Discussion
This is my first "company car", which came about as a result of a decent subsidised lease car scheme at work.
It's a 2013 model year (17th December 2012 registration) Volvo V60 D5 SE Lux in Caspian Blue metallic with Beechwood interior, Navigation, Premium Audio and Family Pack (integrated booster seats etc).
As more business miles miles mounted, I was appreciating my old Audi S3's easy pace, leather seats and great sound system more than its abilities as a red-hot hatch. I was also at a major financial disadvantage running a privately-owned car.
So, I got all geeky about Co2, Benefit in Kind tax and lease car pricing. In manual form, the Volvo D5 lump gives 120g Co2 in the V60 and 119g in the S60. That's seriously low given that it's a 2.4 litre, 5-cylinder, twin turbo with 215PS / 310-330lb.ft on tap.
I went for the SE Lux Nav spec (the highest possible) to keep the options in-check and because it suits the car. I'm slightly fed up with all the "sporty" trims around these days and gave Volvo's own offering a wide berth - reasoning that it would just remind me that I used to have *real* performance cars rather than something that just looks like one!
I also wanted the (to me!) desperately cool Beechwood leather interior option, which you can't get on R-Design specs. I then added Dolby audio and family packs to my choice of Caspian Blue metallic paint. It's possible to choose various no cost option wheels and I went for the standard "Njord" 17s with quite wide 235/50 profile tyres.
I ended-up ordering the V60 without even sitting in one, so it was really interesting when it finally arrived. I've done over 3,500 miles in it so far, mainly on long distance motorway workouts with occasional family trips.
Inside, the Beechwood leather and general ambience make it feel very distinctive and definitely of the same quality as the Audi, BMW and Merc alternatives I tried. It really feels special and relaxing compared to those.
I've noted lots of spec and useful things like electric rear headrests, built-in rear cargo safety net (partitions the boot space and passenger compartment), rear armrest with drink holders, multi-layer boot floor etc. You pay loads more for this obscure but useful stuff with ze Germans.
To drive - it's much more comfortable but felt a little slack to start with around roundabouts and slow corners, compared to my outgoing S3. High speed stability is good though and its handling is way better than I remember my parents' older Volvos being - but please don't confuse it (or most of its rivals) for something sporting in its own right... it's just not meant to be like that. It does feel like a really good balance of various priorities, but with comfort at its core.
On the move, the car's tall gearing is instantly apparent, but also the charm of its 5-cylinder warble and highly respectable shove. I'd feel comfortable placing the straight-line performance at least at the level of my old 'mapped A3 2.0T (same as Mk5 Golf GTi) with its trump card being the 30-70 game - but not traffic light Grand Prix. You wouldn't buy it to go chasing hot hatches, but it would give a lot of them something significant to chew on.
I think the engine is loosening-up, as the fuel economy is now solidly over 50mpg in almost all motorway driving. My long term average is 50.5mpg over 3,500 miles. I'd been banking on 37 based on reading the Volvo Owners' forum, so that's a Brucie Bonus - but it eats fuel around town (we have a second car for that).
After some time fiddling with the "Premium" (Dolby) audio and electric seats, I'm very comfortable on long trips. I was initially a little disappointed with the sound, but have since found a massive array of settings to perfect it. The best setting for me is to reduce the Prologic a little and select the driver-focused output option.
It's clearly not as exciting to listen to as my old petrolhead cars, but dropping the windows at low speeds reveals the sound of the smaller turbo and purposeful 5-cylinder growl.
You probably get the idea - I like this car a lot...even if I'm a little surprised to say so.
It's on a 3-year contract, so unless I change jobs this will be longest I have ever kept a car. It will be interesting to see how the transition to sensible motoring endures...
It's a 2013 model year (17th December 2012 registration) Volvo V60 D5 SE Lux in Caspian Blue metallic with Beechwood interior, Navigation, Premium Audio and Family Pack (integrated booster seats etc).
As more business miles miles mounted, I was appreciating my old Audi S3's easy pace, leather seats and great sound system more than its abilities as a red-hot hatch. I was also at a major financial disadvantage running a privately-owned car.
So, I got all geeky about Co2, Benefit in Kind tax and lease car pricing. In manual form, the Volvo D5 lump gives 120g Co2 in the V60 and 119g in the S60. That's seriously low given that it's a 2.4 litre, 5-cylinder, twin turbo with 215PS / 310-330lb.ft on tap.
I went for the SE Lux Nav spec (the highest possible) to keep the options in-check and because it suits the car. I'm slightly fed up with all the "sporty" trims around these days and gave Volvo's own offering a wide berth - reasoning that it would just remind me that I used to have *real* performance cars rather than something that just looks like one!
