Volvo’s 90 and 60 series Recharge PHEVs get more power and MUCH greater range

Volvo upgrades the plug-in hybrid Recharge powertrain with a bigger battery and more powerful motors for the 60 and 90 series models.

EV evangelists will tell you a plug-in hybrid is complete nonsense, and the only way to go is full BEV. But, for most car buyers, that’s just not right.

The idea of an ICE to drive on longer trips and local run done by the electric motor is, in many ways, the best of both worlds, although in the real world the modest EV range of many PHEVs is disappointing. And that includes Volvos.

But now Volvo is addressing this by giving their Recharge PHEV powertrains in the 90 Series – S90, V90 and XC90 – and the 60 Series – S60, V60 and XC60 – a proper upgrade for 2021 with more power and a bigger battery.

The battery grows from 11.6kWh to 18.8kWh and the rear electric motor gets 145bhp, which means Recharge T6 models now have 350bhp to play with and the Recharge T8 models 455bhp. That’s all very nice, but an increase in range to 56 electric miles is the proper win for owners, meaning you really can use your Volvo PHEV as an EV for most of the time.

Henrik Green, CTO at Volvo Cars, said:

It’s 2021, and people should no longer have to rely on petrol or diesel when commuting. Our latest plug-in hybrids deliver all the electric driving range needed in most people’s everyday life.

And to make driving on congested roads more palatable, Volvo has introduced the one-pedal driving you’ll find on full BEVs which, if you haven’t tried it, is a joy.

Volvo says the new PHEV system will initially roll out on the XC90, V90 and S90, but the 60 Series models will follow.