XO 260 DSCVR

After a few years out of the spotlight, XO is back with a bullet-proof new sports boat that combines user-friendly features with laser-sharp handling

- Hugo Andreae

For a brief period from 2012 to 2015 Finnish brand XO was the brightest star in the Scandinavian sportsboat firmament. Its vinyl-wrapped deep-vee aluminium hulls matched to powerful engines and bulletproof build made for some of the toughest, fastest and sweetest-handling craft around. In the May 2015 issue of Motor Boat &Yachting the diminutive XO 250 ran rings around the combined might of an Axopar 28, Draco 27 and Paragon Ranger 25, even though we gave the final nod to the Axopar due to its superior cockpit layout and value for money. It was a telling moment as in the years that followed Axopar sales rocketed while XO sales stalled, partly due to a change of ownership at the yard and of its UK distributor.

Now it is back with a vengeance, boasting a reinvigorated model line-up, more user-friendly cockpit layouts and a new UK dealer in Ideal Boat. The 260 DSCVR is a perfect example of XO’s new, innovative approach. Measuring just over 26ft but with a considerably wider beam and higher freeboard than the waif-like 250, it feels like a significantly more substantial craft than its predecessor.