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Fleet World Fleet: Volvo XC60 Recharge PHEV T6 AWD

Our long-term Volvo XC60 PHEV heads to the dealers. John Challen reports.

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Report 2

P11D/BiK: £55,395 (15%) MPG (WLTP): 100.9-113.0mpg CO2 (WLTP): 55-64g/km Economy, as tested: 107.2mpg

On the road, the Volvo is pretty much faultless, so I’d like to spend this report talking about customer experience. Due to an unfortunate coming together with a drainpipe – it’s a long story, but I’ve held my hands up and apologised – the XC60 needed to go in for a bit of work last month. An appointment was made with the local main dealer. They set aside an hour for the repair, which meant I could turn up, wait while a new part was fitted and then be on my merry way.

However, things didn’t turn out like that – it’s another long story, with shared blame this time, not just my fault – so I had to make another appointment at a different retailer. This time, they told me they needed the car for a day and asked if I would like a courtesy car. I accepted the offer and just before handing over the key, I was told that if it wasn’t done today, I’d have to come back and pick the car up the next day. A phone call that afternoon confirmed that yes, the day scheduled for the repair wasn’t enough. In fact, the required part hadn’t even been collected from the aforementioned main dealer (25 miles away) and they wouldn’t have time to complete the job that day.

I accept that they are fixing my mistake and that I was fortunate to not be without a car. I even allow for the fact that these are difficult times with staffing levels and supply issues. However, how can an hour’s job turn into one that takes more than a day to get sorted?

Report 1

Having previously run two Škoda estates back-to-back, when I was faced with the XC60, it felt huge. Fortunately, a drive back to the south coast from Fleet World HQ gave me the perfect opportunity to get used to it and make the realisation that I’d just not been used to driving SUVs. Or, let’s face it – given the various lockdowns – not driving much at all!

The Volvo is beautifully kitted out, the lovely cream interior is spacious and features comfortable seats and some clever storage solutions.

The plug-in hybrid setup is also a welcome addition. Electric-only range is around 20-25 miles, which suits my typically journeys almost perfectly. There have been just two trips to a fuel station, otherwise it’s been battery power all the way.

To be more specific, a typical week will see more than 90% of the miles done in electric mode. That’s according to the car’s smartphone-friendly On Call app, which provides a range of functions and helpful information.

Fortunately it also tells you when you’ve left the carunlocked – something I’m regularly guilty of when arriving home, it appears. Thankfully the car can also be locked with the touch of a button.

I could really do with a similar warning when leaving the charging flap open – another bad habit I’ve picked up…

John Challen

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John Challen

John previously edited International Fleet World magazine, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, having been in automotive journalism for more than 20 years. Over those two decades, he has researched and written about a vast range of automotive topics, including fleet, EVs, engineering, design, retail and the aftermarket.