For long trips just drive it like any other car, eg refuel before fuel level goes bottom. Braking energy is recycled in all modes, including default hybrid mode. Use power mode if you want max power. Use constant AWD mode if road is icy and slippery.

For short trips you can use pure mode to go a few miles more on battery than hybrid mode. No big deal.

B mode is just a slightly braking mode. It is easier to slow down on downhills.

You can try single pedal drive on ER model if like it. But I don't.

Sent from my moto g power (XT2041DL) using Tapatalk

 

One-pedal drive took some getting used to. I didn’t like it at first, but now I love it. I rarely touch my brake pedal.

 

The manual (striped down version) is posted on volvos website that may answer your question.

From my understanding of the info off of it: For long highway drives the ICE likely will need to kick in. You may want to use the pure mode for distance up to the highway, and switch to hold mode for the long highway distance, and save battery for the last 35 mis and use it in pure mode then if you want to maximize the efficiency.

Alternatively use hybrid mode for entire drive, and do set a destination. Google map info is supposed to assist the system in determining when to use battery and when to use gas for max efficiency.

 

Thank you both…great info and nice feature about Google maps, like waypoints for drive mode use.

 

For example, we’re picking it up 120 miles away from home. Obviously won’t make it back in Pure

You need the UER model (Ultra Extended Range) for that trip . But seriously, for your 1st trip, get in, turn the start knob to ON and just go. When you get home you can take your time to learn AAOS and all the various drive mode etc. Have FUN in your new ER - I'm jealous!!

 

For your first drive just drive it. The gains on a single trip aren't worth getting worked up over when there is probably a whole lot of other stuff to get learned and set up for your pleasure.

But here would be my break down:
Set GPS to your location, the car is able to some extent "plan" for the route on when to use electric.
Use parking climate to establish temp in car before leaving while plugged in. This needs to be done while charging on 220v, but it means energy isn't wasted getting cabin temps right.
B mode can be attained by shifting one lower than drive. This is for hills so rather than riding the brake, you can reclaim some energy. Don't use this when accelerating. It won't hurt anything, but it's less energy efficient. You can't make energy as efficient as those dirty coal plants your house may be hooked up to.

Modes:
The car will always default to hybrid mode. Good for mixed driving
Pure mode will attempt to keep the car running electric only. If you hammer the accelerator pedal you will get full power from the gas, so this is not a "under powered" mode, but it's important to recognize the power limitations of the electric. There is a in dash coach to help with this as well.
Constant AWD will used gas and electric all the time. The electric only spins the rear and the gas only spins the front, so in bad weather you won't be using pure mode.
Power mode is just fun
Off road is for off road situations under 20 mph.

You do not want to use the "Recharge" mode as a normal means of charging the battery. As with "B" mode, it will not save energy. Where this is helpful is in Europe where they have smog areas in some city centers that restrict driving if you have a gas car. You can charge up on the way and still drive downtown. We don't really have those in the US that I know of.

There is a "hold" option too. That might be handy if you don't want to use the hybrid aspect really on the highway and want to save the whole charge for when you get back to the side roads where fuel efficiency is worse and electric makes a bigger impact.

I think that runs through most of it.

 

I’m sure (hope) dealer will give us a walkthrough, but 3 weeks out and trying to absorb as much as possible. The online owner’s manual wasn’t much help. Is there a “get started quick” guide?

Yeah, somebody has to get to Volvo to tell them that we need the full-length, detailed owner's manuals back -- both paper versions in the glove compartment and full pdf versions online for searching. This is a bigger deal to me than whether a car has Apple CarPlay or not... I want to get the most out of my car, and the online "FAQ" that substitutes for a proper owner's manual is a disgrace and slap in the face of people who spend so much money for a luxury car like this...

 

Yeah, somebody has to get to Volvo to tell them that we need the full-length, detailed owner's manuals back -- both paper versions in the glove compartment and full pdf versions online for searching.

