D5 R-design

Certainly not perfect, but not far off.

Just over 6 months since collecting and all have passed without any sort of reliability issue.
The D5 is a real gem and loosening up nicely now. Its smooth and refined most of the time, but with a lovely, slightly addictive, snarl when you push it.
In my opinion Volvo are making a mistake by choosing to offer only 4-cylinder engines in the future. The D5 was a big, big part of my decision to choose this over the competition and I'm not sure it would be on the drive if it hadn't been available.
Its returning about 40mpg combined - most of my miles are in town and far from ideal for impressive figures, so not too bad in my opinion.
The stop start works very well though, much less intrusive than the F30 320d that was one of the other choices. Get out of town onto the "open road" and 50mpg+ is pretty easy to achieve.
R-Design seats are very supportive.
Have the premium stereo and after persevering with the myriad of settings ( it's really "flat" sounding when delivered from new ) I have to say its absolutely superb, decent stereos are certainly a Volvo trait.
If I could change one thing about it, that would be to have slightly softer suspension. Its just that bit too firm, great for keeping its composure over crests and dips on fast A and B roads, but around towns strewn with potholes its not overly pleasant. Somewhere between this and the standard 3-series settings, which are too soft without the adaptive option, would be perfect.

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