WHEN it comes to large luxury SUVs, who’s the daddy?

The usual premium suspects have all excelled in this sector in recent years, giving those requiring not only a cosseting ride but bags of room and lots of toys a tough choice to make.

However, if you are looking for a plug-in hybrid with plenty of power then the choice becomes very limited.

Spotting a gap in the market, Volvo produced the T8 Twin Engine version of its excellent XC90

The seven-seat XC90 was already renowned for its stability and handling and for its practical boot.

A plug-in electric car, hybrid car and high-performance car rolled into one, the T8 combines a powerful and efficient petrol engine with an electric motor. This offers a combined 407 bhp and the reassurance of all-wheel drive, while the electric motor’s instant torque is particularly useful when manoeuvring at low speeds. Unlike some hybrid vehicles that have a comparatively low towing limit, the T8 also has an impressive maximum braked towing limit of 2,400 kg.

What’s more, it stores its hybrid batteries between the front seats, so cabin space is not compromised.

On the outside, the XC90 avoids a brash design, keeping it simple but elegant. There’s a large vertical grille, so-called Thor’s Hammer LED headlights and trademark vertical light clusters at the back.

Step inside and the Sensus vertical infotainment screen dominates the dashboard. Superb audio, drive settings, back massages, climate control, satellite navigation, phone connection and much more are on offer in this wonderful box of tricks.

Every XC90 comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive as standard, along with hill start assist, panoramic sunroof, hill descent control, satellite navigation and front and rear parking sensors. Each one also comes with automatic emergency braking – including pedestrian, cyclist and large animal detection – and the innovative Volvo On Call app, which allows you to control various functions of your car remotely. On top of this, the T8 version allows you to cool or warm the cabin before you get in the car.

The T8 can travel for up to 27 miles in electric-only mode and its batteries can be fully recharged in two-and-a-half hours. There are three drive modes - pure, hybrid, and power. Drive in silence or, with a turn of a scroll wheel, enjoy a blast of high performance.

With CO2 emissions of only 49 g/km through the petrol-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain, it can return an official combined fuel economy figure of 134.5 mpg. However, during a week of real-world testing, I struggled to get anywhere near this figure.

Such is the quietness of the cabin that it becomes difficult at times to tell just when the electric motor is taking charge and when the petrol engine is being employed or a combination of the two is being utilised.

Every XC90 comes with automatic emergency braking and there are aids to prevent the car from inadvertently leaving the road, while the semi-autonomous drive system takes the strain out of long motorway journeys by helping to regulate the car’s speed, distance from any vehicle in front, and position in its lane.

Yes, there’s a lot of choice among the big luxury SUV brands, and the best-selling XC90 will remain the two-litre diesel and petrol versions, but the bottom line in the case of the T8 is that no other SUV in this class can deliver 26 miles of pure electric range, 0-62mph acceleration in 5.6 seconds and provide combined power of 407bhp – all in a seven-seat configuration.