Wipeout
Thanks for your constructive comments.
Out of interest, what sort of prices are you charged for services (and what service intervals is the diesel engine)?.
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Service intervals are every 12K or every year depending on what is sooner.
Servicing charges vary between dealers. From memory I believe Reading wanted £375 for a 36K service, and Newbury wanted £275. Needless to say it went to Newbury! They do clean the car, and lend you another car free of charge, and will usually collect if local.
The D5 engine is a cracking engine, and if you do high mileage I would consider it, as I seem to remember the petrol are rather thirsty.
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Thanks. I was looking for an auto, so an auto 2.0t was around 20mpg urban! But then it does have 180bhp and an auto box so you can't complain!
I would like the diesel if I can. It means I can have an auto and still have mpg equal to my Corolla around town.
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I've got an S60 D5 just now and it is a very good car to drive, I'd go for the diesel as well because of fuel costs. The auto is well matched to the engine.
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..but there is not much boot space/rear legroom for a car this size.
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No where for left leg to go in auto versions which means uncomfortable and restless long journeys also the steering wheel is too big and rim is too thin, it looks unsightly and cheap. Rear lights look a bit clumsy. Looks smart from front but can look ungainly from certain angles. All in my opinion of course..
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Spinner
Interesting point about the foot rest. I had a sit in a manual S60 today and it has a left foot rest.
So the auto doesn't have one? Weird! Surely an auto with cruise should have somewhere to rest the left foot.
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So the auto doesn't have one? Weird!
It does have footrest but it's the centre console intrudes too far to right so your leg is resting against it. Also between brake pedal, footrest, and console very little room!
Maybe my legs too big. Depends on drivers build but i wouldn't buy one for this reason.
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The auto seems alright without a proper footrest though, IMO.
I was ok after 2 hours in it today.
That 5 cylinder diesel is well impressive for overtaking and the SS option works well on twisty roads.
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The footrest is rudimentary, I reach it -just- and I'm 6'.
I can only fault its ride over rough surfaces, and the steering wheel is a bit on the small side (borrowed from the Mondeo??).
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I used to drive 1k a week in my auto and never experienced any shortage of left leg space. You must have very big feet, or very long legs. I'm 5 ft 8 inches?
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Very comfortable, I've driven all variants and I rate the 2.4T auto as the best combination, very smooth but plenty of power where it's most useful - in the lower revs. The 2.0T is no slouch though and certainly quicker than the 2 litre BMW/Audi equivalents.
Rear seat leg room isn't the best and the boot could be bigger but should be adequate for most people. The seats are well up to Swedish standards - very comfortable.
The chassis is pretty good so the lower speed ride is only really compromised by the 17" alloys - if you can find some nice looking 16" ones - grab them.
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Although in V70s, I have a 2.4T manual, and my brother a D5 auto. Both are superb.
I chose the 2.4T because I 'only' pay the tax element of my petrol costs and drive about 9,000 miles pa, and a manual gearbox simply because I enjoy driving manually with good mechanical sympathy.
My brother chose the D5 because he drives to the moon and back each year, and an auto because of his licence.
My 2.4T accelerates much harder from a standing start (although stalling his torque converter makes a huge difference!), but at A road and motorway speeds there's not a lot in it. Likewise, when working the engines hard, the 2.4T is much quieter and transmits noticeably less vibration (the D5 transmits quite a lot through the passenger footwell for some reason). In the cruise though, again there's not a lot in it, though as speed gets more and more illegal, so the D5 gets relatively noiser than the 2.4T.
One thing I really love about the 2.4T is the incredibly wide power band. Peak boost, and torque, arrives at just 1800RPM. The engine then keeps on pulling and pulling smoothly all the way to the rev limiter if you need it to (single gear overtakes usually). Truly one of the best engines I have ever sampled, and the newer 2.5T is even better. The D5 however is very 'turbo diesel typical' with a useful powerband from 2000 to 4000RPM and gaping hole either side. Taller gearing thankfully helps mask it (ie each additional RPM gives a greater increase in speed), but personally, I don't like this characteristic.
Both engines sound nice (yes, even the diesel) when working hard, and the 2.4T in particular has a lovely quattroesque growl.
D5 payback arrives at the pumps however, in spades, as you would expect. I average about 29MPG with no city or rush hour driving and a fair mix of everything else. My brother does much more driving, including cities and rush hours, and often tows 800KG of boat, yet averages well in to the forties.
