I should confess at this point that I never really wanted the S60 - I'd far rather have had a V70 but my car scheme allowance wouldn't stretch that far. But I wanted something with seats as good as my Saab 9-3 (Saab was no longer an approved maker in our scheme) so it had to be a Volvo and the S60 was the one I could afford. I curse the boot every time I have a serious load to carry but still feel I made a good decision at the time.
One thing I should have mentioned is that your relative's D5 must be a manual. I've driven the automatic version briefly and it's horrible - takes away most of what feels right about a good diesel engine and adds about 20g to the CO2 value in the process. At town speeds of 10-30 mph, the manual might as well be an automatic anyway - it'll happily do the whole lot in 3rd.
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One thing I should have mentioned is that your relative's D5 must be a manual.
Noooooooooooooooooooooo!
As a V70 owner for the past years (albeit with 2.4T motor modified for significantly more go), I agree with most of the above and have no intention of parting with mine, but I disagree on this point. Mine is manual and with a different engine, but bro ran a V70 D5 163 for three years and the engine / gearbox combination was one of the best marriages I have found anywhere (the absolute best being in a VW Caravelle T5 diesel of all things, as I wrote in this road test www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=105 ).
I would rarely consider an automatic gearbox, enjoying the skill of chauffeur smooth shifting for myself no matter how quickly I'm driving and whether up or down the box, but the V70 D5 auto owned by bro had a silky smooth change action, well chosen ratios perfectly suited to the torque band of the motor, and an air prefectly suited to the long legged continent-in-a-day character of the car. Not a reason to buy it, but a nice party trick as an aside; right foot punching the throttle half a second before releasing left foot from the brake pedal gave startling GTi beating standing start launches! Not recommended on many fronts, not least kindness to the transmission, as tyres squirm to contain that torque with DTSC working overtime, but great fun and very effective on the few occasions it was deployed.
Note I wouldn't however touch the Geartronic 'box; it has a troublesome reputation for good reason unfortunately. If you chose auto, stick to the reliable conventional option that I describe above.
Enjoy whatever option you choose; the S60 is a beautiful looking and well engineered car that will give a lot of pleasure. I actually went shopping for one but came away with the V70 as the S60 proved too small for our needs, letterbox aperture boot and rear knee and headroom in particular. Okay, the truth is a few days after signing the order, with visions of me sat in my coveted Maya Gold S60 still in my head, SWMBO had dropped enough hints to pursuade me to change it. I n our case, she was right, as she reminds me from time to time, and the V70 has proven hugely able as well as nice looking, but I still smile every time I see a Maya Gold S60 on Tethys rims and the factory lowered suspension! ;-)
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Regarding the turning circle also mentioned previously, I just followed the link to my Caravelle road test referred to above, and discovered that I wrote "...if VW can turn a Shuttle on a relative sixpence, why does my V70 need an oil tanker captaincy certificate before being allowed to do anything other than drive in a straight line? A real 'sublime versus the ridiculous' contrast." So, I agree on this one as my alloys kerbed within a week of ownership four years ago still testify! Aaargh!
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I'd agree that the D5's work much better as manuals. The autos are OK but they are signficantly slower, use a fair bit more fuel (so partially defeating the point in the 1st place) and I've never rated the Volvo auto (or rather Volvo's implementation of it) much anyway. If you must have an auto then it's not the end of the world but the manual is smoother, faster and more economical. It's also a very nice manual with a positive change and easy clutch.
Otherwise theyr'e nice cars in any of the S60/V70 or even S80 guise. Comfortable, good to drive, very well equipped and generally nice to live with. The turning circle is indeed awful. They can take big miles but the suspension (bushes, links, roll bars etc.) is prone to needing frequently replacing and I've come across ones needing major transmission work too.
Manuals can become a bit notchy with miles whilst autos can suffer from increasing driveline shunt as the car gets older.
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Oh, consumption wise the V70 does about 40mpg in mixed driving, 45mpg on gentle motorway work. The S60 is notably more economical with 50mpg attainable with a light foot. The S60 also has a different steering setup and feel.
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>Note I wouldn't however touch the Geartronic 'box; it has a troublesome reputation for good reason unfortunately. If you chose auto, stick to the reliable conventional option that I describe above.
Ah - maybe it was a Geartronic I had. It was only for a day and quite a while ago. It had a bizarre (I thought) peculiarity that the rev needle dropped right down every time I lifted my right foot - made smooth horizontal progress very hard to achieve. It also had 18" Nebula wheels with something like 40% tyres, which did for smoothness in the vertical plane too. I was very pleased to return it and get back into my own car!
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Ah - maybe it was a Geartronic I had.
Could well have been.
It also had 18" Nebula wheels with something like 40% tyres, which did for smoothness in the vertical plane too.
I totally agree. As well as being set on an S60, I was also set on a set of the gorgeous and expensive 18" Nebulas. "Don't buy them; you'll regret it" was the salesman's advice, believe it or not! He gve the advice on the basis of customers who had come back to complain that ride quality wasn't just worsened by fitting them as could be expected, but completely ruined, and that they dented on potholes and bumps very easily. I saved the dosh, and am so glad I did, sticking with 17" Amaltheas.
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set on a set
Urgh.
Sorry!
