2023 Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge (inc. 0-100) review: This eco SUV is crazy quick!

CarExpert

When you think plug-in hybrid, you don't think corner conquerer! Volvo has thrown the book at the 2023 Volvo XC60 T8 Recharge and made a really impressive and economical plug-in hybrid SUV. Paul Maric takes a detailed look at Volvo's plug-in hybrid family car!  Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE  More Volvo content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volvo More Volvo XC60 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volvo/xc60  Skip Ahead: Intro: 00:00 Exterior 1:07 Interior 4:01 Infotainment 5:18 Safety tech 7:01 Practicality 8:07 On the road 12:36 0-100km/h 18:46 Lane assist 19:45 Verdict 21:59  We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.  Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.  Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1  You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.  Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!  Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!  CarExpert: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au  Paul Maric: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric  #volvo #xc60 #review

Transcript

00:00 G'day, I'm Paul. So the Volvo XC60, it's kind of one of the SUVs that is sometimes forgotten about in the premium segment,

00:07 and it's one that you guys have been asking us to review for a long time now, so I finally got my hands on one.

00:12 This one here is the top specification plug-in hybrid version. It's called the Recharge, the T8.

00:18 Now, this has become better value recently, and I'll run through that a little later on,

00:22 but for the most part, it has become cheaper, and it's lost some of the performance parts that were a little bit redundant, in my opinion.

00:29 This being the top spec, it's priced at just over $100,000 before on-road costs.

00:33 If that's too expensive, the entire XC60 range kicks off at around the $70,000 mark.

00:39 Now, this competes with things like the BMW X3, the Mercedes-Benz GLC, and the Audi Q5.

00:46 Today, we're going to do a detailed review of this car, so if you do want to skip ahead to other parts of this review,

00:50 you can use the timecodes on the screen, or if you're on YouTube, you can scroll down and use the chapters below,

00:55 and if you haven't done so already, the sun is out, it's a great day finally here at Melvood.

01:01 Subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon, so you can find out every single time we review a plug-in hybrid SUV.

01:07 Now, let's talk about exterior design. So, you've got nine external colors to pick from, a whole stack of them there.

01:13 If you want anything but white, it's going to set you back just under $2,000, which I reckon is slightly outrageous, but anyway.

01:20 On the design front, I still think this is such a good-looking SUV.

01:25 Volvo really has just a sharp design game, and I think here with stuff like the LED headlights,

01:31 that's a full LED, it's got adaptive beam on it as well, headlight washer there too.

01:36 Just the whole demeanour of it looks nice and stylish, but also quite aggressive too.

01:41 Piano black on the grille there, a little bit of chrome as well with the camera built into the front.

01:44 You can see those active vane shutters there for additional or less cooling as required for the engine.

01:50 This is, of course, plug-in hybrid, and it uses a turbocharged and supercharged petrol engine, which I think is pretty cool.

01:57 Whip around here to the wheels.

01:59 One thing I did notice, by the way, on that side, this vent is closed, but here it's open,

02:03 and behind there, there's actually a fan for one of the cooling systems.

02:07 I don't know if it's a radiator or an intercooler, but that's kind of cool.

02:10 I haven't seen that before, a fan actually attached to an open hole there, which is interesting.

02:14 Now, around the side here, you've got a set of 21-inch alloy wheels.

02:18 Typically with Volvos, if they're not riding on adaptive suspension, you can R.I.P. your back because typically they are very firm.

02:26 So, I'm hoping with 21-inch alloys and a fairly low-profile tyre that this will actually ride well.

02:32 This looks like it has air suspension, which means it should actually be half decent.

02:37 Outside of that, ground clearance of around 211mm.

02:41 You've got these little flares on the side here to stop stuff flicking up and getting all over the rest of your car,

02:46 but outside of that, it's pretty straightforward.

02:48 On the design front, it's got the machined finish on the outside, piano black on the inside there.

02:52 Up here, we have a piano black mirror cover, indicator built into there, and then a camera here for the 360 camera.

02:59 I always wondered what this little doodad is.

03:02 Hmm. If you know, let me know in the comments section below.

