When Volvo launched the latest seven-seat XC90 last year, the software on the T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid range-topper was unfinished, but the firm brought it along anyway — to the distress of many of the engineers.
It had a 320hp two-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels, plus an 87hp electric motor for the rears, and it was fast, but obviously not the finished article.
So it was interesting to sample the car as it was always meant to be. It is still fast — Volvo claims 0-60mph acceleration of 5.3 seconds, although with only 1,500 miles on the clock it didn’t feel quite that quick yet.
Admittedly, many of the miles I covered were on motorways, where you don’t benefit properly from the electric power of a hybrid.
In town, the electric power boosts economy well, but however much you juggle with its driving modes, it soon runs out of juice — although Volvo claims the feather-footed can get 27 miles of electric-only motoring.
It is loaded with safety equipment including automatic emergency braking and recharges in two-and-a-half hours on a three-pin plug.
There is much to like, but it still doesn’t feel like the finished article.
Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Momentum
Top speed: 140mph; 0-60mph: 5.3 secs;
MPG (claimed): 134.5;
CO2: 49g/km;
Price: £56,980