Maybe I missed something, but I have a full PDF manual that I downloaded on my laptop. And there is a full manual loaded in my car, which is wonderful -- I can use the search function to quickly find whatever I'm looking for. Are you saying they don't have that anymore for current models (mine is a 2018)?

 

Correct, they've gone to a really stupid searchable HTML style manual that is rubbish.

 

I'm coming from a Mazda 2018 CX-5 with 865 pages of manual, printed and searchable PDF. It's almost overwhelming. However, I like to read manuals when I've bought something new and have to wait for it. And I also like to get my questions answered.

When I ordered the XC60, I was initially very enthusiastic about the online instructions - until I realized that they were superficial and incomplete. In the meantime, I kept having questions that a manual could have easily answered - which USB ports are installed, how do you use them to listen to music, how do I charge the starter battery, that sort of thing. There are no answers to them. The answers can be found in forums like this one. Of course that is possible - but beautiful is different.

 

I don't own this car, but Ive watched pretty much every youtube video there is on this car.

There should be 5 driving modes, and 3 battery modes. The driving modes are:

Pure: Uses only the battery unless you push the pedal all the way. There is a little icon next to your tachometer on the right side of the dash display. It will change from a battery to a droplet when you go past this spot with your pedal and the ICE turns on. The new ER model pure only gets you 147hp and ~35miles of range so, yea, not great for highway driving.

Hyrbid: Uses both the ICE and battery as it sees fit. Tries to optimize fuel efficiency. Probably what most people use most of the time

Power: Performance mode. Doesnt care about gas efficiency as much, allows you to use the full 455 hp. I believe it shifts more aggressively in this mode. Will also likely drain your battery quickly.

Constant AWD: Because the front wheels are connected the ICE and the back wheels are connected to electric motor, the other drive modes may switch you between FWD/RWD/AWD depending on your speed/throttle etc. This mode forces both drivetrains to be running which is probably best in rain, snow, dirt etc.

Off-road: Not sure what this changes from a driving perspective, I assume it is constant AWD. Might change the shifting zones as it assumes you'll be driving at lower speeds, probably has hill assist to control the speed of the car going downhill. I believe if you have air suspension it raises the car up (there are separate toggles at the bottom of this screen to control air suspension as well)

The 3 battery modes:
Normal: Which means the system uses the battery as needed, charges the battery when braking
Charge: Intentionally runs the engine a little extra to charge the battery. This will hurt your fuel economy. But if you want to have a full battery once you arrive somewhere because you will be away from a charger or enetering a city center that requires EV only, this would be the mode to use
Then maintain or hold: I forget what this mode is named. but it allows you maintain the battery charge. Like on a long drive, you dont really get much benefit from the battery and you want some battery left when you get there.

 

XC60 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid Drive modes | Volvo Support EN-CA

Volvo Support for XC60 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid Drive modes | Adapt the drive mode to the vehicle's current driving situation.

www.volvocars.com

 

POWER mode or don't drive it.

 

Exactly! It’s for my wife, but I prefer to have my own “profile” if and when she lets me drive it. Lol

 

If you haven't picked it up yet,
IMPORTANT Step 1 have them setup your phone App, and TURN ON JOURNAL before you drive it home.
Totally trivial thing, but if you end up loving the journal (recording of all driving stats, distances, fuel,EV, charges, locations...) you cannot get trips back where it was turned off. If you never use it, just ignore it, but it stores 100 days and you can export it via email day or even every couple months and never lose anything.
Personally, I LOVE it, and wish I had the 630 mile trip home from when I bought it.
Step 2, just drive it, and play with every setting, maybe with a co-pilot.
Step 3 Pure mode, in B will give you great results and cool experience after you get used to the car
Step 4 on the highway at speed, turn on Hold, if you must burn fuel, on the highway is where it is used the most efficiently, so save EV for when you slow down.
Step 5, RTFM over and over, you will keep finding things that you forget are there.