03:04 It just sort of sticks out randomly. Not sure exactly what it does.

03:08 You've got roof rails, you have a panoramic roof there, privacy glass, and then whip around to the back.

03:14 So, it's kind of the trademark Volvo design with the lights that run up the top there,

03:18 and then they sort of loop around the bottom here as well.

03:21 Got Volvo badges in individual lettering.

03:23 Over on this side, you've got T8 all-wheel drive recharge, and then over here, you have XC60.

03:28 They have deleted the exhaust that used to sit here with the Polestar model.

03:33 Now, keep in mind that this used to be just exclusively a Polestar model,

03:36 so it came with the fancy suspension, which wasn't very comfortable.

03:40 It also had all the sort of big brakes and all that sort of stuff.

03:43 So, that's all now gone, and that has come with a reduction in price,

03:46 and I just think this is the better way to go through it.

03:49 So, that is why this all looks a little bit different at the back there.

03:51 So, let me know what you think about the design. Do you think it still looks good?

03:55 I think this has aged very well, like a fine wine.

03:59 So, yeah, let me know what you think in the comments section below.

04:01 So, we're inside the XC60. We will start off with the key.

04:05 So, you have blank there. You've got Volvo on the back, and then on the side, you have the panic button.

04:10 Lock, unlock, boot. Have a look at this. The spare key is orange.

04:16 I love that. Something totally different.

04:20 It's a proximity-sensing key, and then you have a twist knob start,

04:25 instead of a push-button start to turn it over.

04:27 Now, in terms of the design, so this hasn't changed a great deal over the years.

04:31 It still looks very similar, and that's actually not such a bad thing,

04:34 and they kind of debuted this vertical screen. This still looks great.

04:38 You've got soft-touch materials along the dashboard there with stitching there.

04:42 You've got the Bowers & Wilkins sound system that has a cover on it, too.

04:46 Really is quite a decent-looking interior, and it looks nice and premium as well,

04:50 which is exactly what you want in this price tag.

04:53 Now, what about your touch points? So, that's pretty firm, soft on the door there.

04:58 How firm are they? Well, we've got our durometer. We've tested the main surfaces in this cabin.

05:03 If you want to see how this car compares to others that we've tested before,

05:05 look at the link in the description below. Build quality.

05:10 It is built like a big old tank, and door test.

05:17 Nice and solid. Moving on to infotainment.

05:19 So, you've got a 9-inch vertical display in the centre here.

05:22 Now, this has changed a bit. So, the infotainment system here has moved from Volvo's in-house system

05:27 to Android Automotive, similar to the Polestar 2 as well.

05:31 So, I think that this is a big step forward because it's kind of, you know,

05:37 having something that's driven by Android means that you're getting constant updates,

05:40 developers can work on it easily, and you're always at the cutting edge of technology,

05:44 not sort of at the limits of wherever your internal devs are when it comes to infotainment systems.

05:50 So, some of the features that it comes with include Google Maps.

05:53 Love this. So, there's the proving ground. That's where we do our videos. Very nice.

05:58 Very quick as well. Look at that. It's nice and sharp. You can do all sorts of stuff with that.

06:02 So, that's really impressive. On the radio front, you have AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio.

06:09 The whole screen actually works really nicely. It's quick and easy to use.

06:12 Now, smartphone mirroring, you have Apple CarPlay. You're meant to have Android Auto.

06:15 It is coming, but for the moment, you only have Apple CarPlay.

06:18 I'll show you what that looks like. So, takes up that entire screen, which is great.

06:22 Quick and easy to use as well, but it is wired, though, which is a little bit disappointing.

06:26 I wish it was wireless. Other features, standard sound system in this top-spec model.

06:32 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system. It has, and I want to make sure I get this right,

06:38 1,100 watts of output. So, that is a pretty meaty sound system. Sounds great as well.

06:43 So, it's cool to see that they have actually thought about sound when it comes to, you know, the top-end product.

06:49 Then, ahead of the driver, you have another display. So, this is a much bigger display.

