I've been watching/waiting for the XC90 T8 for years. Actually, I've been waiting for the V60 PHEV that was released in Europe but never made is to the United States. For me, that would've been the perfect form factor. When I found that neither it nor the XC60 PHEV concept but make it here any time soon, I started following the XC90. I was active on the Swede Speed forums for a year or so and often mentioned how I was cross-shopping the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, the XC90 T8 and the Tesla 85D. Of course many immediately put down the Outlander PHEV, saying Mitsubishi wasn't going to make it in the States. While Mitsubishi isn't that big here, they have managed to sell the most popular PHEV in Europe for the past couple of years. I didn't like the body styling but the refreshed styling coming out soon was much more palatable. Also, nobody could believe that I would cross-shop a 7 person SUV with a "sedan". I had to point out that the Tesla S isn't really a sedan, but a liftback/hatchback. In multiple posts, I stated that I was looking for two things in a vehicle: AWD and the ability to plug it in and power it via electricity (at least part of the time).
A few weeks back, they finally posted official MPG numbers for the XC90 T6. I was really disappointed to see their "class leading" numbers as my current SUV still averages nearly 26 mpg and can get over 30 mpg on some roadtrips, which is way better than the XC90 T6. While my current vehicle is in a smaller class, it meets my needs and the XC90 is really more car than I really need. I had hoped that the T8 would be able to offer much better figures but I decided to give up on it earlier this month since I figured it would be priced higher than a Tesla. Days later, the 70D was announced. :biggrin:
The available tax credits can help lower the prices of both cars to within a few thousand dollars of each other but if you compare 17 miles on electric vs. 240 miles on electric, there really is no comparison. I got to see the XC90 T6 last week in person and it's a nice vehicle. Afterwards, I drove down to the Tesla store to get some more information on the 70D. While I haven't placed an order yet, I have begun researching the possibility of adding a couple 14-50 outlets to my garage. :wink: Looks like that free OSD trip to Sweden isn't going to happen any time soon.