3yo Volvo V60 - Talk to me?

[dhutch]

We are in the market for a new car for my partner, and she has her eyes set on a V60 Mk2.

Obviously only 3-4 years of these out yet, so not a huge choice, and or budget is really low 20's max rather than 25k+.

Shopping list
-Got to be an automatic due to messy and long commute
-Ideally heated seats (does that mean momentum plus?)
-Ideally white in colour, maybe black? (or at very least not gold)
-Probably the D3 or D4 diesel unless someone can give a good reason to go for the T4 with 25% £500pa worse fuel costs.

Located in the Northwest (Merseyside) but within reason willing to travel, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, N Wales, if not Scotland/Kent!

Any other thoughts or suggestions on places to look for a suitable car?

[ChocolateFrog]

My mum's got one, 19 plate I think.

Seems alright although I was shocked how hard the ride felt. Was expecting it to be smooth and comfortable but feels more like an Audi sporting an S Line badge.

Cancel that, hers is an XC60, which I imagine is significantly different.

[dhutch]

Fair enough. But yeah, while we haven't driven one we have currently semi ruled out the R-design as stiff suspension and low profiles are considered undesirable.

[GreatGranny]

This looks well equipped but maybe ride will be a little hard with the bigger wheels

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310142...

Diesel Hybrid with lovely heated seats

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311013...

Cheap D4 with 60k miles

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308251...

Not many white ones

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202310142...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309282...

Edited by GreatGranny on Tuesday 14th November 13:11

[macron]

Are the gearboxes on these as slow as the ones in the bigger cars? D4 V90 gets a very bad rep for that.

[demic]

According to the brochure for my 19MY car all V60 regardless of trim level had the “Dynamic Chassis”. Lowered suspension was a £400 option. Maybe try a R-Design on the 18”s? Mines on 20s and I find the ride perfectly acceptable (disclaimer previous car was a Megane 300 Trophy).

If it’s going to be used for a commute then it would be worth seeking out one with the Intellisafe Pro pack (Adaptive cruise and Pilot Assist). It really does take the sting out of long, boring journeys.

You should be able to get a Momentum with heated seats as it was a cost option (standard on the Pro).

Just check the Road tax as mine is in the rip-off band if you don’t fancy paying £500+ a year for a couple more years .

EDIT: If you’re not desperate to change then it might be worth holding out to get more for your money as mines dropped approximately £3k in trade in value since the beginning of September. Surely soon these cheaper trade prices must result in a drop in forecourt prices?

Edited by demic on Tuesday 14th November 13:44

Edited by demic on Tuesday 14th November 13:53

[demic]

macron said:

Are the gearboxes on these as slow as the ones in the bigger cars? D4 V90 gets a very bad rep for that.

It’s smooth enough and changes are perfectly acceptable for the kind of car it is when left in auto mode. Using the paddles is very frustrating though as there’s quite a delay in asking for and getting the desired gear, especially on downshifts.

Give ways also confuse it. Spot a gap, go! Erm no chance mate! more throttle, bit more throttle, bugger that gaps going, bit more throttle, oh bloody hell then if you insist, whoosh kick down into 1st and off you rocket accompanied by the most un gentlemanly wheel spin. ZF8 it is certainly not.

[macron]

It is a remarkably well proportioned car, and lovely in that colour.

ETA yes, off the line being the main box issue reported, probably magnified with the additional bulk of the 90 variants.

[demic]

Thanks, stands out from all the greys and blacks. They did do a lovely metallic blue but it quite a rare option.

[wyson]

You might know already, but seeing you posted in Mr Rats Android Auto thread, you’ll be getting Volvo’s Sensus infotainment with a car of this vintage, not Google’s which was introduced this year as AFAIK. I’ve tried Google’s and it was good. The Sensus infotainment system has mixed reviews from poor to OK. I havent read a single review that said it was brilliant.

Edited by wyson on Tuesday 14th November 14:20

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

I had a 68 plate V60 T5 Inscription pro with a Polestar map.

It was reasonably comfortable on main roads and motorways and I didn't use it for much else. Intellisafe Pro with Adaptive Cruise and Pilot Assist is well implemented and works flawlessly for long motorway journeys. My only niggle with the cruise is that it works in 5mph increments unless you enable it at a different speed like 72mph, which it will hold until you switch it up down to 70/75.

The lights with the auto beam assist are fantastic and work really well.

Seats were upgraded ventilated leather and were lovely. The top level seats had adjustable lumbar support and side cushions, and were cooled as well as heated. Living in Scotland, used the cooled seats once!

The gearbox was pretty slow in standard mode, but the Polestar map transformed this. That said, my wife used to always just drive in standard mode and never complained, although she's a slightly less 'enthusiastic' driver than me. Strangely the economy in Polestar seemed better than in standard, especially when cruising. Biggest difference in Polestar is the mid-range and massively snappier gear changes.

