Road test: Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Momentum

When Volvo launched the latest seven-seat XC90 last year, the software on the T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid range-topper was unfinished, but the firm brought it along anyway — to the distress of many of the engineers.

It had a 320hp two-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels, plus an 87hp electric motor for the rears, and it was fast, but obviously not the finished article.

So it was interesting to sample the car as it was always meant to be. It is still fast — Volvo claims 0-60mph acceleration of 5.3 seconds, although with only 1,500 miles on the clock it didn’t feel quite that quick yet.

Admittedly, many of the miles I covered were on motorways, where you don’t benefit properly from the electric power of a hybrid.