Between 1974 and 1993, Volvo built and sold over 2.6 million versions of the blocky, bulletproof 240, making it the company’s best-selling model of all time.
Until the XC60 came along. Since 2008, Volvo has shifted over 2.7 million versions of the handsome SUV, making this the new best-selling Volvo ever. Both are heartland, mainstream family cars.
That was then, and this is now. The new Volvo EX60 is the electric sibling to that best-selling XC60, and Volvo understands the scale of the task ahead of it: it enters, in Volvo’s own words, “the largest electric segment globally.” Not just regular shark-infested waters then, but sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads.
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Its rivals include the Tesla Model Y—only the world’s best-selling EV—and the BMW iX3, to name but two. That latter car’s a TopGear Award winner and the vanguard of BMW’s entire electrification strategy; literally, it is Munich’s game-changer.
Big hitters then. To counter, the Volvo EX60 comes in swinging, because in AWD guise this handsome Swede is capable of up to 813km of driving from a single charge. That’s a handful of meters more than the iX3 and more than any sentient human is likely to accomplish in one hit.
Recovering the bulk of that range is also said to be super speedy. The EX60 runs an 800V setup that allows around 338km of range to be hosed into the battery in 10 minutes, if the hose is a 400kw one. Ten minutes.
As we’ve covered already, it’s no ordinary battery. Volvo has introduced a ‘cell to body’ system, which does away with bolting individual cells into a pack and then bolting that pack into the body. Here, the cells are inserted directly into the next-gen ‘SPA3’ architecture, so the casing strengthens the body and the battery. Makes it lighter, basically, though it’s still a proper heavyweight: Volvo quotes between 2,115kg and 2,330kg depending on spec.
Like its rival, the iX3, the EX60’s entire operating system is defined by the ‘Superset’ tech stack that’ll underpin every single electric Volvo in the future. It’s got the latest version of something called ‘HuginCore,’ named, of course, after the bird in Norse mythology—that “empowers the car to think, process,and act.” Here it’s powered by NVIDIA and Qualcomm tech that Volvo reckons offers up “ultra-fast” processing power. Less screen lag and better responses, basically.
Three versions of the regular EX60 will be available in three battery sizes, along with just one trim available in EX60 Cross Country guise (pictured below). For the EX60, there’s the single motor, rear-drive, 369hp ‘P6’ version (83kWh battery), a twin motor, AWD ‘P10’ with 503hp (95kWh battery), and the big boy ‘P12,’ again a twin motor EV with a whopping 671hp (117kWh battery).
More numbers, so strap in: the P6 gets 480Nm of torque, up to 620km of range, and will go from 0-100kph in 5.9sec. The P10 posts 710Nm, 660km of range, and 0-100kph in 4.6sec. The P12 gets an exceedingly healthy 790Nm, the headline 813km of range (up to), and a 0-100kph time of just 3.9sec. Nobody needs to go from 0-100kph in 3.9sec in a family SUV, but hey, it’ll do it.
The EX60 CC will only come as the P10 version for now. Later, there’ll be a P12 version too. This one sits 20mm higher than you’d expect.
All four top out at 180kph, get the choice of passive or semi-active suspension, and are absolutely loaded with tech. Like Google’s AI assistant Gemini, which is “deeply integrated with your car and lets you have natural and personalised conversations without having to remember specific commands.”
Along with the traditional Volvo hardware—multi-adaptive seat belts, safety cage, restraints, and other safety measures—it’ll also be continually updated over time via OTAs.
And speaking of updates, Volvo’s taken the XC60 and run with it, updating that language to fit the EV era. Like all modern Volvos, it’s a handsome car, with the company’s signature head- and tail-lights, a boxy(ish) silhouette, big wheels and lots of space. The CC version gets the classic wheelarch claddings, black mouldings, and a slightly wider track.
There’s a pano roof, lots of “natural and high-end materials” inside, lots of storage, split-fold rear seats, and a B&W stereo that gets speakers in the headrests of the four main seats.
“The new, all-electric EX60 changes the game in terms of range, charging, and price and represents a new beginning for Volvo Cars and our customers,” said (returning) Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson. “With this car, we remove all remaining obstacles for going electric.”
Only time will tell whether it can overcome the Model Y and iX3 and Q6 e-tron and Ioniq 5 and e-Macan and electric GLC-shaped obstacles that now stand before it and the scale of its new task: to become a next-gen best-seller.
More photos of the 2026 Volvo EX60:
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
