Volvo S60 Diesel

Author's product rating:   

Reliability	Excellent
Road Handling	Good
Looks	Excellent
Fuel consumption	Excellent

Advantages:	Superb Engine .  Great Looks .  Sybaritic Scandanavian Interior .
Disadvantages:	High List Price .  Depreciation .  Small Boot Opening .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

WHAT IS IT?

The Volvo S60 is Volvo's first truly modern, non-brick shape design. OK, I know that a couple of you will argue that the S80 came first by a short head, but nobody could really offer that up as a style icon. Ironically, the new S80 just launched by Volvo looks far sleeker and more S60 like - rumours are that the S60 will actually be killed off.

Since the launch of the S60, Ford have taken a majority shareholding in Volvo. Ironically, it seems to be Volvo technology which is now filtering over to Ford - especially the superb five cylinder engines which, in petrol form at least, are now to be found in the hot Focus 2.5T ST as well as the new S-Max / Galaxy people carrier duo launched last month.

Having said that, the smaller S40 and V50 models do share the latest Focus platform, the S60 bears no such commonality with any Ford model.

In terms of size and market position, the S60 is a spacious five seater "premium" saloon, competing with the Audi A4, BMW 3 and 5 Series (it sits midway between the two in terms of size), Jaguar X-Type, Mercedes C-Class, Saab 9-3 and VW Passat.

WHICH SPECIFIC MODEL?

Those of you who habitually read my car reviews may remember me, last summer, reviewing the top of the range petrol powered S60, the 260bhp T5 Sport. I concluded that review by saying that yes, it was a good car, but that there was a far better, and less expensive, Volvo S60 available in the form of the D5 - the five cylinder 163bhp diesel powered version.

Confusingly, since writing that review, that model - the one that I am specifically reviewing here, has been renamed - it is now the 2.4D, the D5 badge being transferred to the latest, more powerful 185bhp diesel.

Both diesel models now have the benefit of a six speed gearbox. The original D5 as reviewed here, was specified with an entirely adequate five speed gearbox. In both cases an automatic is an available (cost extra) option.

Regrettably I have yet to drive the newer car, so for those of you thinking about buying a second hand one of these it will have a D5 badge on the boot, if it's a new one then it is the 2.4D. There is, as far as I know, no obvious way of telling these two models apart - the boot badge is a no-cost delete option anyway!

IN WHAT CAPACITY AM I REVIEWING THIS CAR?

I have now driven four of these Volvo 2.4D's, three manual gearbox cars and an automatic. It is no great secret that this was our first chosen car with which to replace our much loved 2.5 V6 petrol Omega, regrettably the budget could not stretch at the time and the new Honda Accord 2.2 i-CDTi found its' (now very welcome) place in our garage instead.

The automatic, and two of the manual 'box cars, were driven at the Millbrook Testing Ground in Bedfordshire at Company car in Action events, the third manual one was a dealer demonstrator borrowed for an extended weekend test drive from Hapstead Volvo, our very keen local Volvo dealer.

Between the four cars I have a good 500 miles experience behind the wheel. They have now been on the market for four years which is quite long enough to give some meaningful running cost figures without actually having owned, or had one of these cars on our company fleet.

COSTS

A Volvo S60 D5 is going to cost you more to buy and run than a Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Vectra or Volkswagen Passat. It will cost less to purchase than an equivalent BMW 3-Series of any given age, new or second hand though. There is a very good choice of second hand D5's in all trim levels now available, having been on the market for four years, these cars have become affordable second hand.

PURCHASE COST 5 / 10: Just how much is a five cylinder engine and a Volvo badge worth?

There are so many ways of looking at the purchase cost. With the five cylinder diesel engine you are actually buying a unique car in this market sector. However, there are equally capable cars, the Honda Accord, Mazda 6 and Toyota Avensis to name but three, that are all considerably less expensive to buy, and in all probability, run too.

If you factor in the kudos of the Volvo badge and compare the purchase price to an equivalent six cylinder BMW or Audi, then the list price starts to make more sense.

The actual car that I am reviewing here is the better equipped SE model, the list price of which is currently £24,795 - that really is very expensive, over £1000 more than when I was considering its purchase two years ago. The Volvo's competitors do not seem to have inflated at that rate over the same period.

As a consequence of that high price, Volvo are offering large discounts on new S60's, in the region of £3000 to anyone (not just fleets) who asks. As a company car that is really self defeating, due to the driver being taxed on the full list price. If I could purchase one of these at £21,500 LIST price, then it would be my current car in stead of the more honestly priced Honda.

Quite why car manufacturers insist on over pricing, then discounting heavily, their cars, remains beyond my comprehension.

There are two other trim levels available with this engine, the basic "S" at £22,295 and the D Sport at £24,145. Having driven the Sport last, I have to say that I would now choose that model in preference to the SE, the interior has a more modern feel to it than the slightly "pipe and slippers" ambiance of the SE.

THE OPTIONS GAME: 8 / 10 or "How much do I need to shell out in order to make it habitable?"