I also wanted the (to me!) desperately cool Beechwood leather interior option, which you can't get on R-Design specs. I then added Dolby audio and family packs to my choice of Caspian Blue metallic paint. It's possible to choose various no cost option wheels and I went for the standard "Njord" 17s with quite wide 235/50 profile tyres.
I ended-up ordering the V60 without even sitting in one, so it was really interesting when it finally arrived. I've done over 3,500 miles in it so far, mainly on long distance motorway workouts with occasional family trips.
Inside, the Beechwood leather and general ambience make it feel very distinctive and definitely of the same quality as the Audi, BMW and Merc alternatives I tried. It really feels special and relaxing compared to those.
I've noted lots of spec and useful things like electric rear headrests, built-in rear cargo safety net (partitions the boot space and passenger compartment), rear armrest with drink holders, multi-layer boot floor etc. You pay loads more for this obscure but useful stuff with ze Germans.
To drive - it's much more comfortable but felt a little slack to start with around roundabouts and slow corners, compared to my outgoing S3. High speed stability is good though and its handling is way better than I remember my parents' older Volvos being - but please don't confuse it (or most of its rivals) for something sporting in its own right... it's just not meant to be like that. It does feel like a really good balance of various priorities, but with comfort at its core.
On the move, the car's tall gearing is instantly apparent, but also the charm of its 5-cylinder warble and highly respectable shove. I'd feel comfortable placing the straight-line performance at least at the level of my old 'mapped A3 2.0T (same as Mk5 Golf GTi) with its trump card being the 30-70 game - but not traffic light Grand Prix. You wouldn't buy it to go chasing hot hatches, but it would give a lot of them something significant to chew on.
I think the engine is loosening-up, as the fuel economy is now solidly over 50mpg in almost all motorway driving. My long term average is 50.5mpg over 3,500 miles. I'd been banking on 37 based on reading the Volvo Owners' forum, so that's a Brucie Bonus - but it eats fuel around town (we have a second car for that).
After some time fiddling with the "Premium" (Dolby) audio and electric seats, I'm very comfortable on long trips. I was initially a little disappointed with the sound, but have since found a massive array of settings to perfect it. The best setting for me is to reduce the Prologic a little and select the driver-focused output option.
It's clearly not as exciting to listen to as my old petrolhead cars, but dropping the windows at low speeds reveals the sound of the smaller turbo and purposeful 5-cylinder growl.
You probably get the idea - I like this car a lot...even if I'm a little surprised to say so.
It's on a 3-year contract, so unless I change jobs this will be longest I have ever kept a car. It will be interesting to see how the transition to sensible motoring endures...
The front end is being facelifted for June production onwards I believe, as part of an across-the-range set of changes. The LED lamps next to the grille disappear and the rear exhaust pipes are differently shaped.
Rear passenger space is good, although boot capacity isn't the car's strongpoint. We've got a 3.5-year old and a 9-month old and used to have cars from the class below, so it's actually a big step up for us.
Volvo are at pains to say that the V60 isn't aimed at load-lugging and that the V70 (which, incidentally, my parents own) is aimed at that market. It's also fair to say that despite having 30-50 litres less boot space than the German rivals, it does have 40:20:40 split seats, roof bars and split floor storage as standard. Frankly, I've found those features more useful in day-to-day use.
Rear passenger space is good, although boot capacity isn't the car's strongpoint. We've got a 3.5-year old and a 9-month old and used to have cars from the class below, so it's actually a big step up for us.
Volvo are at pains to say that the V60 isn't aimed at load-lugging and that the V70 (which, incidentally, my parents own) is aimed at that market. It's also fair to say that despite having 30-50 litres less boot space than the German rivals, it does have 40:20:40 split seats, roof bars and split floor storage as standard. Frankly, I've found those features more useful in day-to-day use.
Edited by Basil Hume on Wednesday 3rd April 19:31
Thanks chaps. 
There seems to be a healthy amount of love out there for Volvos and I definitely concur that other drivers treat me well in this car! In fact, it reminds me of one of the other "features" apparent when driving it...
I do quite a lot of driving from 7-11pm to avoid early morning frantic travel. I usually stick cruise control on at 70 and relax. I noticed right from the start that quite a lot of traffic travelling faster than me would slow down to seemingly look at the car, before creeping away again.
I though to myself that I was just imagining things, but it happens so often (a dozen or so times per 100 miles, say) that I can only think people think it's an unmarked police car.
My parents have a 2011 V70 (163PS 2.0 5-cyl auto), so I'd be happy to do a comparison write-up some time. They're very similar cars in terms of engine range and what you touch and feel, but the design theme of the V70 seems to be "box" compared to the V60's "sculpture". Make of that what you will!
