Towcar of the month: Volvo XC60 T6 PHEV AWD Plus Auto
Towcar of the month
Towcar of the Month: Volvo XC60 T6 PHEV AWD Plus Auto
There are few cars that make you feel special when you hop aboard. This new Volvo feels more luxurious, more powerful, larger and more refined than its price tag would suggest.
In fact, we’d go so far as to say in comparison to some of the other towcars we have tested recently, this Volvo outshines them in almost every aspect.
A family SUV with impressive towing and eco-friendly features
First is that price tag – under £55,000 for a prestige, luxury family SUV with a massive towing capacity (2.25 tonnes) and environmental credentials – it can (and did in our test) travel over 25 miles without emitting anything from its exhaust pipes – that a city car would be proud of. OK, you do need to add the retractable towbar £1,400 option to that price but even then you could buy this car and still buy a top-of-the-range tourer for less than £80k!
Officially it has a 30-mile pure-electric range but that’s academic for this review as we recommend using that electric power to enhance the towing experience; ie always only using it in combination with the petrol engine.
What does the XC60 offer?
But before we hook up, let’s look at what this XC60 offers. As mentioned, it excels in cossetting passengers and driver in a wonderful environment – it’s quiet, comfortable, spacious and has a reassuringly solid feel to everything.
For the driver, you have that total output from the engine and hybrid system of 350hp to call upon. This 2.1-tonne SUV is no slouch if you need a burst of speed (5.7 seconds from standing to 60mph) but it’s how that power is put to use when you’re towing that is so impressive.
We headed off to our local dealer, Lowdham Leisureworld in Nottinghamshire, to hook this new towcar to the perfect family caravan for the owner of an XC60 – a Swift Sprite Exclusive Major 6TD, which is a high-spec, six-berth 7.63m-long tourer weighing in at 1.62 tonnes. The Swift’s weight is well within the Volvo’s towing limit but still heavy enough to ensure the test is worthwhile.
This time, the entire hook-up process was done by just one person (except for testing the brake lights and indicators, where I did call in some help) to see how manoeuvrable this 4.7m long, 2.2m wide (with standard mirrors) SUV is.
What shone during this process was the helicopter-view camera system – it is pin sharp and displayed on the large central screen, which meant reversing up to the Swift was a cinch.
Advanced electronics
Hook-up and mirrors and light testing done, it was time to see what Volvo’s electronics made of having something plugged into its system. It immediately warned that two of the many standard safety systems, in this case the Rear Park Assist and Blind Spot systems were now disabled. The scrolling through the car’s menu to find the best of the four – Hybrid (uses both petrol engine and battery power as needed), Power, Pure or Off-Road – pre-set drive mode setting for towing. It turns out it is Off-Road as the hybrid battery is constantly being charged and the car’s driving and road characteristics are improved in this setting.
To be honest, there seemed little between it and the Hybrid setting – they both worked amazingly. I have never been in a towcar with over 1.6 tonnes hooked to the rear and felt as if we were enjoying tow-free driving. There was no hesitation pulling away or accelerating. There were none of the characteristic wobble and bounce almost every towcar suffers from when towing over 1.5 tonnes. It was so assured and confident, the towing test was soon as relaxing as ambling down the motorway in this Volvo.
Verdict
The XC60 is a seriously impressive towcar – luxurious, effortless, assured – the list of adjectives could go on and on and they’d all be accurate. It is no wonder this Volvo XC60 was voted the best towcar of 2025. It’s at the top of my list and it should be at the top of yours, too.
Thanks to Lowdhams, Nottinghamshire and Volvo UK
Spec sheet
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