06:53 This gives you your trip computer and also gives you a map in the center, plus your drive modes as well.

06:58 So, really nice and comprehensive setup here for infotainment.

07:01 What about your safety tech? Well, you've got autonomous emergency braking.

07:05 It's got pedestrian detection. You also have an auto-dimming rear-vision mirror.

07:09 Blind spot monitors are built into the wing mirror.

07:12 You have a lane departure warning and a lane-keeping assistant, including Pilot Assist,

07:16 which is basically a semi-autonomous steering function that operates while you're driving,

07:20 and radar cruise control is on. We're going to test this later on to see how well it works.

07:24 So, stay tuned to the driving section for that.

07:26 You have rear cross-traffic alert, and then on the parking front,

07:29 you have both front and rear parking sensors and a 360 camera.

07:31 I'll show you what that looks like. I'm going to flick the car on now.

07:34 Pop this into reverse. There it is there.

07:39 Yeah, look, the quality really isn't very good. It is super grainy and distorted.

07:43 It kind of makes the 360 camera pretty pointless.

07:45 But, when you do look out the back, you get a much clearer view.

07:48 So, you can see our "Please subscribe" on the suitcase there.

07:51 The lines move with the steering wheel, and then you can reset that and get different views as well.

07:57 The actual views themselves aren't too bad.

07:59 It's just when you're looking at that top-down view that it's not really amazing.

08:02 So, yeah, OK, but not great for the 360 camera.

08:07 Now, what about your practicality? And we'll start off with your connectivity.

08:10 So, you've got a 12-volt outlet just down the bottom here.

08:12 In the centre console, you've got two USB-C slots.

08:16 You have a wireless phone charger there as well.

08:18 It's an interesting one because it's tiny.

08:20 So, yes, my phone does fit there, but I think ultimately it's going to end up moving around a little bit.

08:24 So, weird.

08:27 Bottle holders. So, coffee cup fits nicely into there without any dramas.

08:32 You've got teeth in there to hold your stuff together.

08:34 Bottle, that goes into there as well.

08:39 Small bottle fits in the door. Let's see how the big bottle goes in the door.

08:44 Yes, that fits in there as well.

08:46 By the way, you've actually got covers for these too, so you can cover all of that up if you want to, which is pretty cool.

08:52 Centre console, it's pretty small. Nothing's not too special.

08:56 And then you've got a glove box down here as well that is pretty reasonably sized.

09:00 And on the comfort front, you have dual-zone automatic climate control.

09:04 You've got heated and cooled seats plus a heated steering wheel.

09:08 I love these seats too. They are really comfy.

09:10 You can extend pretty much all elements of these seats and they're fully electrically adjustable,

09:15 so both for the driver and front passenger. Memory for both too.

09:18 So, you can go forwards, backwards. Backrest can go forwards, backwards.

09:21 You can lift the front of the seat, the entire seat.

09:24 Then you have a number of adjustments that come up on screen here, depending on which mode you've selected.

09:30 So, pretty awesome setup.

09:32 Steering wheel offers both tilt and reach adjustment.

09:35 And on the reach test, all of this stuff is easy to reach while you're driving.

09:39 So, second seat of the XC.

09:42 Lingerie is actually pretty good.

09:43 Tow room is excellent. Headroom is not too bad, given we've got a panoramic roof there.

09:49 It's actually not a bad place to be seated.

09:51 So, map pockets in the back of the seats.

09:53 You've got two USB-C ports back here.

09:56 You'll notice this hump here, so that is where some of your battery is located.

10:01 A bit of storage there.

10:02 You've got a centre armrest here with two cup holders built into this section.

10:07 You can slide your bottles into there without any problems.

10:10 You can fit these inside the door too, if you need to.

10:14 You've got air vents over here as well to keep you nice and cool.

10:17 I'm going to point something else out.

10:19 This feature just here.

10:20 So, in addition to your two ISOFIX points on the outboard seats and three top tether points,

10:24 you've also got this booster that pops out of the base.

10:28 Now, the big advantage of this is that you can put a child on here if you need to.

10:33 And it means you then don't need to have a booster that's attached to the seat itself.

