Vanilla Volvo sport-ute packs a surprising punch

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo reviews of the latest motor vehicle models also can be seen on The Sacramento Bee’s website at www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

This review first appeared in the June 2018 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News published out of Folsom, California – mg

Sacramento, California – A white Volvo sport-utility vehicle.  Wow, not much excitement in that, right?

That was just what I was thinking when I hit the accelerator on the tested 2018 Volvo XC60 T8 E-AWD Inscription and felt my neck snap backward like a wet noodle.

What the heck?

Let’s see, the sticker says this thing has a 2-liter supercharged and turbocharged engine linked to an electric motor generating a combined 400 HORSEPOWER AND 472 FOOT-POUNDS OF TORQUE.

Holy Swedish surprise!  That explained things.

Yes, this particular Volvo sport-ute more than earns its place in the HOT LAPS Hall of Fame, thanks to its ridiculous performance characteristics and its ability to shame an unwitting sports car driver into therapy.

This Volvo rocket ship starts just shy of $53,000 but the extensive Insciption/Convenience/Vision and Luxury Seat packages ballooned the bottom line on my tester to nearly $72,000.  I had more perks than an Exxon CEO driving this Volvo, but the standard package was pretty impressive on its own.

I particularly liked the LED headlights in the “Thor’s Hammer” arrangement.  And that laminated panoramic moonroof with power sunshade was pretty cool.

Safety systems?  C’mon, this is a Volvo. The thing was loaded with state-of-the-art safety/security technology to keep me as safe as a babe in the cradle.

Still, nothing beat the rush of opening it up.  Be advised that the sound and power delivered by the combo powertrain system was not brutish.  Performance was dished up in smooth layers, like icing on Mom’s marble cake.

Noise coming back to the cockpit was no indication of what was going on outside the vehicle.  A glance at the speedometer handled that message.  The tester could hit 80 with very little prodding from my right foot, and the vehicle’s agility even at that speed was cutting and quick.

This is quite the midsize SUV package, and I’m not surprised that the XC60 represents about 30 percent of Volvo’s global vehicle sales.

Yes, my tester did cost a pretty penny, but if you crave that monster list of features and a big-time  performance rush to boot, this XC60 T8 E-AWD Inscription is the way to go.