, there is no more gasoline only engine option in North America, so you have to choose either mild hybrid option, or plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Mild hybrid engine gets electrification through the new 48V system with a 13 hp Integrated Starter Generator.
The engine not only has an electric engine and battery to support the gas engine, but the gas engine has both turbocharger and supercharger. So on paper, the drivetrain looks quite complicated, but it also provides super smooth driving experience. The total output is 295 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque.
The torque curve is the main reason why it is very smooth, but the second biggest factor is the 8-Speed torque converted automatic transmission. You don’t get paddle shifters like sportier German entries, but you can manually upshift and downshift through the shifter knob.
All Wheel Drive system is standard with the 2022 Volvo XC60. You are unable to see how much power is distributed to each wheel, but according to Volvo, it can distribute up to 50/50 which means it is heavily front wheel biased AWD system.
Driving Features and Impressions
From the scratch, current generation XC60 is designed and engineered for maximum comfort and driving refinement, which you feel the difference as soon as you start driving it. So the XC60 has quite unique approach as other premium entries wants to get more attention by offering sportier entries with flashy looks and colours.
After driving other premium entries in this segment, I am quite surprised by the fact that how smooth the XC60 rides. Our tester have the optional Air suspension, which can be really soft at the softest setting, and stiffens up quite a bit when you switch to firm ride option.
As it is not a fresh platform, Volvo heavily updated the infotainment system as it was criticized back when XC60 was first released. Now it comes with Android software system which relies on Google platform and supports over-the-air updates. It literally makes the XC60’s infotainment system an Android tablet.
The 9 inch vertically placed infotainment screen has great resolution and 360 and rear view camera quality is also great. You heavily rely on the screen for many things, like the other modern Volvo vehicles, there is minimal number of physical buttons all around the interior.
Though I would prefer having more physical buttons especially for essential features, the infotainment screen works quite well and smooth especially when you need to change important things such as the air conditioning, or heated seats.
2022 Volvo XC60 also comes with fully digital gauge cluster but the customization is quite limited, unlike the German entries. You can insert navigation map in the middle, which works quite well, but other than that, the screen looks quite simple and without navigation it just looks boring.
Like the infotainment system, Volvo took the unique approach by offering multiple different sound systems in the XC60. The best option you can get is the Bowers and Wilkins premium audio system with 15 speakers and a total of 1100 watt output.
Pricing and the Verdict
Despite its age, 2022 Volvo XC60 is a solid choice for someone looking for a premium compact crossover that prioritizes simplicity. There is nothing offensive about the XC60, and that’s something you rarely see it in European competition.
2022 Volvo XC60 starts at $54,300 CAD. Our tester has the Inscription trim with a lot of extras, and the total comes up to almost $75,000. Some of the extras are the Climate Package, Advanced Package and stand alone options like the massage seats, B&W Sound System and the Air Suspension.
For more details – please visit https://www.volvocars.com/en-ca/
