2023 Volvo XC60

The 2023 Volvo XC60 will see its trim levels renamed completely and the renamed versions will be Base, Plus, and Ultimate. The Polestar Engineered trim is only available with the hybrid T8 powertrains and will be covered in a separate review. Coming to the regular models, the Base trim will attract a starting price of $44,545 and will offer some handsome and luxurious features such as two-zone automatic climate control, faux leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, and heated front seats on the AWD-equipped models. The Plus model will get bigger 19-inch wheels along with interior ambient lighting, wooden interior trim, leather upholstery, power-foldable rear headrests, and a universal garage door opener. The Ultimate trim gets you close to a superbly luxurious experience with four-zone automatic climate control, a crystal-like knob for the gear selector stick, heating and ventilation for the front seats, extendable thigh support for the front seats, and a premium audio setup from Harman Kardon.

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The Base trim offers the most value however, the higher trims do offer more features. If you do not require exquisite leather upholstery or fancy features such as the crystal gear knob and extendable thigh support, the Plus model would make a great option too.

Release Date

The 2023 Volvo XC60 has been released and is available for purchase through the brand's official website and authorized dealerships.

With the recent trend of compact luxury SUVs being equipped with compact turbocharged engines, fuel economy numbers have improved to a significant extent. From the standard setup, the SUV returns an average city mileage of 22mpg while the city mileage is rated at 29mpg. The combined output is 25mpg, a decent number for the segment. The SUV gets 18.8-gallon fuel storage that allows it to return excellent driving range numbers. Within cities, the average driving range is 414 miles while during highway rides, you can go over 545 miles before needing to refuel.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC Class has majorly identical EPA ratings to the Volvo XC60. However, due to its smaller 17.4-gallon gas tank, the driving range numbers are much lower than what the XC60 offers. The Porsche Macan has the lowest EPA ratings here with 19mpg of city mileage along with 23mpg of highway mileage. However, it is saved due to its sizable 19.8-gallon gas tank which allows it to offer some decent driving range figures according to the class. The BMW X3 is the most fuel-efficient SUV here according to the EPA ratings. However, its driving range figures are slightly better than the XC60’s numbers due to its smaller gasoline tank size of 17.2 gallons.

The interior of Volvo cars and SUVs are far from flashy but always carry a simplistic yet elegant design, and are very Scandinavian too. The 2023 Volvo XC60’s interior will see no changes over the current model and we’ll get to see the same, XC90-inspired cabin once more. The number of physical buttons was kept at a minimum while all the major controls such as the air-conditioning controls and the seat controls have been integrated within the massive centrally mounted screen. The base trim gets plenty of soft-touch materials and metallic trims on the exposed bits while the Plus trim brings pure leather upholstery and wooden trims. Apart from that, the rear seats get power-folding headrests, the front seats get extendable under-thigh support, and the whole cabin gets ambient interior lighting. The dashboard gets a leather treatment on the upper part in the top-end Ultimate model. Both headroom and legroom are ample for both the front and rear passengers and the cargo capacity is commendable too at 29.7 cu-ft.

Mercedes-Benz has always stayed true to its reputation for making luxurious cabins, and the GLC Class is a fine example. On paper, the interior dimensions might seem lesser than the XC60 but the cabin feels just as spacious as the latter. Moreover, it has a better design as compared to the XC60’s cabin but loses out in terms of standard cargo capacity. The Porsche Macan might be the smallest and cheapest SUV from the brand, but the cabin tells a different story. You’ll find the same elegance inside as other Porsches put there and the brand has done a decent job of making the buttons on the center stack touch-sensitive ones with backlights under them. Disappointingly, the Macan offers the least amount of cargo space here at 17.6 cu-ft only. The BMW X3’s cabin takes plenty of inspiration from the X5’s interior design, and the dashboard is driver-oriented too, unlike other rivals here. Moreover, the standard cargo capacity is commendable at 28.7 cu-ft.

Some of the key interior features available with the 2023 Volvo XC60 include:

• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Cloth/simulated leather upholstery
• Heated front seats (AWD variants only)
• Wood interior trim
• Power-folding rear headrests
• Interior ambient lighting
• Quad-zone automatic climate control
• Crystal gear selector knob
• Digital instrument panel

How intuitive is the 2023 Volvo XC60’s infotainment system?

The 2023 Volvo XC60’s infotainment system is one the best out there in the class. It gets a sizable 9-inch touchscreen display that runs a Google-based infotainment interface. In the base model, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, navigation, and a wireless device chagrin pad among other features are given as standard. The upper Plus trim doesn't get any further additions but the top-end Ultimate gets an upgraded Harman Kardon premium audio system. Even though the list of features might seem less, Volvo has covered the basics quite well and then some more.

