Plug-in hybrid duel: Audi Q5 vs Volvo XC60

But whereas the Audi’s electric motor is integrated into its seven-speed transmission and uses a separating clutch to feed drive torque into the quattro drivetrain in conjunction with the petrol engine, the Volvo’s two powerplants are totally separate. At its nose, there’s a 2.0-litre four-pot (turbocharged and supercharged, for good measure) with 299bhp and 218lb ft driving the front wheels. At the back, there’s an 87bhp electric motor with an additional 177lb ft of torque, driving the rears.

Well, that’s standard specification, at least. Software tweaks by Polestar Engineered take things a bit further in our test car. This £745 option lifts the petrol engine’s power and torque to 313bhp and 234lb ft and drops the 0-62mph time from 5.5sec to 5.4sec. Admittedly, the numbers attached to both cars do seem somewhat out of step with their underlying eco-friendly ethos, but they are at least fairly evenly matched in terms of straight-line performance.

That said, with their petrol engines locked out of play, neither is dramatically quick, although both demonstrate respectable accelerative enthusiasm. The Audi’s electric motor has 258lb ft, which gives it an 81lb ft torque advantage over the Volvo, and so it hustles down the road with more urgency when you nail the throttle, but as far as response and linearity are concerned, it’s pretty level pegging.

The differences begin to emerge when both are operating as conventional hybrids and their petrol engines are brought back into the mix. Here, the Audi begins to eke out an advantage. Step-off in both is smooth, but it’s the silken manner in which the Audi’s combustion engine sparks up and takes over proceedings when you delve deeper into the throttle pedal’s travel that allows it to nudge ahead. It’s not that the Volvo’s is uncouth, but it just happens to make you marginally more aware of its arrival.

There are two reasons for this. First, the Volvo’s petrol motor is louder than the Audi’s when you’re tooling about. It’s by no means deafening, and the noise itself isn’t actually too bad – there’s a very distant aggression to its throaty warble – but you hear it and are immediately aware of it.

The second reason is a shade more convoluted. Because the Volvo’s electric motor can’t summon quite as much torque as the Audi’s, the minor hesitation between action and reaction – between pressing the throttle and the car accelerating – feels slightly more exaggerated in the Volvo and that momentary lull also heightens your awareness of the point at which the petrol engine steps in. And because the Volvo’s powerplant doesn’t deliver acceleration in quite as linear a fashion as the Audi’s EA888 unit, the whole process just misses out on that final level of elegance. It’s still impressive, but the Q5 does it better. And you know what? The Audi also nudges ahead when you forget about nursing any remaining electric range and go for it.

On greasy roads, heavy acceleration will cause the Volvo to spin its front wheels as it struggles to put down the power from its petrol engine. The Q5, by contrast, just gets on with it. Both are impressively quick once moving, but be warned: lean too heavily on their petrol motors and fuel economy will plummet. On our test, once their batteries were drained – a feat that doesn’t take particularly long once you’re out of slow-moving inner-city confines – both cars were returning average fuel consumption figures that started with a two.

And although they can move very quickly in a straight line, neither is particularly rewarding in corners. Each has a lot of mass to manage and the threshold at which they’ll push into understeer isn’t particularly high. The Audi seems a touch more resilient in this respect, but it’s a marginal advantage at best. Both cars roll in a reasonably pronounced fashion and steering feel is largely absent, although the Audi’s slightly heavier rack does help inspire a modicum of additional confidence in its dynamic ability.

But even so, you quickly realise that these cars are at their best when driven in a more respectable fashion. On its adjustable air suspension, the Volvo has a pleasantly soft edge to its primary ride that’s only marginally compromised by its tendency to become animated on lumpier roads. Its smart-looking 21in alloy wheels are also pretty good at amplifying intrusions from ruts and bumps and they generate more road roar than the Audi’s 20in rims. On passively damped steel suspension, the Q5 feels firmer and more tied down, but this heightened level of assertion makes for a ride that feels more controlled than that of the Volvo. It might not be quite as soft-edged, but it’s no less comfortable.

Both cars look and feel superb inside, too. The Volvo’s cabin feels more lounge-like and ambient than the Audi’s, but the Q5 hits back with a level of technological cool and sophistication that lends it its own appealing aesthetic identity. From a visual and tactile perspective, both are impressive.

And from an overall perspective? Although neither car is particularly memorable when it comes to out-and-out dynamism, when viewed as refined, comfortable and quick premium plug-in hybrids, both cars impress in their own ways. But it’s the Audi that feels like the more cohesive, complete car in this test. That it’s considerably cheaper than the Volvo certainly helps its cause, but it’s the final level of polish, composure and sure-footedness that secures it the nod here.