New Volvo XC90 T8 hybrid unveiled

Volvo has introduced an all-new plug-in hybrid, the XC90 T8. The XC90 T8 gets power from a twin-engine set up - a specially modified Drive E petrol four-cylinder petrol engine powering the front wheels and an electric motor that will power the rear axle. Volvo has designed this hybrid from the ground up.  

The new XC90 T8 is based on the new modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) chassis system, which had been in development for the past four years. The powertrain has also been optimized specifically for plug-in hybrid technology. The four-pot Drive E engine gets a supercharger and a turbocharger, and has been tuned to produce 318bhp and 40.78kgm of torque. The electric motor is capable of making 80.04bhp and 24.5kgm of torque. It gets power from a high voltage battery operating in the range of 270-400V. Transmission duties are handled by a specially adapted eight-speed automatic gearbox.

The Volvo XC90 T8 uses a brake-by-wire system to recover and transmit energy back into the car, which can be used to recharge the battery. Volvo says that it has also equipped the car with a unique stability function that controls the amount of energy that may be safely regenerated. The battery, crankshaft-mounted starter generator and the electric motor are cooled by a unique system, which uses the radiator (passively) or through integration with the car’s climate control system (actively).

As far as driving modes go, the Volvo XC90 T8 has five, which can be selected using a scroll wheel on the centre console. The Hybrid mode alternates between the engine and the electric motor to get the best overall fuel consumption. The Power mode allows for the use of the electric motor and the combustion engine together, to get the best of both worlds. In the pure electric mode, the battery serves as the only power source for the car, and run the car for up to 40km on electric power only. The AWD mode allows for the use of all-wheel-drive on demand. Last, but not the least, in the Save mode, if the battery is charged, the system saves as much battery life as it can for later use with the Pure Electric drive.

With the XC90 T8, Volvo Cars has said that it assures performance of a luxury SUV, while keeping emission levels to a minimum and fuel efficiency at a high 40kpl.