 

If you haven't picked it up yet,
IMPORTANT Step 1 have them setup your phone App, and TURN ON JOURNAL before you drive it home.
Totally trivial thing, but if you end up loving the journal (recording of all driving stats, distances, fuel,EV, charges, locations...) you cannot get trips back where it was turned off. If you never use it, just ignore it, but it stores 100 days and you can export it via email day or even every couple months and never lose anything.
Personally, I LOVE it, and wish I had the 630 mile trip home from when I bought it.

Unless I am majorly missing something, this is not available on the MY22 cars.

 

Your desire for a paper manual correlates well to your age. 🧙‍♂️

 

Perhaps, but if my car conks out on the road, it's far easier to look something up in a paper manual than any other way (including by smartphone and especially including through the infotainment screen, which may not be working). When I'm at home and I need to look something up, I may not use the paper manual but rather go to the searchable identical pdf version of the manual online. Yeah, I've been around a while but I've been working with cutting-edge computers (at the command prompt on VMS, Unix, and Linux -- for those who know what that means) since I got my job out of college; my take is that desktops are far superior to laptops, and laptops are far superior to smartphones, and smartphones are far superior to car infotainment systems when you need to find something fast or something detailed... That's not an age thing. And paper manuals come in there right after desktops and maybe laptops, but well above smartphones and any crap they've loaded into the car's computer. (I don't have patience for something that is difficult and/or time-consuming to use when I know that that something should be fast and easy to find; so I tend to use my iPhone mostly for calling, texting, checking email, and Google Maps, but my computers for most other things, because I don't have patience with the limitations of my iPhone -- which is useful when I'm not at home or at my office, mostly. I do zero social media, like these car forums, on my phone; too frustrating to read, load, and type on my iPhone. I like big screens and full-size keyboards if I'm going to type more than 3 or 5 words.)

 

XCOLY, There's a lot of good information posted in response to your question. But I want to mention that once you unplug the car, you CAN choose to just drive it like every other car you've ever owned. My wife is intimidated by drive modes and the "D" vs "B" transmission positions. (I didn't help her confusion by frequently "downshifting" into B mode for regen when slowing down and then back into D for coasting...). So I told her to just turn on the car, leave it in Hybrid (the default), drive it just like her Lexus and the car will know what to do. Which it does, and she loves it. This is a good approach for folks who aren't so interested in understanding and maximizing the utility of the technology of the PHEV.

 

Do you notice a substantive difference in FE between the two of you when driving?

We just picked up a used XC60 T8, and this is exactly how my wife drives it as well. For me, it's like a video came and a proxy for not having a manual transmission, so I'm constantly tinkering with switching between pure, hybrid, B&D etc. Curious if it really makes much of a difference in the end.

 

If built-in and in-app manual is the same as their online version, it’s not very good. The chapters are small and sometimes lack details. And good luck if you just want to learn everything about your new car by reading the entire manual. Bad UX.

 

At delivery of my MY2022.5 XC60 Recharge earlier this week, I set the drive mode to Pure and toggled on Creep mode and "start car in Pure mode." We work from home, mostly run errands within a 10 miles radius and can charge at home on a nightly basis. Will drive in Hybrid and/or Constant AWD on snowy days. I've since turned off Creep mode and like shifting to B gear in order to utilize one-pedal driving. And I prefer the firmer steering wheel setting. I have yet to try Power mode, but I haven't needed more power to accelerate and merge onto the highway thus far. By the way, I did receive a condensed paper manual along with an insert to reference complete and up-to-date owner's manual in the car's center display.

Something to consider, the manual's economical driving tips are:
Before driving

• Whenever possible, precondition the vehicle before driving by connecting the charging cable to an electrical outlet.
• If preconditioning is not possible when it is cold outside, use seat and steering wheel heating first. Avoid heating the entire passenger compartment to reduce the amount of current being taken from the hybrid battery.
• The type of tires and inflation pressure used could affect energy consumption – consult an authorized Volvo retailer for advice on suitable tires.
• Remove unnecessary items from the vehicle - the heavier the load, the higher the fuel consumption.

