Volvo V60 - MPG, CO2 and running costs

The lone mild-hybrid petrol Volvo V60 has a fuel economy figure of 44.8mpg and emissions of 143g/km, which compare well with the equivalent petrol models in the BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class Estate range. However, those needing a diesel to cover lots of miles will need to defect to the Mercedes, because Volvo no longer offers such an engine.

The brand’s reasoning for ditching diesel is that it is moving towards having a fully-electrified line-up, with the V60 gaining not one, but two plug-in hybrid powertrains. Both the T6 and T8 are pretty evenly matched at an official 353.1mpg, although our experience with plug-in hybrid cars is that you won’t get anything like that figure in real life, even if you charge the battery up regularly. Still, during our testing of a T8 version – incorporating a combination of backroad and urban driving – the V60 T8 we drove returned an average of 80mpg, which still represents efficient driving. CO2 figures for the T6 and T8 are 18g/km and 19g/km, respectively.

When not running on electric, both the T6 and T8 versions of V60 maintain the same 60-litre petrol tank as the mild-hybrid version, which is a lot more useful on a long trip than the 40-litre tank supplied with the equivalent BMW 3 Series plug-in.

Electric range, battery life and charge time

The 18.8kWh (14.7kWh useable) battery pack in the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrid models is enough for an official electric range of over 50 miles, which is a little short of the BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class Estate, which both use a larger capacity battery with greater EV range.

Utilising a standard 7.4kWh wallbox home charger, it’ll take 5 hours to refill the batteries of both the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrids. 

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Tax

Prices for the Volvo V60 range start well above the £40,000 threshold, so all versions will be subject to an additional surcharge on top of the annual VED road tax from the second time the vehicle is taxed, up until it is six years old.

At least company car drivers will benefit from the long electric range provided by the plug-in hybrid models, which will cost a lot less in Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax than the mild-hybrid petrol model.

Insurance groups

This Volvo estate car is on par with its BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class estate rival, starting in insurance group 29, before rising to group 36 for the T6 plug-in hybrid, before topping out in group 39 for the fastest T8 model.

If you need something cheaper to insure, you’ll need to look towards the Skoda Superb Estate.

Depreciation

The Volvo V60 is expected to hold onto 47 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles of ownership, which is a little better than the Mercedes C-Class Estate, but can’t quite match the BMW 3 Series Touring. 

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