For 2022 Volvo’s most popular model, the XC60 CUV, gets a bigger update than a mid-cycle refresh usually warrants, exterior styling, technology and connectivity capabilities and groupsets Powertrains all improving on the 2021 model.

The Volvo XC60 22 moves the lines when it comes to integrating the driver’s voice into the car’s Google-based infotainment system, but that’s not enough to keep everything running smoothly.

The updated XC60 comes with a standard 48V mild hybrid powertrain that uses an 8-speed automatic transmission with start / stop and a 2.0L 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine. in two variations. The B5 trim version produces 247 horsepower and 258 lb-ft. (350 Nm) of torque. In the B6 version, an electric supercharger helps boost horsepower to 296 hp and 310 lb-ft. (420 NM).

The T6 and T8 Polestar Engineered versions are the plug-in hybrid options that offer an electric range of 19 miles (31 km). The T8 produces a combined output of 415 horsepower and 494 lb-ft. (670 Nm) and includes upgraded suspension and chassis components for better driving dynamics.

The electric motor on the rear axle provides 87 hp and makes all-wheel drive possible on PHEV models.

On the road, the ’22 XC60 isn’t drastically different from the 2020 version we reviewed a few years ago, but there are a few minor notes to consider. At the time we were driving the T8 PHEV, while this time we were driving a $ 65,890 B6 version (including the $ 1,095 destination charge) with all-wheel drive.

First, the new cable braking system makes stop-and-go driving smoother, with a brake pedal that looks like a conventional braking system.

The new XC60 also uses its forward-facing sensors to alert the driver if the vehicle in front of them has started to move – just one aspect of the CUV’s ADAS systems which are supposed to be transparent and intuitive, so much so that you can’t really turn them off.

When you are driving and the sensors find out that you are in a lane, they will try to keep you in that lane, and luckily there are no annoying beeps or hums to tell you that you are veering to one side or the other. .

For visual changes, Volvo gives the XC60 a new grille (photo above) – standard procedure in the industry these days, whether it is a model year update or not – with a new ‘brand of iron’ design that is heated so the ice cannot build up and block the sensors behind the logo, as well as a new color and wheel options.

The tailpipes are now hidden under the redesigned rear fascia, a change that may have been simply a styling choice or perhaps influenced by the automaker’s stated mission to have 50% of its sales volume all-electric. by 2025.

Whatever the reasons, the new XC60 doesn’t stray from the sleek design language Volvo has refined in recent years.

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Interior (photo above) has also been updated (the new wool-leather-blend fabric, for example), but the real star is the next-gen infotainment system that has been designed with Google Maps and Google Assistant in mind. It’s fun to play with, and some of these technologies actually make it easier and safer to get things done while driving.

Overall, however, there is still a long way to go for truly natural voice interaction, as some of the potentially useful settings are off limits for voice control.

You cannot adjust the cruise control speed or change it using your voice. You can’t talk to pair a new phone or roll windows up or down. And if you tell the wipers to come on, the car will play a song by The Wipers instead of cleaning the windshield.

Features that don’t work can be seen as security related, so it’s understandable that they are prohibited. But a driver can use the new XC60’s voice commands to adjust the audio volume and change the cabin temperature. Volvo has decreed that voice commands will adjust the temperature by 4 ° F (16 ° C) while using the buttons will adjust it by two degrees.

The system also responds well to voice navigation destinations. And between the center infotainment screen, driver display, and head-up display, the car gives you three ways to know when to turn after you’ve indicated the car where you want to go.

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