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A friend has a petrol one of these (2.0T) on an 02 reg, and it's proven to be a brilliant car. It shrugs off its 120,000 miles so well that you'd never realise it had done more than 40,000 or so. No creaks or squeaks, deep, lustrous paint (Maya Gold) and a very good reliability record. He still has the local main agent service it (£150-£450 a time - the £450 was a cambelt service), and it will then just run incident-free to the next one. Great seats, generously specified, and although it's not a remotely sporting drive, it's just a very pleasant, very well screwed together and very handsome (IMO) family car.
If it weren't for the fact I absolutely cannot have a saloon car (two kids and a dog), it would be on my shortlist to replace the Mondeo without a doubt.
Cheers
DP
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Another S60 owner here. Mine is of the T5 variety but also in Maya Yellow.
Most things have been covered above. Lack of rear legroom, letterbox slot in the boot, turning circle of the QE2. Despite this, probably one of the best cars I have ever owned in terms of comfort (Leather, heated electric seats are perfect- HU803 stereo is amazing) and styling.
I haven't driven the new D5 so can't comment on the engine / gearbox combination, so probably best to go out and try one before you buy.
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Many thanks everyone for the excellent, helpful feedback.
All sounds extremely positive. My brother will probably go for the D5 manual as optimising economy is a priority. Useful points about alloys, also. I always think people who specify 18"+ rims are posers, not drivers.
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I had one of these for a couple of weeks (D5, Geartronic). Great drive, looks and very comfortable. The performance (overtaking ability) was not affected at all by the autobox and the auto is especially relaxing to drive in heavy traffic. Semi-auto mode allows it to be held in gear, for a bit of added sportiness. Economy was around 40mpg, mixed driving.
There is a lack of space in the back for adults. Not much to fault it really - depreciation maybe and servicing costs - but I didn't have time to experience either of these.
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I used to have a 2003 S60 with the 2.0 petrol engine. Totally reliable car. Only possible complaints were the cramped rear seat and small boot aperture (although the boot itself was quite capacious).
I overcame the 2 problems above by switching to a V50, with the D5-geartronic combination. No complaints or faults in 6mths/7k miles. Plenty of poke and no issues with the autobox. I'd be curious to know more about its weaknesses as alluded to by other posters further up the thread..?!
Finally, didn't pre-2003 D5s have some issue with diesel injectors failing after about 80K miles, resulting in a hefty bill?
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Another former S60 owner here. I'd still have my 02 reg 2.0T if personal circumstances had not changed - lovely car indeed. Fabulously comfortable as has already been mentioned. The facelifted versions (54 plate on?) have an improved turning circle apparently!
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I have owned a 2005 S60 D5 S from new.
It has 60,000 miles on the clock now and I love it.
The positives are a seat that is very supportive for even huge miles (14 hours in one go is my record with a 5 minute stop for fuel) - got out the other end just feeling a bit tired but no back pain. Although I have a 'base' model it has loads of kit as standard - CD, Dual zone climate control, traction and stability control, airbags galore, ABS, Alloys, Fogs, leather trim wheel and gearknob, etc, etc.
The SE which is more common adds full leather, uprated CD changer, dimming rear view mirror, bigger alloys etc, etc. You would struggle to get these options on an equivalent BM or Merc for less than £3-4,000 on top of a higher list price.
You can haggle a good discount from new which offsets the depreciation a bit, but they do depreciate quite quickly so 2nd hand they offer quite a bargain.
The engine is incredible. Mine has the 163hp version. late '06 D5's are 185hp with the 163hp being badged 2.4D now. The HP is not the important bit - that's the torque. Put you foot down in any gear and it just takes off. Very satisfying. Almost more incredible is the fuel consumption. I always averaged 47.8mpg which has improved to 51.5mpg after fitting grippy Michelin Pilot Primacy's (I never beleived before that tyres would make a difference - convinced now, they also are lasting far longer than the Pirellis and some terribly shortlived Goodyear Eagles).
I drive the car hard as well and rarely have a light right foot which also makes this very impressive.
The only downside is quite a harsh ride (even on the 16" alloys on my car) and a small boot opening (albeit with a huge boot).
Other than that it is a great car. Highly recommended!
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Michelin Pilot Primacy's (I never beleived before that tyres would make a difference - convinced now, they also are lasting far longer than the Pirellis and some terribly shortlived Goodyear Eagles
Interesting to read; despite perfectly even wear across each tyre and haviong swapped them so they all wore out together, I ripped through the horrid OEM fit Pirelli P6000 225/45x17 tyres on my V70 2.4T SE in something like 22,000 miles. They were replaced with Goodyear Eagle GS-D3 F1s of the same standard size; my favourite ever tyre, enormously grippy, and with some of the best wet weather abilities I've ever found in a road tyre, I expected them to wear out in no time flat. In fact, 18,000 miles later without having swapped them front to back yet, they still have 5mm tread on the front and 5.5mm on the back so will long outlive the Pirellis. My driving profile hasn't changed, but for the entire life of the Eagles the car has been modified to produce an oft-used 258bhp and 444NM (200bhp and 285NM standard). I can but imagine that the grip of the Eagles contains the increased torque well, whereas the Pirellis struggled with standard torque and slip gives wear.
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