Published December 16, 2011
Volvo announced European pricing for its V60 plug-in wagon this week, setting the base price at €57,000 (or about $75,200.) When it comes out in both the United States and Europe next year, the V60 will take its place as the first plug-in hybrid station wagon and first clean diesel plug-in hybrid released by a major automaker.
It's also one of the most powerful electric-drive vehicles ever released, with a maximum output of 285 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque, accelerating from 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. The car is so powerful that Volvo was able to include a trailer hitch, which is also the first of its kind for a plug-in.
The V60 will pair a five-cylinder, 2.4-liter turbodiesel engine with two electric motors: one 50-kilowatt motor to drive the rear wheels, and an additional front-mounted 7-kW motor that gives the wagon all-wheel drive capability under all-electric, or “Pure” mode. Using its 11.2-kWh lithium ion battery pack, the V60 can operate on electricity alone for up to 31 miles, traveling at speeds of up to 74 mph. For longer trips, the key to peak efficiency is driving in Hybrid mode, which under the famously forgiving European fuel economy formulas provides equivalent gas mileage of 124 mpg.
Just 1,000 V60s will be produced next year, with Volvo ramping up to between 4,000 and 6,000 in 2013. The carmaker says it expects most early sales to come from public and private fleets rather than consumers. Despite its uniqueness within the plug-in market, $75,000 is a lot to ask for a station wagon, particularly given that the Volvo S60 (which is built on the same platform,) starts at slightly less than $31,000 in the United States.