10:37 So, pretty cool that that is fitted there.

10:40 When you look at this cabin, you can kind of tell that Volvo threw a lot of this when they launched the XC60 at it.

10:46 So, there's a lot of features and cool innovations like this in here.

10:49 I wonder if the next generation of this car will be as well thought out.

10:52 I hope it is because this is a pretty impressive setup.

10:55 And finally, our window test.

10:57 So, it's auto up and down.

11:00 Oh, so close.

11:02 But yet so far.

11:04 Now, let's talk cargo space.

11:06 So, you are robbed of a little bit of space here with the plug-in hybrid, but it's not terrible.

11:11 So, you have around 500 litres of cargo space available here.

11:14 Pretty decent load floor there.

11:16 You've got a 12-volt outlet off to the side.

11:18 Beneath the cargo floor, you'll find just a number of random things.

11:22 So, you've got the tank there for the air suspension, tyre repair kit.

11:25 You've also got the 12-volt battery as well.

11:28 Yeah, I quite like this space.

11:30 You can also lower the car to get things in and out easier just by pushing and holding that.

11:35 Air suspension comes in handy, so that will dump the rear of the car to make it easier to get our bags in.

11:40 So, laptop bag just there.

11:42 Suitcase there.

11:45 Not bad at all.

11:47 Now, you can also expand the space by dropping your second row.

11:50 Now, this is interesting.

11:51 When I push this, it drops the headrest down and then that disappears out of the way.

11:56 So, yeah, not a bad setup, but I would like to see like a release lever here for the seats.

12:01 You may as well have something to make life a little easier.

12:03 Now, before we go for a drive, I want to run you through this.

12:05 This is where you charge your XC60 plug-in hybrid.

12:08 It's a little bit disappointing because the car comes with around a 20 kilowatt hour size battery,

12:13 so it has increased in size since the previous iteration of this.

12:17 But you can only charge it using single phase AC and only at up to 3.6 kilowatts,

12:22 which means when it's empty, that's like a six-hour charge, which, I don't know, it's OK, but not amazing.

12:28 So, it would be good to see a faster charging option here or perhaps even DC charging

12:32 like we see in some other plug-in hybrid vehicles on the market.

12:35 So, I've just hit the road in the XC60 Recharge.

12:42 Oh, this is very nice and quiet.

12:45 So, like most plug-in hybrid vehicles, the car will generally manage what it does in reference to the hybrid drivetrain.

12:52 It'll figure out when it wants to run on quiet, full electric mode

12:55 or when it wants to kick the internal combustion engine on.

12:58 Now, this particular package is really interesting.

13:00 So, this was obviously built initially for a performance application,

13:03 but now that they've taken out all the little performance bits, you still get a pretty meaty engine.

13:08 So, it's a 2-litre petrol engine, but it's not only turbocharged, it is supercharged as well.

13:14 And that means it alone has an output of almost 240 kilowatts of power, 400 newton metres of torque,

13:20 and then that's mated to an electric motor that has 107 kilowatts of power and 309 newton metres of torque,

13:27 and that provides a combined output of 340 kilowatts of power and just over 700 newton metres of torque.

13:34 It is absolutely enormous.

13:37 So, when you are driving the car, you have a number of different drive modes to choose from,

13:41 and depending on which one you pick will vary what the car actually does.

13:45 So, you've got hybrid, where it basically manages everything for you,

13:48 and it will basically deplete your battery pack while you're driving so that you get the most efficiency out of the car.

13:54 You have power mode, so that puts everything in full attack mode.

13:57 You have pure, which is just full electric mode.

14:00 You have off-road, which is for off-road driving. It also activates the hill descent control.

14:04 And finally, you have constant all-wheel drive, where it always has the front and rear axles active.

14:09 And that whole system is mated to an 8-speed torque converter automatic.

14:14 The gearbox is really smooth, quite responsive as well,

14:17 and I'm glad they haven't gone down the path of a dual-clutch automatic.

14:21 Now, how does all that feel behind the wheels?