Some of the most notable infotainment features available with the 2023 Volvo XC60 include:

• 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display with Google-based infotainment system
• Wireless charging pad
• Navigation system
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Satellite radio
• Harman Kardon audio
• Bowers & Wilkins premium audio(Polestar Engineered model only)

The Volvo XC60 hasn’t received any significant updates in terms of design recently but it looks absolutely gorgeous, even amidst the more aggressive-looking rivals it faces. From the front, the SUV looks like a smaller XC90, especially with the Thor’s Hammer design of the LED headlamp units. The front bumper carries a sharp design that gels well with the grille and the headlamps, giving the SUV an elegant yet aggressive appeal. From the side, the SUV remains simple with a couple of sculpted lines running across the doors only. The rear end design has a unique design with those LED tail lights extended all the way to the roof alongside the rear windshield.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC Class gets a typical Mercedes design theme at the front which has an aggressive appeal but an upgrade would’ve been nice. When compared to the XC60, it feels like a bigger vehicle but on paper, its dimensions are close to the latter’s exterior dimension figures. The Porsche Macan looks a lot like the Cayenne from the outside and is the most compact one here. The BMW X3 also looks quite a lot like the bigger X5 but its compact dimensions make it more urban-friendly than its bigger sibling. To retain the practicality part, the X3 also rides quite tall with 8.0 inches of ground clearance as standard.

Some standout exterior features include:

• 18-inch/20-inch alloy wheels 
• LED exterior lighting
• Roof rails
• Panoramic sunroof
• Keyless entry
• Automatic rain-sensing wipers
• Power-operated ORVMs
• Universal garage door opener

Finally, the best part about the Volvo XC60 is this one, its safety department. Since the 2023 XC60 has just launched, its safety ratings are not available yet. However, since the SUV didn’t get any update on its safety aspect, we expect it to perform similarly to the 2022 model. For reference, the 2022 XC60 scored a perfect 5-star rating in the NHTSA crash tests and bagged the prestigious Top Safety Pick + award from the IIHS as well. Apart from the safety ratings, the SUV comes with several ADAS features as standard such as Forward collision mitigation, Automatic reverse braking, Driver alertness monitor, and Blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic warning among a few others.

Some of the standout safety features include:

• Forward collision mitigation 
• Blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic warning 
• Lane keeping assist
• Automatic reverse braking 
• Automatic high beams
• Driver alertness monitor
• Traffic sign reader

2023 Volvo XC60 vs 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLC CLass

The Mercedes-Benz GLC Class has always been luxury-focused and it does compromise on a few fronts too. Apart from being a bit more pricey than the XC60, the GLC Class has a smaller cargo capacity and fewer ADAS features as standard when compared to the former. In terms of fuel economy figures too, the GLC Class loses out to the XC60. However, it does beat the XC60 in terms of interior design, the number of luxurious features, and performance.

2023 Volvo XC60 vs 2022 Porsche Macan

The Porsche Macan is the best handling and the best driver’s SUV in the segment but carries a steep price tag too when compared to the XC60. In terms of output figures, it might not be the most appealing one but it is quicker off the line than the XC60. On the inside, the cabin feels more luxurious and plush than the XC60’s cabin but it does compromise on the cargo capacity a bit too much. In terms of exterior design, the Macan looks sportier than the XC60 and is smaller than the latter too, making it more nimble and maneuverable as well.

2023 Volvo XC60 vs 2022 BMW X3

The BMW X3 is perhaps the most balanced and practical SUV in the class. Not only is it almost similar to the XC60 in terms of performance numbers and acceleration time, but it is also more spacious on the inside than the XC60 as well. Despite being evenly matched with the XC60 in the performance department, it is more fuel efficient inside the city limits according to the EPA ratings but the XC60 has a slight edge here due to its slightly bigger gas tank. However, the X3 is simp;y better in terms of exterior and interior design and comes out as a better option if those are the things you’re looking for.

If you’re someone who is concerned about both safety and practicality over performance, the Volvo XC60 should be the most preferred option in the class. It is priced competitively if you stick with the lower variants but the number of features you get as standard is excellent. The most impressive part about the XC60 is its safety ratings and a wide range of standard ADAS techs it comes with right out of the assembly line. As a whole, the Volvo XC60 would make an excellent option at a decent price tag but you can look at the BMW X3 if you want a more luxurious cabin and better design inside out.