I believe the economy in the D4 is almost identical to the D3 in the real world, but the performance is much better..

Re. colours I had a stone-coloured one and hated the colour! I think the best colour is Birch Light, With Thunder Grey, the orangey red, and the Blue Colour also looking great in real life. I personally wouldn't get a white one - they're hard to keep clean and pick up loads of tar. Even a slightly off-white makes a huge difference.to how clean it looks with a bit of dirt on it.

Only issue I had in 2 years was with the gas struts in the boot - they started to not open fully. This was fixed under warranty.

[DoctorX]

wyson said:

You might know already, but seeing you posted in Mr Rats Android Auto thread, you’ll be getting Volvo’s Sensus infotainment with a car of this vintage, not Google’s which was introduced this year as AFAIK. I’ve tried Google’s and it was good. The Sensus infotainment system has mixed reviews from poor to OK. I havent read a single review that said it was brilliant.

Edited by wyson on Tuesday 14th November 14:20

Sensus fine, nothing more. I have CarPlay in mine and just use that.

Seats look great but I don't find them particularly comfortable. Gearbox is a bit slow-witted, engine quite thrashy when you rev it.

Having said that, I love it.

Mine's a Cross Country with the 'touring' chassis set up. It has a very comfortable ride.

[Vipers]

Have you tried “Carshop”, my son in laws looked around, and ended up buying the car they wanted from Carshop in Leeds, the drove up from Raynes Park to pick it up.

By all accounts a good buy. Not sure but be other Carshop outlets elswhere.

[DoctorX]

Gin and Ultrasonic said:

My only niggle with the cruise is that it works in 5mph increments unless you enable it at a different speed like 72mph, which it will hold until you switch it up down to 70/75.

If you press and hold the up/down buttons, it will do it in 1 mph increments.

[RB CV8]

I ran a 2020 S60 T5 R-Design for all of 5 months and couldn't get on with it. The driver's seat gave me hip pains after about 45 mins driving, the touchscreen and various "driver aids" drove me potty, but worst of all was the dreadful gearbox which presented me with a box full of neutrals on several occasions and could be downright dangerous. It was a 3,000-mile car when purchased and had all the relevant software updates I understand that Polestar tuning includes a gearbox remap. A good looking car but disappointing.

I have a Jaguar XE P250 now (no estate version though) which is by no means perfect but a joy to drive in comparison.

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

DoctorX said:

Gin and Ultrasonic said:

My only niggle with the cruise is that it works in 5mph increments unless you enable it at a different speed like 72mph, which it will hold until you switch it up down to 70/75.

If you press and hold the up/down buttons, it will do it in 1 mph increments.

Brilliant thanks, I'll try it in the XC60 I got to replace the V60. Hopefully I'll end up doing 72 rather than 140

[lornemalvo]

I'd recommend driving it on the roads you usually use. I bought a practically new V60 Cross Country (longer suspension travel supposedly) and the ride was so shockingly bad when I got it home I took it straight back to the dealer. It felt utterly agricultural compared to my Audi A4 (which is a Sport not an S Line). The hybrid petrol engine also sounded agricultural and generally nasty. It was disappointing because the V60 really appealed in terms of size, looks etc but I was glad to get back in the Audi.

[dhutch]

Lots of interesting comments, and thanks for the links to potential cars.

If the R-design is just a trim level, not a suspension change, that's a bonus especially as half the white ones currently appear to be R-Design. Most are on the larger wheels but I guess we could 'swap' to some 18s if available on the basis someone will want to swap the other way!

Point taken about white showing dirt, but they black shows swirl marks and grey is dull...

I'm not a huge fan of the gearbox or infotainment system, the Gen4 Octavia appears to do both better, which especially given the portrait screen only allows half screen Carplay/Androidauto. However they are great looking cars, and as it will be my wife's car predominately she gets to choose!

[dhutch]

demic said:

You should be able to get a Momentum with heated seats as it was a cost option (standard on the Pro).

Ok. Just so hard to tell from the adverts, as being touched, you can't even look to check for the buttons in the dash!

demic said:

If it’s going to be used for a commute then it would be worth seeking out one with the Intellisafe Pro pack (Adaptive cruise and Pilot Assist). It really does take the sting out of long, boring journeys.

Yes, adaptive cruise would be a another bonus. Presumably that's also not tied to any given spec level. And also not standard?

Is there anyway to know if the listing doesn't detail?

Gin and Ultrasonic said:

I believe the economy in the D4 is almost identical to the D3 in the real world, but the performance is much better..

Yes. The 190bhp D4 is very much considered preferable in my eyes, but the equally the 150bhp D3 is far from under powered.

[dhutch]

White R-Design in Cannock
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311123...

Does heated steering wheel mean 'winterpack' and hence heated seats?

Or where heated seats standard on the R-Design?


Momentum
Momentum plus/pro
R-Design
Inscription
Inscription Pro