Today, the Volvo RECHARGE family created a long-awaited outdoor nature trip for urban Volvo car owners. Car owner friends gathered at the beautiful sail club on Dianshan Lake in Qingpu District, Shanghai, to experience a weekend of sailing, cars, sports, food, music and life.
Speaking of sailing, Volvo has a deep connection with it. The Volvo Ocean Race originated from the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, and was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race in 2001. Together with America’s Cup and Olympic Sailing, they are known as the three major sailing events in the world. It is recognized as one of the longest and most difficult professional sports events in the world.
In recent years, sailing has been increasingly loved by more and more elite people. Facing the storms, raising sails to feel the struggle with wind and rain, and experiencing the unique charm of this sport. At the event site, after the professional coaches explained and guided, car owner friends successively boarded the sailboat and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the Dianshan Lake.
The Volvo Owner Event also features a scenic test drive experience for the Volvo RECHARGE family, which includes all Volvo plug-in hybrid and electric cars. Due to time constraints, we only had a light experience with the XC60 RECHARGE during this event. The XC60 RECHARGE we tested had a maximum horsepower of 391, using a front-engine, rear-electric four-wheel drive structure. The 2.0T engine located on the front axle had a maximum horsepower of 303, and it is worth mentioning that the XC60 RECHARGE is equipped with a twin-turbocharged structure consisting of mechanical and turbocharging. The mechanical supercharging helps to improve torque output at low speeds, but the power output is limited at high speeds. On the other hand, turbocharging has the opposite effect, weak at low speeds but strong in output at high speeds. Combining the two can achieve a smooth driving experience at all speeds. Therefore, as soon as we drove the XC60 RECHARGE, we felt its surging power, whether it was rapid acceleration or cruising, the power response brought by the mechanical supercharging was very rapid.
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In addition to the excellent performance, the XC60’s handling is also very responsive. Although it is a mid-sized SUV, it has a very precise steering feel when overtaking and changing lanes. Speaking of the disadvantages, as a hybrid model, the XC60 RECHARGE’s pure electric range is a bit too short, only 50 kilometers, which is insufficient compared to its competitors on the market. Moreover, it still uses the interior and infotainment system of the fuel-powered XC60, which has limited functions, and the voice assistant can only be used for multimedia control. If they could update the design and system, it may improve sales.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.