So, as I see it, go for the D5 if you drive a lot of miles and pay for all your own fuel. If not, go for a 2.4T or 2.5T and enjoy the slightly better performance and greater refinement.
Back to the S60: I was originally in the market for one, and think that one in Maya Gold with 17" Tethys alloys (not the oversized 18" Nebulas) is the nicest looking saloon car money can buy. Why, then, didn't I buy one? Simply because rear leg room is too cramped (I am average height with shorter than average legs, yet struggles to sit behind a driver's seat adjusted for myself), and the boot aperture too restricted. A real shame, but thankfully the V70 has proven to be everything I wanted, and more.
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Thanks for that info. Nice to hear real-life accounts of ownership.
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Here's the rest of my report on the S60/54reg
the +' s
Looks - very good for a Volvo (but looks a bit like its Mondeo platform from some angles), and lots of presence (looks as good - if not better - than many Germans marques), rear design especially good - streamlined (very quiet at speed and no reaction to cross winds) - but strange rear light cluster.
Drive - very composed: steering well-weighted and precise, very good on motorway - quiet and fast, auto gearbox + 2.4 litre 5 cylinder diesel excellent (nice engine note from 5 cylinders under acceleration), rapid and composed when accelerating hard - very good (safe!) for overtaking on A roads - semi auto option perfect for country roads, full auto for town and motorway driving - seamless gearchanges.
Economy - average 36mpg: town + (fast) motorway driving, ok for a big car.
Equipment - good (but heater on climate control didn't work on drivers side), sat nav excellent, stability/traction control, very good hi-fi, heated leather seats - very comfortable.
A few -'s
Space - not enough legroom none for passengers - wouldn't go down well with a family of tall Scandinavians, no room for golf clubs .... a compact exec?
Traction control - with this on and firm braking into a corner in full auto mode (no advanced driving comments please ...) it feels like a big dog trying to get down a steep staircase (ungainly),
No X-factor - it didn't really do it for me (neither did the Mondeo).
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The S60 isn't based on a Mondeo platform (that's the Jag X-Type). As far as I have read it's uses a shortened version of the S80 platform I believe.
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The S60 isn't based on a Mondeo platform (that's the Jag X-Type). As far as I have read it's uses a shortened version of the S80 platform I believe.
Correct, Martin.
Unlike the shared New Focus / New S40 / V50 platform, the P2 platform is unique to Volvo, and in slightly different guises is used for the S60, V70, and S80.
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It has Mondeo dials though ..
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It has Mondeo dials though ..
Err, no.
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Hi, just seemed to come across this site from Google... I just bought an S60 D5 SE at the weekend - an 02 plate, 44K and seem to have got a good price. Had to pick it up from Kings Lynn - a 2hr drive back to London. Pleased with it so far - but noticed some condensation on the inside of the headlamps (gone now)and the windscreen keeps misting up.... is this normal, was it a one off because of the heavy rain or is there some sort of leak? The car hasn't been used since Sunday evening and there's a build up of mist/condensation on the inside lower windscreen. Volvo said (about the headlamps) to bring it it to check - but I need to bring it in when there's condensation in the headlights to enable them to check, so I'll have to wait and see if it happens again.
Do you have any ideas?
(p.s. sorry if I've not gone about this correctly - not sure how this works....)
Thanks
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Kenny P -
Condensation inside S60/V70/S80 headlamps is a known issue. Although my 2003 V70 headlamps don't suffer from it (yet?), those on my father's 1998 S80 have done so for the past four years. Beyond looking a little unsightly, the condensation hasn't caused any problems, and the headlamp reflectors are as pristine as new. The condensation dries out with use, which being a Volvo, means every time the car is driven unless the lamp switch is moved to the 'parking light' position. If your headlamps have no stone chips or breaks in the glass, this design issue is likely to be the cause.
Regarding the condensation, are you sure that the air conditioning / climate control (as appropriate) was switched on? If not, then the mist is likely to be condensation from in the system. Note however that with the climate control option (not sure about basic air con), the system is designed to run a fan and dry out a period of time after the car is parked to stop this happening. Having written all this, my V70 once misted up big time when brand new (I had to pull over and stop), but the problem has never returned. So, to conclude, I'd keep an eye on it and find a trend before jumping to any conclusion.
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