14:24 So, here in hybrid mode, you can actually get a lot of leverage out of the electric motor

14:29 without the internal combustion engine kicking on, and it feels really nice and responsive.

14:33 It's very quick and fast to react, and then if you do sink the boot in all the way,

14:38 it kicks the internal combustion engine on.

14:40 Now, I am curious, if I put this into pure, where it is just EV,

14:45 typically when you get to the end of throttle travel, it will kick the internal combustion engine on,

14:49 so I'm gradually applying more and more throttle, more and more.

14:52 It's actually still on electric, which is great, and then you've got to go all the way down to the kickdown,

14:57 and that's when it kicks everything on, which is pretty good.

15:00 So, I'll pop that back into hybrid.

15:03 Now, here's something interesting for you too.

15:05 They have a single-pedal driving mode, so the typical driving mode is just D,

15:09 and when you roll out of the throttle, it does a little bit of regen, but sort of nothing too crazy.

15:13 If you go to B mode, it goes into full regen, and that will go all the way until the car is stationary,

15:18 and you'll see here when we come to a full stop, it then gradually applies that brake,

15:23 and then we're good to go.

15:24 So, it's a really nice system, and they've integrated it nicely within this whole package.

15:29 The other thing you can also do with the battery is have it in auto mode,

15:32 where the car will determine when it needs to put a bit more juice into the battery

15:36 through the internal combustion engine, or you can just put it into hold.

15:39 So, let's just say right now we have 21km of range.

15:42 If I hit the hold button, it would turn the internal combustion engine on,

15:45 and then run that constantly so we don't dip below that 21km figure.

15:49 And finally, you can use the internal combustion engine to charge the battery too,

15:53 so that's useful if you don't have access to a charger.

15:55 You can still top up the battery using fuel as your power source.

15:59 Now, let's talk about fuel economy.

16:01 P-HEVs always have these wildly low fuel economy figures that you can rarely ever hit.

16:07 Here in this instance, it's 1.6 litres per 100km, and I suspect if I press this middle button here,

16:13 7.5 litres per 100km, and that's over the last 500km.

16:19 That's been a fair bit of highway driving.

16:20 Admittedly, we haven't really charged this car much.

16:23 We did one charge cycle, but the rest has just been driving the car with the internal combustion engine.

16:27 So, if you take that into account, that's actually not a terrible figure,

16:30 but very much quite a way off the 2 litre per 100km mark.

16:34 Let's talk about the ride.

16:38 So, air suspension means the ride is fantastic, and that's what I said earlier.

16:43 You have to get a Volvo with air suspension or at least adaptive damping,

16:46 because if it's just coil sprung, they tend to be really firm,

16:49 whereas this air suspension setup is great.

16:51 It gives you that added flexibility out of the boot as well of dropping the rear when you need to.

16:55 So, what's it like once you get stuck into it?

16:57 There are no sort of drive modes per se, but we will put it into power mode.

17:02 That kicks on the internal combustion engine, gives us a rev gauge on the right.

17:06 Look at that, it's a little bit of body roll, but holy crap, it is moving.

17:15 It is remarkable.

17:18 Wow.

17:21 This is a four cylinder, holy crap, it is absolutely hauling ass.

17:26 It is absolutely hauling ass.

17:27 That is so impressive.

17:30 So, this is a big vehicle, it is sort of on the heavier side with that battery pack,

17:34 but that twin charged engine is absolutely moving.

17:39 And then when you add in the electric components as well, it just has traction for days.

17:45 Even out here where it is quite sort of damp at the moment on the back section of the track,

17:49 it is holding on really impressively, and I'm keen to get it onto the back straight here,

17:53 because I think this thing is going to really get moving if it has some room.

17:58 Actually surprised by this, I wasn't expecting this to be anywhere near as engaging as it is.

18:07 Steering feel is okay, you can go to a firmer steering setting if you want.

18:11 Here's the back straight, I'll just bury the throttle there.

18:13 Far out, it is dialling up some speed, holy crap.

18:18 Far out.

18:21 That is unbelievable.

18:22 I'm absolutely blown away by that.