While driving

• Activate Pure drive mode.
• Activate the Hold function at high speeds when traveling farther than is possible using the hybrid battery's capacity.
• Whenever possible, avoid using the Charge function to charge the hybrid battery.
• Maintain a steady speed and a generous following distance to traffic ahead to minimize braking.
• When braking, the hybrid battery is charged by braking lightly using the brake pedal.
• Higher speeds increase energy consumption because air resistance increases with speed.
• In a cold climate, reduce heating of the windshield/rear window, mirrors, seats and the steering wheel.
• Avoid driving with the windows open.
• Do not use the accelerator pedal to keep the vehicle stationary on an uphill gradient. Instead, activate the auto-hold brake function at a standstill.
• If possible, turn off the climate system when driving shorter distances after preconditioning.

After driving

• If possible, park in a climate-controlled garage with vehicle charging outlets or stations.

 

At delivery of my MY2022.5 XC60 Recharge earlier this week, I set the drive mode to Pure and toggled on Creep mode and "start car in Pure mode.

Dear ShouaMN,
witch os version do you have, with 1.10 I don't have this button "start car in Pure mode"?

 

can someone help me in setting pure mode as default mode in new XC90 ER model.

 

So if battery is not charged, you cannot have AWD, correct?

 

No, not correct. In AWD, the ISG (Internal Starter Generator) draws electrical power from the front engine and directs it to the rear motor. So you have slightly reduced power up front from the generator drag, (which is good when slippery) and some power routed to the rear. Plus when not accelerating, (I assume) it is basically in "charge" mode as well, with the EV battery being constantly charged, so there is more available when you try to accellerate.

 

I would hope someone has more factual information for you, but I can answer your question practically. Even if the battery is at zero you can still get AWD for some period of time using power from the buffer that the battery retains. I don't know for how long, or if the system will automatically go into charge mode so the ICE keeps adding some charge to the battery. But I have driven my car in AWD with zero charge for several miles.

 

Waiting to take delivery of new XC60 Recharge and as silly as this sounds, how do you drive these? There are videos about the new ER and the drive modes relocated to the infotainment, push up twice for this, down twice for that and a B mode, but are there any videos or plain-talk about what each mode is/does?

For example, we’re picking it up 120 miles away from home. Obviously won’t make it back in Pure, but how can we maximize fuel while regenerating and also have access to max power if needed? Is that possible?

I’m sure (hope) the dealer will give us a walkthrough, but 3 weeks out and trying to absorb as much as possible. The online owner’s manual wasn’t much help. Is there a “get started quick” guide?

Place the car in Hybrid (not Pure mode) Say "hey google take me home". Follow the driving directions. Android OS will optimize the route to get you the most use of electric propulsion. It really is as simple as that.

 

I’m blown away that there’s no PDF manual. Or even a table of contents in the app. It’s hard to know what to search for when I have no idea what it’s called. My wife got the quick training session on the car while I kept the kids happy and I had to lean on her to find out how to turn the automatic wipers on and off…

 

I have a 2022 Volvo S60 ER (Extended Range), but I don't see the option, "Always start in drive mode Pure" as in the image posted by @ShouaMN . Probably this is for high-end models like XC60!

 

Maybe this is only available for AAOS, which S60 doesnt have in 2022 MY.

 

Another example of why it is a mistake to assume that features/options on one Volvo are the same across all Volvos (not that I buy that idea that the XC60 is more "high end" than the S60).

 

Yeah, that makes sense, the interface also seems different to mine! Does anyone know if MY22 (Late) models will receive AAOS in the future?

 

No vehicle that currently has SENSUS will receive AAOS, afaik.

The S60 is a beautiful vehicle. I bet your car is a looker.

 

I see, thanks @Walkabout. Yeah, it's a beautiful car, thank you!