There seems to be a healthy amount of love out there for Volvos and I definitely concur that other drivers treat me well in this car! In fact, it reminds me of one of the other "features" apparent when driving it...
I do quite a lot of driving from 7-11pm to avoid early morning frantic travel. I usually stick cruise control on at 70 and relax. I noticed right from the start that quite a lot of traffic travelling faster than me would slow down to seemingly look at the car, before creeping away again.
I though to myself that I was just imagining things, but it happens so often (a dozen or so times per 100 miles, say) that I can only think people think it's an unmarked police car.
My parents have a 2011 V70 (163PS 2.0 5-cyl auto), so I'd be happy to do a comparison write-up some time. They're very similar cars in terms of engine range and what you touch and feel, but the design theme of the V70 seems to be "box" compared to the V60's "sculpture". Make of that what you will!
^^^ It's definitely Volvo's own new 163PS 5-cylinder 2.0, which I am told on the Volvo forums is a short stroke version of the 2.4 lump (D5). It's a single turbo, whereas the 205 and 215 PS D5 are now twin turbo.
This newer 2.0 engine is called D3 or D4 in the post-2010 S/V/X60, V70 and S80 ranges. Even more confusingly the 163PS version was originally badged D3, but since late 2012 has become the D4 (D3 is now reserved for the de-tuned 136PS 2.0 5-cyl).
My parents' 2011 V70 is thus badged as a D3, but would be called D4 now.
The D4 163PS version gives 295lb.ft, which isn't much less than the D5 2.4.
This newer 2.0 engine is called D3 or D4 in the post-2010 S/V/X60, V70 and S80 ranges. Even more confusingly the 163PS version was originally badged D3, but since late 2012 has become the D4 (D3 is now reserved for the de-tuned 136PS 2.0 5-cyl).
My parents' 2011 V70 is thus badged as a D3, but would be called D4 now.
The D4 163PS version gives 295lb.ft, which isn't much less than the D5 2.4.
Indeed - the engine range in the S/V60, V70 and S80 is the same (or at least very similar).
The T/D badge used to be for the top dog engines, but have recently been applied across all engines as follows for the above models. (V40 and XC models have different variants).
T3 = 150PS 1.6 4-cyl turbo petrol
T4 = 180PS 1.6 4-cyl turbo petrol
T5 = 240PS 2.0 4-cyl turbo petrol (new Ford-derived engine, not the 5-cyl Volvo unit)
T6 = 304PS 3.0 6-cyl twin turbo petrol
D2 = 115PS 1.6 4-cyl turbo diesel (Ford-sourced)
D3 = 136PS 2.0 5-cyl turbo diesel (de-tuned D4)
D4 = 163PS 2.0 5-cyl turbo diesel (aka D3 until mid/late 2012)
D5 = 215PS 2.4 5-cyl twin turbo diesel (205PS until mid/late 2012)
The D5 is rated at 119/120g Co2 in the S/V60, while the D2 is 114g. Not much difference given the power outputs!
The T/D badge used to be for the top dog engines, but have recently been applied across all engines as follows for the above models. (V40 and XC models have different variants).
T3 = 150PS 1.6 4-cyl turbo petrol
T4 = 180PS 1.6 4-cyl turbo petrol
T5 = 240PS 2.0 4-cyl turbo petrol (new Ford-derived engine, not the 5-cyl Volvo unit)
T6 = 304PS 3.0 6-cyl twin turbo petrol
D2 = 115PS 1.6 4-cyl turbo diesel (Ford-sourced)
D3 = 136PS 2.0 5-cyl turbo diesel (de-tuned D4)
D4 = 163PS 2.0 5-cyl turbo diesel (aka D3 until mid/late 2012)
D5 = 215PS 2.4 5-cyl twin turbo diesel (205PS until mid/late 2012)
The D5 is rated at 119/120g Co2 in the S/V60, while the D2 is 114g. Not much difference given the power outputs!
I'm half-way through a mega trip from home to North Wales and back (then straight on to Leeds, with a stag weekend sandwiched in between in Hereford). The V60 takes this sort of thing in its stride, although I'm very glad to have chosen the lux spec, nav and audio options as they contribute a lot.
Overall fuel economy is still 50.5mpg, which is better than a lot of folk seem to get out of their D5s. I guess mine is the newest version with all the eco gubbins added, but it's also important to note that mine are almost exclusively motorway miles at 70 on cruise control.
I'm never going to get bored of the engine's warble.
Overall fuel economy is still 50.5mpg, which is better than a lot of folk seem to get out of their D5s. I guess mine is the newest version with all the eco gubbins added, but it's also important to note that mine are almost exclusively motorway miles at 70 on cruise control.
I'm never going to get bored of the engine's warble.
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