Top 5 Reviews and Videos of the Week: Another Week, Another Volvo as 2020 XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered Joins Party

If the latest review to join our Top 5 list looks familiar in terms of reviewer, setting and vehicle, it’s no coincidence. Cars.com reviewer Brian Wong traveled to Banff, Alberta, to drive a number of Volvos and has been reporting back on all his experiences. The latest vehicle, the 2020 Volvo XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered, is a mouthful of an attempt by the Swedish automaker to give its compact luxury SUV some performance-oriented flair.

Related: More Expert Car Reviews

Wong got a chance to drive the XC60 on the road and on an airstrip for things like autocross and Volvo’s famous “moose test,” a high-speed avoidance maneuver to avoid a (simulated) moose.

“The T8’s layering of electric power atop an already robust engine does help make the XC60’s powertrain feel more confident,” Wong wrote. “Acceleration is seamless; there weren’t any weird transitions between electric and gas power either on the road or on the autocross. But I have to say that I was expecting a bit more out of the XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered given its power figures and the instant torque available from the electric motor. It’s plenty of power for day-to-day use, but much like in the S60, it falls short of offering enough impetus to feel like a performance vehicle, especially when it comes to initial burst, where you really want the electric motor to shine more.

“I should note that I was in one of the later groups to do the autocross and drive the XC60 on the street, so by the time I got into the vehicle, the battery was drained pretty low. According to Volvo, maximum powertrain output is achieved only when the battery is at full capacity, so it could be the case that the XC60 feels more alive on a full charge, but with an EPA-rated electric-only range of 18 miles, an owner won’t have a full battery for long, either.”

You can find out the rest of his take on the 2020 XC60 by clicking on the link below.

Videos about two Jeeps, the 2020 Gladiator and 2019 Grand Cherokee, have been kicked out of this week’s Top 5, which is sad to me because I reviewed the Grand Cherokee. But the joke’s on you: You can’t keep me out of your lives! Wearing a different ridiculous shirt, I joined my colleagues Kelsey Mays and Fred Meier to discuss our thoughts as judges for the 2019 Mid-Size SUV Challenge. That video is fourth this week.

Also impossible to keep down: the Toyota RAV4, as our review of the new 2019 model is back at No. 5. Our drag-strip adventures with the 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody came in first, and our 2019 Compact SUV Challenge results video and review of the 2020 Hyundai Palisade round out the top three videos.

Check out the top five reviews and videos of the week below.

Top 5 Reviews

1. 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Review: More Efficient, Less Useful

2. 2020 Kia Telluride Review: The New Big SUV Benchmark

3. 2020 Volvo XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered Review: Smooth, Not Sporty

4. 2020 Volvo XC90 Review: An Aging Icon Learns New Tricks

5. 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Review: All-Around Greatness

Top 5 Videos

1. 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye: Drag-Strip Tested

2. 2019 Compact SUV Challenge: How Do the CR-V, Rogue and Others Compare to the Tiguan?

3. 2020 Hyundai Palisade: First Drive

4. What’s the Best Mid-Size SUV for 2019?

5. 2019 Toyota RAV4: Review

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