Volvo XC60: Staying relevant between two eras

We reviewed the refreshed XC60 in November 2025 and called it quiet evolution done right. That still holds true. But spending more time with the car on longer drives, and gaining a few months of perspective, raises a different question: not whether the update works, but what it means to keep refining a car that has remained on essentially the same architecture since 2017, despite a fully electric successor already having been revealed, and still emerge with something that genuinely holds its own.

The answer says a lot about Volvo. And it says a lot about what this car has always been.

Bridge between two eras

The XC60 launched on its current platform in 2017. In that time, the GLC has gone through a full generation change. The X3 has been substantially redrawn. Volvo, meanwhile, has done what Volvo does, providing incremental, considered updates that add relevance without disrupting what works. The result is a car that feels less like it's running out of road and more like it's found a comfortable cruising altitude.

The January 2026 reveal of the EX60 — the all-electric successor, built on Volvo's new SPA3 platform — makes the XC60's position clearer. It's in its final chapter. Volvo has said it won't stop producing the XC60 hybrid immediately, but the direction of travel is obvious. What we have now is a car that has been progressively refined to the point where the platform's age almost stops mattering, and a successor waiting in the wings that will be more powerful, more technologically advanced, and built from the ground up for an electric world.

The XC60, for now, occupies the space between those two things. It's neither a fresh redesign nor a car that's been left to coast. It's a mature, well-sorted product at the peak of what it can be, and that's a genuinely interesting place to be.

What newer cars don't have

The new BMW X3, now in India from INR 72.50 lacs, is the sharper, more dynamic option. It's better to drive, particularly on a good road, and its updated interior is a step forward in tech. The refreshed GLC, from INR 77.00 lacs, brings more space, a diesel option, and the full weight of Mercedes-Benz's latest design language.

Both are excellent. Both are also, in different ways, trying to impress. The GLC wants to feel premium at every interaction. The X3 wants to remind you it's a driver's car. The XC60 doesn't try quite so hard, and in daily use, that turns out to matter.

The cabin is where this shows most clearly. There are no floating screens for the sake of it, no ambient lighting cycling through twelve colours, no attempt to make the dashboard feel like a product launch. What you get instead is soft leather, real wood, brushed metal, and a layout that's easy to understand without needing to explore menus. Four-zone climate control, ventilated and massaging front seats, a panoramic roof and the sublime Bowers & Wilkins sound system are on offer because they improve the experience, not to pad a feature list.

Volvo updated the infotainment for this refresh, and the improvement is real. The 12” screen, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip that's substantially faster than the outgoing unit, makes the Google-based system, with native Maps, Assistant, Play Store, feel like it belongs rather than like a retrofit. It's still not perfect: wireless CarPlay remains absent, and wired connections can be unreliable. But the overall experience is noticeably more fluid than before.

The ride quality remains the XC60's strongest single attribute. It absorbs bad roads without drama, settles quickly on the highway, and keeps the cabin quiet in a way that goes beyond just good insulation — it's tuned to feel calm and unhurried. The GLC and X3 are more engaging to drive. The XC60 is, consistently, more comfortable to be in. For most buyers in this segment, that's the more relevant distinction.

Understated on purpose

It's worth being direct about what "understated" means for the XC60, because it can read as a polite way of saying not exciting enough. It isn't. Volvo has the engineering capability to have made this car louder, more aggressive, more obviously premium. They've chosen, deliberately and repeatedly, not to.

The exterior design is the clearest evidence of this. The silhouette is well-proportioned rather than dramatic, the Thor's Hammer headlamps are distinctive without being theatrical, and the overall shape has aged far better than most of its 2017 peers because it was never chasing a trend in the first place. The updated grille, with more chrome and a busier pattern, is the one moment where the refresh slightly missteps. It feels like a concession the rest of the car doesn't need.

Inside, every surface communicates the same intent. The crystal gear knob is the one flourish, and it earns its place. Everything else is built to be used daily and to still feel considered in year five of ownership. That's a different ambition from much of what the segment offers, and the XC60 fulfils it well.

The numbers

The 2.0L mild-hybrid petrol, with 250 bhp, 360 Nm, and a 48V assist, isn't the most powerful option in this class. The GLC's diesel has more torque. The new X3 petrol is quicker. But the XC60's powertrain is tuned around refinement rather than performance, and it shows. The engine is smooth and linear through the rev range you actually use, the 8-speed automatic shifts unobtrusively, and the mild-hybrid system keeps things composed at low speeds without adding complexity. Fuel efficiency averages around 12 km/l in mixed use, a strong figure for a nearly two-tonne AWD SUV. With a 71-litre tank, the range comfortably clears 850 km. On a long highway drive, you'll notice that more than the 0 to 100 sprint.

One configuration, fully loaded

Volvo sells the XC60 in a single, fully-equipped trim at INR 69.60 lacs. No entry-level version that skimps, no performance variant that firms up the ride. Just one car, set up one way. It's a confident stance, and it undercuts the new X3 and GLC while arriving better specified than their base variants.

That price-to-equipment ratio has always been part of the XC60's case in India, and the refresh doesn't change it. If anything, it sharpens it.

The next era of Volvo

Volvo revealed the EX60 in January 2026. Built on the new SPA3 platform, it offers up to 810 km of claimed WLTP range in top spec, substantially more power than the XC60 in any configuration, and Volvo's most advanced technology to date. It will be faster, more capable, and more future-proof. It is, clearly, the better car for the next decade.

What it cannot yet be is proven. The XC60 has had nearly a decade of owners, service data, and accumulated trust behind it. Its safety ratings are consistently best-in-class. Its long-term reliability record is solid. These things don't appear on a spec sheet, but they factor into the decision for a lot of buyers, particularly at this price point.

Volvo has indicated that XC60 production will continue alongside the EX60, at least initially. But the writing is clear enough. The XC60 is in its closing run, and the brand knows it. What's notable is that the car being wound down is one of Volvo's most consistently successful products — the best-selling Volvo globally for much of the past decade, and the car that, more than any other, put Volvo's post-Geely identity into focus.

That identity is straightforward: human-centric, safety as a foundation, comfort as the priority, design that ages well, and no unnecessary drama. The XC60 has delivered on all counts, consistently, across eight years and multiple markets. The EX60 will need to do the same.

Worth having while it lasts

The XC60 won't be around forever, and the successor it's making way for is genuinely impressive. But right now, in this configuration, at this price, the XC60 remains one of the most complete luxury SUVs you can buy in India. It may not win a spec-by-spec comparison against the new X3 or GLC on every line. But it offers a kind of totality — ride quality, cabin feel, long-distance ease, safety, efficiency — that newer, more technically advanced rivals haven't quite matched yet.

That's the XC60 as it currently stands: a car that has earned its reputation and is spending its final years proving why.

Price

INR 69.60 lacs (ex-showroom).