Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid (2013) will cost £50k

Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid will cost £50k

The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid will start production in 2012 with 1,000 cars, each likely to cost around £50,000.

We really like the Volvo V60, and despite our general antipathy towards hybrid platforms – particularly in smaller cars – we also really like the idea of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid.

With its 4WD – thanks to something Volvo call ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) – and 2.4 litre diesel working with an electric motor producing 70 horses, the V60 plug-in can offer the best of both worlds – economy and performance – albeit at a price.

That price for the V60 Plug-in will be between £45 and 50k when production starts in November 2012. Volvo are building just 1,000 V60 Plug-in next year and all will be in range-topping Pure Limited Specification which includes the highest SE Lux trim. They will also – a first for Volvo – get a D6 badge thanks to performance on a par with the petrol-engined T6.

Once Volvo has built their 1,000 cars for 2012 production targets are between 4-6,000 a year, with 30 per cent going to Sweden and other Nordic countries and the rest sold in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK.

The price is high, but the performance and economy are promising. The V60 Plug-in gets three driving modes to suit your needs: Pure mode is an EV mode, Hybrid does what it says on the tin and Power throws everything at performance and can give you 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds.

In EV mode you can get up top 32 miles without using any diesel, and even in Hybrid mode Volvo states figures of 49g/km for emissions and a range of 621 miles.

The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid is a clever and appealing car, and exactly how hybrid technology should be employed. But there’s a price to pay for all that technology and that price is a hefty £50k.

But if you can justify the sticker price you will have a very clever, able, luxurious, commodious and sporty Volvo to play with.

(12 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK