A mid-size Volvo SUV with 300kW/640Nm is like one of those movie characters. You know the ones: a regular Joe or Jane with a humdrum job who turns into a kick-arse crime fighter in their spare time.

It’s an unexpected turn of events. We wouldn’t normally spend much time with the Volvo XC60 as traditionally there hasn’t been a performance bolt in its body, but those outputs and the fact our sister mag Wheels crowned it their 2018 Car of the Year suggested it might be worth a closer look.

The internal combustion engine provides 235kW/400Nm with the remaining 65kW/240Nm added by the e-motors. Just as the XC60 T8 is a car of two power sources, it’s also a car of two distinct personalities.

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Inside, the dash is dominated by the 9.0-inch vertical touchscreen which, by and large, works intuitively.

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Early plug-in hybrids had an electric-only range about as long as the average driveway, but the XC60 can complete around 40km of engine-off driving. The switch between the two power sources isn’t completely seamless and there’s some torque steer under hard acceleration, but switching to ‘Power’ mode (Volvo-speak for Sport) changes the experience dramatically.

Nonetheless, the XC60 T8 is impressive and this powertrain in a smaller, lighter S60 sedan could give the likes of the Audi S4 and Mercedes-AMG C43 a surprise.

Like: Potent powertrain; surprising handling Dislike: Complex; heavy; image Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars