I'm car shopping and I lost my mother's consumer reports password.
Is the 2015 and newer V60 a good used car? Any known problems? I'm tall, I like long roofs and nice interiors. I'm in Atlanta so AWD isn't necessary.
budget: less than $20k
I'm car shopping and I lost my mother's consumer reports password.
Is the 2015 and newer V60 a good used car? Any known problems? I'm tall, I like long roofs and nice interiors. I'm in Atlanta so AWD isn't necessary.
budget: less than $20k
No practical advice to give, but I just bought a 2015.5 V60 T6 R-Design with Polestar tune. Outstanding daily driver. Perfect Q ship. Looks as innocent as can be, but carries a large 325/354 hp/tq stick. All I can say is do it. The seats while they appear to be heavily bolstered as really comfortable for my 6' 220lb frame. I love it.
We have a 2017 S60 (previous gen, post-facelift / post-engine change) and a 2019 V60 (current gen).
I believe the 2015 will be a post-facelift / pre-engine change car, so I am not as familiar with them. Our S60 is a T5 AWD the turbo 2.0 4 cylinder. Even with the added weight of AWD and without the P* tune it makes a healthy 245 hp / 255 ft-lbs or so. It's plenty prompt for a daily driver. The 2017 has the Aisin 8-speed ATX whereas the 2015 probably has a 6-speed, and I believe it will be the 5-cylinder which makes similar hp but more torque. The FWD version is a little quicker, too.
Our 2017 is slightly dated inside (we could tell it was near the end of its model cycle when we bought it) but is very comfortable and nicely put together. The steering weight is excellent, as are the brakes. Ride is good and handling is too for what it is. You'd never mistake it for a sports car but it doesn't get out of sorts on back roads.
The only issue we've had with it in 2 years are the front axle seals. They were a little noisy in damp weather and were replaced under warranty. Other than that it has been flawless, and makes an excellent daily.
If you can find one in the higher trims, the seats alone are worth paying a modest premium for. The seats in Adrian's car above are similar to the ones in our S60 and they are fantastic, even coming from the Sport seats in my old E46. The higher trims also tend to come with a nice driver aid package.
Our V60 is the newer body style, which is slightly steeper in the hatch area than Adrian's but not much. It's pretty roomy back there even with the seats up, and with the seats down, it's cavernous by all but minivan standards. I've hauled 4 big cargo totes with no problem.
I can't give you much in the way of reliability info since our cars have 15,000 miles between them, but we went from having never owned Volvos to buying 2 in 2 years, based on how much we like driving them.
I looked at these for a while last year, ended up with a lexus ls460 for a little more back seat room but we wanted AWD.
Reliability I would do a little research on the 15-16 engine recall, specifically not a mandatory recall, but if you had engine problems they would replace the pistons and generally cover labor if the dealer liked you. There are a couple sob stories online about people who needed new pistons but were stuck with the repair bill, but I don't think this problem is in the majority. The internet also makes it difficult to determine how prevalent this piston problem really is.
Because of the piston issue, I was only looking at 17's or newer.
The passenger power seat was an option, look closely when you are checking over cars. You can usually see what options the car has by checking pictures of the center console buttons. I'm under the impression the fwd had a reliable transmission but there were updates through the range and I don't recall too much FWD info.
They drive really great. My wife, a non-car person, described the feel as "confident," they are comfortable, quiet and plenty quick for a commuter.
I also cross-shopped the buick tour-x, the back seat room is significantly greater in the buick and the option list is pretty cool however I couldn't get over the interior quality differences between the v60 and the tour x.
Let us know what you find, I really like these volvos (although I love the v90 non-cross country)
Thanks for the info guys. Great info about the engine and trans changes. Sounds like looking for a 2017 is a good idea.
I Haven't seen a V90 that wasn't an XC.
Questions:
What is the package called that has the sport seats?
What was the cost of the Polestar tune?
In reply to OHSCrifle :
The Polestar tune is approximately $1100. It's a PCM flash that can be post-installed at the dealer, and they have a version for just about every recent Volvo.
https://engineered.polestar.com/us/upgrades/model-selector/
The Polestar tune is not to be confused with the Polestar model, which has a lot more going for it but which is rarer and significantly more expensive.
Our 2017 is an Inscription Platinum. For 2017 / 2018 Inscription is the middle trim between the Dynamic and the R-Design. The Dynamic and Inscription get the base seats (which aren't bad) and the Inscription Platinum > up get the Sport seats. For 2019 the R-Design is the middle trim, for whatever reason, and the seats are not quite as nice.
There are odd option packages that get the nicer seats (like the Platinum), so it's a little hard to tell from model alone. Look for an adjustable thigh section, just like BMW sport seats.
[edit] The S60 Inscription is the long wheelbase model with 2" more back seat in the sedan. The S60 Dynamic and R-Design are shorter. I don't think there are 2 different wheelbases in the V60 - I think they are all the shorter back seat, regardless of trim. It's still fine.
In reply to Duke : got it - thanks Duke
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