Test Drive: 2022 Volvo XC60 B6 R-Design

2022 Volvo XC60 B6 R-Design

Class: Premium Compact Crossover

Miles driven: 346

Fuel used: 15.6 gallons

Real-world fuel economy: 22.1 mpg

Driving mix: 50% city, 50% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 21/27/24 (mpg city/highway/combined)

Fuel type: Premium gasoline recommended

Base price: $55,100 (not including $1095 destination charge)

Options: Climate Package ($750), Advanced Package ($2050), metallic paint ($695), power-operated tailgate ($200), Bowers and Wilkins premium audio system ($3200), 4-corner air suspension ($1800), 21-inch 5-Double-Spoke Black Diamond Cut alloy wheels ($1000)

Price as tested: $65,890

Quick Hits

The great: Standard safety features; high-class interior materials; stylish design inside and out

The good: Satisfying acceleration; decent ride/handling balance

The not so good: New Google Android-based infotainment system is still a bit finicky; optional equipment quickly drives up the bottom-line price; not quite as nimble or athletic-feeling as some performance-focused class rivals

More XC60 price and availability information

John Biel

Grammarians! A little help here, if you please: Is it “Volvo R-Design” or “Volvo is Design?”

All sophomoric foolishness aside, Volvo has given its XC60 premium-compact sport-utility vehicle what it considers a substantial freshening for 2022. There’s mildly updated styling, particularly to the grille and front bumper; updated wheel designs; and some new colors. However, that is overshadowed by the introduction of mild-hybrid engines, a changed infotainment system, and improvements to the optical and sonic sensors that serve the vehicle’s various driver-assistance/safety systems.

Consumer Guide tried out this latest XC60 in the sportier R-Design equipment level and with the turbocharged and supercharged B6 engine. It’s a $56,195 vehicle to start (delivery included), but a pair of option packages and a quintet of individual extras easily pushed the bottom line past the $65,000 bar.

Standard features that kick in at the R-Design level—some of them exclusive—appear throughout. The model-specific mesh grille, window surrounds, and mirror caps are done in gloss black. The exterior look is rounded out by R-Design 19-inch alloy wheels—though the test truck was gifted with a $1000 set of airy 21-inch of “diamond-cut” rims. Front passengers settle into power adjusted and heated Nappa-leather-and-fabric sport seats with memory settings—though rear seats swap the hides for leatherette. A sport steering wheel, leather-trimmed shift lever, tailored dash, and R-Design pedal trim complete the cockpit décor. Luxury and convenience elements include 4-zone climate control, interior high-level illumination, front park assist, HomeLink garage-door transmitter, and a premium Harman Kardon sound system (that was replaced in the test vehicle by the excellent optional Bowers and Wilkins unit).

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That is in addition to a panoramic moonroof with power shade, gloss-black integrated roof rails, keyless entry with illuminated door handles, 12.3-inch digital instrument and driver-information display, wireless charging, and USB “C” ports in both rows. Safety assists consist of blind-spot alert, steering-linked LED headlights, “Oncoming Lane Mitigation” (to steer the vehicle back into its lane should it cross the center stripe when an oncoming vehicle is detected), collision-avoidance for everything from pedestrians to large animals, forward-collision and lane-departure warning and mitigation, driver-attention alert, and road-sign information.

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Gone—to a degree—are the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder T5 (turbocharged) and T6 (turbocharged and supercharged) engines that formerly powered nonhybrid XC60s. Their respective replacements—with the same displacement and forced-induction methods—are the B5 and B6 newly assisted by mild-hybrid technology. These engines use a 48-volt electrical system and an electric starter-generator in lieu of a conventional starter motor. At 247 horsepower, the B5 is just three ponies shy of what the T5 mill made, but the 295-horsepower B6 that powered CG’s test truck sheds 21 T6 steeds. However, one of the starter-generator’s several duties is to hasten torque delivery for snappier starts and smoother shifts from the 8-speed automatic transmission. (The B6 conjures 310 lb-ft of torque.)

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The combination of turbo and supercharging provides the B6 with power boosts throughout the rpm range. Plus, the XC60’s supercharger is electrically run, so it avoids draining power from the very engine it is supposed to be helping by avoiding the parasitic losses from a mechanical engine/blower hookup. The B6 is responsive and smooth, with both good standing-start getaway power and nice highway passing punch.

If the new powerplants cede some horsepower at least they perk up gas mileage a bit. The EPA estimates the B6 will get 21 mpg in city use, 27 mpg on the highway, and 24 mpg combined, or one mpg better in both city and combined driving than the T6. (The highway estimate is unchanged.) This driver logged 24.9 mpg from a 179-mile test composed of 39 percent city-style operation.

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While B5-powered XC60s can come with front-wheel or all-wheel drive, the B6 is just paired with AWD. In this configuration it is a confident, just not spectacular, handler. Perhaps it had something to do with the wheel/tire package but ride comfort could be shaken by certain pavement irregularities. Fortunately, the test vehicle had the extra-cost four-corner air suspension to help smooth things out a little. Brakes deliver sure, progressive stops.

Slipping behind the wheel, anyone familiar with the XC60 might initially assume the 9-inch vertically oriented touchscreen in the dash is the portal to the same Sensus infotainment system that has served the brand for several years. Now, though, the guts are a Google Android-developed system. (Apple CarPlay connectivity is still standard as well.) It boasts additional personalization options, voice control, and navigation via Google Maps. One of our editors complained of difficulty in getting the nav system to allow him to initiate a route from his immediate location, and when he tried to go the voice route, the gizmo erroneously thought he was asking for confirmation of his current location—and told him he was in Texas, which he was not. Not even close. Virtual buttons for controls and apps are larger and more colorful than on the old Sensus system but it still takes a lot to work through to what you want to see—if you can figure out where it is. The climate system is about the easiest thing to access through the touchscreen—it has its own band along the bottom of the screen but it takes repeated finger tapping to change temperature settings or fan speed.

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The changes to the XC60 for ’22 don’t affect interior accommodations. There is the same ample leg- and headroom in both seating rows as we’ve seen before, convenient personal-item storage facilities, and class-competitive cargo space of 21.6 cubic feet behind the rear seat or 49.8 cubic feet when the 60/40-split rear seats are folded flat to expand the cargo area. A Lexus NX 450h+ that we tested at around the same time had slightly more behind-seat space but a little less total capacity when its second-row seats were retracted.

Unless your tastes in infotainment technology run to something simpler, this Volvo are—is—an inviting consideration for shoppers in its segment.

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2022 Volvo XC60 B6 R-Design Gallery

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