Exterior Styling
Just like with the rest of Volvo’s lineup, the XC60 aged very well and it still looks amazing. I’ve got a lot of complements on the new Forest Lake color, and what’s cool is it changes its color depending on the light. When sun hits it, it looks more greenish. When it’s cloudy, it becomes more gray and muted. I think it looks great together with the Blond interior that my tester had.
My only wish is Volvo offered the “bright theme” in the U.S. It’s still available in Europe and IMO it looks more elegant. And I’m not gonna lie, I wish the exhaust was still exposed like in my car!
Interior
Just like the exterior, it has aged very well and doesn’t feel generic and sterile. The Blond interior looks far better compared to the Charcoal that I have and if you have no issues taking extra care of it – go for it! It makes you feel much better behind the wheel. The center console is now more practical thanks to a dedicated spot for a phone with a wireless charger, but there are two questionable changes.
First – infotainment screen. I work in IT industry and I love new technologies, however I hate the fact that people want bigger screens nowadays. Believe it or not, I heard people complain about the size of the screen being too small in pre-facelift models.
So, what did Volvo do? They gave us a bigger screen, which looks like a cheap tablet from Temu – IMO, it ruins a nice flow of the dashboard.
From the hardware and software perspective, the unit is great. 2026MY Volvos received the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform, and the processing power is far better. The system boots up quickly and is always fast to respond. The OS has an intuitive layout and I really can’t complain about it. Definitely change for better.
Second – as we all know, Volvo has been progressively removing physical controls, and if we compare the XC60 to my 2020, we lost a dimmer and a drive mode selector. While I can care less about drive modes (99% of the time my car is in comfort mode), it’s nice to have a quick way to adjust the brightness of the cockpit.
Obviously, the B&W sound system is still a highlight and you cannot find a better audio in the segment of luxury compact SUVs. I do regret not getting it in my car!
Driving Impressions
For the most part, the car feels the same. The mild-hybrid B5 powertrain seems to be better calibrated and delivers power smoother compared to my T5. While I’m not a fan of the auto start/stop system, it works great in the B5 and I don’t mind it. Almost unnoticeable when the engine shuts off/starts back on. From the overall NVH perspective, this is one of the most refined turbo inline-4s and my only complaint is that it’s missing one cylinder 
The fuel economy in the B5 seems to better by around 4-5 MPG. During my commute to work, the T5 averages around 20 MPG. (10-mile drive, 50% highway, 50% bumper to bumper traffic). In the B5, I constantly got 24-25 MPG. Same on the highway – I’d usually see around 30 MPG in my T5, the mild-hybrid easily gets around 34 MPG (average speed 60-65 mph).
Sadly, the suspension remained the same. I have regular setup with passive dampers in my XC60, the 2026 that I tested had air suspension + adaptive dampers. The car might feel a little bit softer, but (just like most cars on the SPA platform) it still struggles with small, high-frequency road imperfections or expansion joints and there is a lot of vibration getting transmitted into the cabin.
It feels like the car is not well put together, and that’s a shame. The fact that my tester had 22” rims doesn’t help, and I am disappointed with the ride quality, especially after driving the new Q5, X3, GLC, or even the Lexus NX or a Genesis GV70.
I wonder if someone can confirm if the refreshed model received a new, dual-flow passive dampers and if cars equipped with those manage impacts better.
The cabin seems to be slightly better isolated at highway speeds. Maybe because the 2026 that I tested had laminated side windows. BTW – it’s nice to see that they are now available in the U.S. starting with the Plus trim.
Final Thoughts
It’s nice to see that the second gen XC60 is still around and changes made thought its lifespan made it a better product overall. Is it worth an upgrade? If you’re happy with your pre-facelift model, I’d keep it. The changes are not that significant, therefore I’m sticking with my car for a while. Here are more pictures that I took: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QmetgjgNTdjSXnmX9
If you’re interested, here’s a link to my full review of the 2026 XC60: