Thanks to the plug a clear conscience and yet enjoy all possible luxury and a lot of power. It is possible with the Volvo V60 T6 Recharge or the Peugeot 508 SW Hybrid 225. At least, on paper. Practice is a bit more unruly.
Plug-in hybrids come, very bluntly, in two flavors: aimed at maximum fuel efficiency, such as the Kia Ceed Sportswagon PHEV or the Toyota Prius plug-in, or with ample power and a plug to ease the conscience. . The Peugeot 508 SW Hybrid 225 and the Volvo V60 T6 Recharge are clearly of the latter kind. Peugeot puts 225 hp on the front wheels, while the Volvo has a system power of no less than 340 hp. That seems an unfairly big difference, but if ordered as the lavishly decorated, sporty GT or R-Design respectively, the version prices come close to each other; the difference is less than € 200. And in the Swedish showroom you get a nice 115 hp extra. Remarkably enough, all that extra power turns out to be not nearly as big an advantage in practice as it seems on paper. Sure, the Volvo is considerably faster than the Peugeot on all measurement components, but in practice the T6 powertrain does not encourage you to use that power to the full. In a calm driving style, both engines complement each other best and you experience a pleasant, natural way in which the drivetrain works. That picture is lacking at full power demand. Because the 87 hp electric motor on the rear axle is not physically linked to the 253 hp combustion engine on the front axle, the former can perfectly absorb the moments when the combustion engine does not (yet) deliver power in a calm driving style. At full throttle that goes clearly less well; after the kickdown, the car first has to think explicitly before the full power finds its way to the asphalt. In addition, the front wheels have a hard time finding grip on wet asphalt. Not a breaking point perhaps, but the Volvo powertrain is not at its best when it has to deliver full power. Those who mainly want to drive emission-free kilometers with the V60 will have to settle for considerably less impressive performance: the electric motor is on its own. It is nice that the modest gearbox is completely seamless, which is because the electric motor is connected to the rear wheels via a fixed transmission. With its 11.6 kWh battery pack, the V60 can travel around 45 kilometers electrically, after which the combustion engine has to step in.