Stylish Sedan Has An Electrified Surprise

The 2025 S60 Plug-In Hybrid isn’t quite the car you expect from Volvo. Yes, it’s safe and eminently capable of driving sensibly — just as you expect from those sober Swedes — yet it’s also packing more than 500 lb-ft of torque and is only a tenth of a second slower in the 0-60 dash than a Porsche 718 Cayman S. Unlike that Porsche, though, there’s seating for five and 40+ miles of electric-only range.

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The third-generation S60 has been around since 2018, so it’s a testament to Volvo’s design chops that it still looks fresh and purposeful. Part of that may be the — relative — rarity of sedans these days, compared to SUVs and crossovers, but the S60’s restrained blend of curves and creases deserves credit, too. I’m showing my bias here, but the only thing which would improve it is a wagon rear, for which you’ll need the V60.

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The bulk of Volvo’s color options are variations on black, gray, and white — mass-market friendly, but hardly striking. There are, at least, two brighter finishes: a metallic blue, and the metallic red you see here. 18-inch wheels are standard, with 19-inch versions available (and standard on the Dark Theme car, with its blacked-out exterior trim).

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Volvo has two drivetrain versions of the S60. Most affordable (from $42,600 plus $1,195 destination) is the mild-hybrid, but for performance and actual electric motoring, you’ll want the S60 T8 Plug-In Hybrid. That starts at $52,100 (plus destination), and combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged gas engine with an electric motor and an 18.8 kWh battery.

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The result is 455 horsepower and 523 lb-ft of torque, a huge step up from the mild-hybrid’s 247 hp and 258 lb-ft. It trims the 0-60 mph time from a quoted 6.2 seconds to just 4.3 seconds, but also allows for up to 41 miles of electric-only range. While all-wheel drive is optional on the mild hybrid, it’s standard on the PHEV.

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There are four drive modes, with the S60 PHEV starting either in Hybrid (balancing gas and electric power as the Volvo sees fit) or Pure (prioritizing using the battery first). Constant AWD mode makes sure all four wheels are permanently driven, for low-traction situations like snow and ice, while Power mode coaxes maximum performance from both the gas and electric sides of the drivetrain.

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The result is more than spritely. Gas and electric work neatly together, propelling the S60 PHEV from a standing start with a firm shove. The steering is strongly assisted, so can feel a little remote from what’s going on underneath, but the Volvo feels nimble and responsive nonetheless. Tugging back the transmission shifter a second time switches to B mode for one-pedal driving, the sedan tapping regenerative braking to slow things more aggressively.

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Would it be my first choice for sporty driving? Probably not, given the weight and an occasional tendency to catch the eight-speed transmission seemingly unawares when you hit the gas more aggressively. Nonetheless, there’s fun here that you might not expect from something with the Volvo badge.

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In the more sedate drive modes, the S60 escapes its Polestar-badged brethren’s overly stiff suspension. It’s firm, but still comfortable, and the segue between electric and gas driving is smooth. Overall, it’s a refined and easy car to drive.

Inside, Volvo’s cabin remains handsome and feels luxurious in a restrained, Scandinavian Lodge sort of way. The base Core trim gets leatherette upholstery in black or cream; Plus (from $54,900) and Ultra (from $57,400) switch to leather. A lovely wool blend alternative is a no-cost option on the Ultra trim; or, $450 gets a Nappa leather upgrade with a sport steering wheel.

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A panoramic glass roof, dual-zone climate control, reverse parking sensors, and heated front seats are all standard across the board. By the time you get to the Ultra, there’s a 360-degree camera, front/side/rear parking sensors, a head-up display, and an upgraded Harman Kardon audio system.

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Showing its age is the 9-inch infotainment touchscreen. It feels a little small as Volvo having moved to at least a 12.3-inch panel in the EX30, and a 14.5-inch version in the EX90. The Google built-in software is functional and reasonably straightforward to navigate, but its Apple CarPlay support is wired only, and there’s no Android Auto.

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A $750 Climate Package adds heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel — Volvo’s heating elements aren’t messing around, either, and things get super-toasty in short order — along with headlamp washers. There’s no ventilated seat option, mind. $3,200 gets you the sweet-sounding Bowers & Wilkins audio system.

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Officially a compact sedan, the S60 is decently spacious inside. Though there’s seating for five, the middle rear seat contends with a sizable floor hump where Volvo tucks the PHEV’s battery. Things would definitely feel cramped with three adults back there, and headroom is a little snug, too. If you regularly carry that many people, you might want to look to the larger S90.

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The trunk is 11.6 cu-ft, so not huge, though expands to 26.6 cu-ft with the rear seats folded down. The PHEV has a tow rating of 2,000 pounds.

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With a Level 2 home charger, a full recharge should take around 5 hours. Like most plug-in hybrids, there’s no support for DC fast chargers, and indeed their plugs won’t even fit the Volvo’s port. The reality is that filling up at a gas station is a much easier way to handle road-trips, and with a full tank and battery, the EPA says up to 530 miles of driving is possible. I struggled to hit the official estimates, though spending a fair amount of time in Power mode was probably a large part of that.

Beyond the eagerness and the eco-friendly electrification, all of the usual Volvo safety attributes are present and correct. Blind spot warnings with cross-traffic alerts, rear collision mitigation support, oncoming late mitigation, and lane-keeping are standard on all trims. Plus trim and above upgrade the regular cruise control to Volvo’s Pilot Assist, a hands-on adaptive cruise with lane-keeping system.

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Despite offering a compelling halfway step between gas car familiarity and electric vehicle efficiency, plug-in hybrids are still in the minority. That goes doubly so for PHEV sedans — while there are a fair few luxury options, those on a budget looking for a plug-in that isn’t an SUV have basically this Volvo and the Prius Prime to choose from. Nobody is going to mistake that Toyota as either as pleasant inside, or as fun to drive, as the S60 PHEV.

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Volvo seems conscious of that appeal, too. No longer aiming to go fully-electric by 2030, the automaker’s massaged roadmap now emphasizes both full EVs and PHEVs for the bulk of its sales by the end of the decade. If its plug-in hybrids can deliver the refinement and charm of this 2025 S60, that may be no bad thing.

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