18:25 This is just next level as a driving experience.

18:28 Now, on top of the ride there, what's it like on our sine waves?

18:33 I'll dial this up to 130.

18:35 Thinking with air suspension this should be good.

18:38 That is so good.

18:40 It just glides straight over the sine waves there without any dramas at all at 130, so very impressive.

18:48 Volvo claims a 0-100 time of just under 5 seconds, this is how it went.

18:53 I'll put it up against the V-Box.

18:55 So, 5.2 seconds on our V-Box for the 0-100 run.

19:07 A little bit damp out here, so it was having struggles getting traction,

19:11 but that is still a damn impressive time from the XC60.

19:16 Okay, time for our reverse test.

19:18 Put this into reverse, we'll see how fast it goes in reverse.

19:22 Might as well stick it in power mode, so we can get there as quick as possible.

19:26 Our speedo's on the left, let's see what happens.

19:29 Roll clear, here we go.

19:30 Whoa, holy crap.

19:32 So, 30km/h max speed in reverse, but oh my god, the torque off the line is ridiculous.

19:40 It sort of just shoves my head forward, that is insane.

19:45 I love that.

19:46 Okay, so time to test our lane support system.

19:50 So, what I'm going to do here, we're on our bowl, and I'm going to try it in this lane,

19:55 the next lane, and the lane after that.

19:56 So, lane one, two, three, as we move our way up the top.

19:59 I'm going to do it at 70km/h.

20:01 This has not only a lane centring function, but when the cruise control is active,

20:05 it actually has a lane assist system as well.

20:09 So, there it is there, we're on 70km/h.

20:13 I've got Sean there just in front of me, and at the moment, it's holding this lane without any problems.

20:18 It's making those turns.

20:20 We're kind of centred in the lane as well, which is pretty good.

20:23 So, I'm going to move up to the next lane now.

20:26 So, let's see how this goes.

20:30 So, this is slightly banked here, but I can feel already it's starting to push me over to the line there.

20:36 But it is holding us here, which is good.

20:41 I have to grab at the wheel every now and then, but it is holding us here.

20:45 And it feels fairly centred as well, which isn't too bad.

20:48 Now, the real test is going to be lane three.

20:50 I think it's going to struggle the most with this.

20:52 We'll move up to lane three now. We'll see what happens.

20:55 Okay, so it says it's active, but it is...

20:59 Nope, that's not working.

21:02 I'll just try and get it up there and just gently put it into position.

21:09 It basically is just...

21:11 Yeah, that hasn't worked at all.

21:13 So, okay, so it is a pass for lane one and two for the XC60, and then a fail for lane three.

21:19 It just couldn't hold itself up there.

21:21 Now, if you want to see how this car performed against other cars that we've tested before,

21:25 there is a link in the description below.

21:28 So, turning circle comes in at 11.4 metres, which is really good for an all-wheel drive SUV.

21:36 And if you do any towing, you have a brake towing capacity of 2,250 kilograms.

21:41 What's your visibility like?

21:42 Well, down the front there, it's great. I can see the edges of the bonnet without any problems.

21:46 The wing mirrors are nice and big, so I get good visibility down the side.

21:49 But the blind spot monitor built into those, visibility at the back is great as well, with a very big envelope there.

22:00 So, the XC60 plug-in hybrid, I genuinely was not expecting to like this car as much as I do.

22:06 It is so fast, and it's just a completely different package to the other plug-in hybrids in this segment

22:11 that are kind of all about efficiency and, you know, just being a bit boring.

22:15 This, on the other hand, is really exciting to drive.

22:18 Loaded with features, still looks fantastic.

22:20 And then on the pricing front, it's right where it needs to be in terms of being competitive as well.

22:24 So, let me know in the comments section below, have you bought one of these in the plug-in hybrid trim?

22:29 Let me know how it's going longer term, because, yeah, I just think this is a really good purchase option.

22:33 Now, if you did enjoy this video, please make sure you like it and share it with your mates.

22:37 And if you haven't done so already, subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon.

22:41 But, until next time, take it easy.

22:43 Tacky Daisy!

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