The mid-sized estate car is as ingrained in Volvo’s heritage as seatbelts and skinny steering wheels. Merely mentioning the ‘V’ word to anyone of a certain age will likely bring back strong memories of boxy but reliable machines stuffed to the gunwales with corduroy-wearing occupants and their offspring.

Despite a recent and completely welcome design overhaul of the brand, the humble family estate has remained a centrepiece of the Swedish marque’s range and its current line-up of V90s and V60s is the finest its ever been, competing with premium German rivals in terms of plush interiors and cosseting rides. Volvo is no longer stuffy, it’s ice-cool Scandinavian styling at its very best. 

But until now, customers wanting a plug-in hybrid variant had to plump for the massively powerful but horrendously expensive V60 T8 version, which cost in excess of £50,000 but softened the blow somewhat with near-400hp of straight-line performance on tap.

Volvo has realised that the appetite for hybrids has increased over the years and a much wider audience now demands electrical assistance, not necessarily for their outright speed but for fuel economy reasons and for the fact that they are generally cheaper to own and run, particularly for those on company car schemes.

Hence why the V60 now comes in Recharge T6 form, which still packs a decent 340hp and a 0-62mph sprint time of just 5.4 seconds, but returns up to 156.9mpg son the combined cycle and costs just over £45,000.

Fully charged

In my humble opinion, a hybrid works best when there is somewhere to plug it in and charge overnight. If this is the case, the Volvo V60 Recharge can manage around 30-miles on electricity alone. This is more than enough to complete most daily short journeys and visits to the petrol station essentially become non-existent. Topping up the relatively small battery packs only takes a couple of hours, too.

Stretch its legs and the plug-in estate will automatically flip between the petrol engine and electric drive, with power being shoved to all four wheels for maximum traction. The transition from hybrid to internal combustion engine is almost indiscernible and there are a number of modes to suit most driving styles.

Hybrid will essentially do all of the powertrain juggling for you, while Power frees up as many horses as possible for more potent performance. Pure maximises battery usage, while a B mode pumps up the regenerative braking to feed additional power back into the batteries. I found it easier to leave in in Hybrid mode and go easy on the throttle, which sees the vehicle happily (and silently) crawl along in traffic, only calling upon the engine when the roads become faster or the batteries run dry.

Despite Volvo’s attempts at some racy design (particularly in R-Design version), the V60 will never match the likes of BMW’s 3 Series Touring or even an AMG-appointed Mercedes C-Class Estate in terms of an entertaining drive.

There’s certainly enough straight-line performance here, but there’s not much in the way of steering feel or general feedback from the chassis. This is a car that is far more comfortable cruising along the motorway than it is being hustled along a tight B-road.

_{Cruise in comfort}

Perhaps the greatest reason to choose a Volvo over its German rivals is the styling and overall ambience, particularly when it comes to the cabin. The interior feels genuinely special, especially in the range-topping Inscription models, where the auto box gear shifter is fashioned form cut glass and the seats are wrapped in soft leather.

Volvo’s touchscreen Sensus Connect system still feels modern but is getting a little slow in its old age. Some of the smartphone integration is also due an overhaul, as using apps like Waze or Google Maps via Apple CarPlay feels a little clunky and it’s not possible to get this information displayed full screen.

Above all else, Volvo delivers big in the practicality stakes, with competition-beating boot space (539-litres with rear seats up) and excellent versatility. The rear seats easily fold flat at the press of a button for huge amounts of storage space and there’s plenty of leg and shoulder room for all occupants.

Verdict

Hybrid power suits the Volvo estate range perfectly, offering plenty of poke when needed but really only serving to improve upon the already quiet, relaxing and comfortable driving experience that its fossil fuel-powered siblings already possess.

Plug in the V60 Recharge T6 everyday and it’s highly likely you’ll be making massive fuel savings on a regular basis, seeing as the average UK driver only clocks up 20 miles in a typical day. But then, if you do want to venture further, there’s the reassurance of a petrol engine for higher mileage trips. 

Volvo is yet to release its first fully electric estate (you’ll have to plump for a V40 Recharge SUV if you want a pure EV), but it’s likely to be extremely good when it does. But for now, its Recharge models neatly bridge the gap. If you look past the unexciting drive, the V60 RechargePlug-In Hybrid T6 makes for a comfortable and luxurious everyday proposition

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