Volvo V60 Plug-in Diesel Hybrid: Geneva 2011 catch-up

Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-in Hybrid Geneva

We’re probably going to be playing catch-up for the next few days on stuff we didn’t manage to cover on the press days at Geneva. And this – the Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-in Hybrid – is one that should definitely have made it in to our coverage earlier.

We’re not big fans of the hybrid route – especially in small cars – but when it’s used to produce a car that is more economical and more powerful, we start to get it. When the company making it says they want to make sure their hybrids are fun and capable of giving an adrenalin rush – count us interested.

So the Diesel Plug-in from Volvo is a big deal. It promises to be a fun car to drive, with decent performance from its 2.4-litre five-pot turbodiesel delivering 215 horses and the ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) electric motor chipping in another 70.

You can harness both for some brisk driving (0-60 in 6.9 – we’d have expected a bit better) or you can play at eco-misers with an electric range of 31 miles. The default is the hybrid mode, where Volvo claim 124mpg and 49g/km. The usual daft, hypothetical numbers which are completely meaningless.

Still, daft numbers apart, this Diesel PHEV from Volvo looks decent in the flesh and a promising prospect.

By Cars UK