Fortunately, bearing in mind the list price, very little. There are only two boxes that I would tick on the options list, the winter pack at £375 and metallic paint at a further £525. Whilst you expect to pay extra for metallic paint, the three items included in the Winter Pack, i.e. heated front seats, headlamp washers and interior carpet mats are all standard on the £4,000 cheaper Honda Accord EX diesel.

If you really have the cash to splash, you will have no difficulty in specifying a £30,000 plus S60 diesel, items such as integrated telephones, satellite navigation, bigger alloy wheels and a sun roof will easily add another £5000 to the price. Adding such options is financial suicide come resale time!

DEPRECIATION 4 / 10 - Always the biggest running cost.

Whilst there is no doubt that the diesel, especially here in depreciation terms, is the most sensible model in the range, the S60 after four years on the market does now depreciate rather more heavily than its class competitors.

I have been criticised for quoting unrealistic depreciation figures recently, consequently I will quote authoritative comparative depreciation figures from the weekly "Autocar" magazine. The quoted figures below are the percentage of the new cost retained after three years and 30,000 miles use:

Volvo S60 2.4D SE - 44% (the petrol S60's are worth just 36% of their initial cost)
Audi A4 2.0d - 58% (petrol A4 - 51%)
BMW 320d SE - 53% (petrol 320 - 48%)
Honda Accord 2.2d - (Not quoted - would guess around 54% diesel, 48% petrol)
Jaguar X-Type 2.2d - 52% (petrol - 48%)
Mazda 6 2.0d - 54% (petrol - 52%)
Mercedes C220 CDi - 52% (petrol - 52%)
Saab 9-3 1.9d - 52% (petrol - 47%)
Skoda Superb 2.5d - 52% (petrol - 45%)
Toyota Avensis 2.2d - 52% (petrol - 47%)
Ford Mondeo TDCi - 40% (petrol 37%)
Vauxhall Vectra 1.9d - 43% (petrol 42%)

For what I consider to be a great car, the fact that the Volvo S60 is near bottom of the pile when it comes to depreciation is a surprise. What it does mean is that a very good deal can be done on a second hand one.

FUEL ECONOMY 8 / 10

We drove well over 300 miles in the dealer demonstrator S60 diesel and it returned 44.2mpg. For a large, quite heavy (approx. 1500kg) five seater that is very good. Indeed, my own, smaller engined, Accord diesel does not manage to average 44mpg, whatever Honda's brochure may tell you! Having spoken to owners subsequently (one of whom had driven 70,000 miles in 18 months!) they tell me that their diesel S60's very rarely fall below 45mpg. This, more powerful, and considerably swifter car, would have saved me, at current diesel prices almost £200 per year on fuel!

SERVICE & MAINTENANCE COSTS 5 / 10: are you going to make the dealer rich?

Well here I have no doubt that I would need at least that extra £200 for servicing! Our local Volvo dealer were most attentive, but then indeed so is our current Honda dealer! This is where you pay always for a premium badge car.

Take it to your man around the corner I hear you cry! Well yes, that is probably the answer for a car that is over three years old and out of warranty, but for the first three years you are tied into the Volvo dealer network.

Let the "fun" begin! You want to know what this car is like to live with and to drive and be driven in…….

THE EXTERIOR:

STYLING 9 /10: A very subjective category here.

In an age where cars all tend to look rather the same, the Volvo S60 offers a very distinctive style and is one of the few cars on the road that I still find myself admiring. This is the car that changed Volvo's image for good (and the good) and was a tremendous achievement on the part of Englishman Peter Stevens who styled it.

OVERALL BUILD QUALITY AND FINISH 8 / 10 Does it look as though it was slung together?

In all honesty, looking at the external build quality, this car lacks the millimetric precision of a Skoda Superb or a comparatively priced Audi A4. However the oldest S60's are showing few signs of wear and tear, even very high mileage ex-company owned four year old examples. I have yet to see a tatty Volvo S60 on the road.

SAFETY 9 /10 If it comes to the worst, how well are you and your family going to come out of it.

Volvo may have changed their image totally over the last decade, but they were careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. All modern Volvo's remain top of class in terms of safety, the S60 is no exception.

As well as the many active safety features fitted as standard, the S60 has a very high dynamic safety factor when you drive it. Maybe it is Volvo's marketing that aids this impression psychologically, but as a driver I would assess this as the safest "feeling" car that I have ever driven.

THE INTERIOR:

ERGONOMICS 9 / 10 Before I can start the engine and drive away I need to feel at home in the "working environment". The relationship between the controls and how I, the driver, am able to instinctively operate those controls is, all important. This for me is make or break, before I drive a car, if it does not instinctively "feel" right in this department then I will never like it or ultimately buy it.

Following on from the safety aspect, the interior layout of controls, the superb driving position and well oiled movement of every switch and lever here reinforce the safe and built to last impression that you would expect of a Volvo. Two points of note are the superb looking and functioning instrument panel, incorporating a trip computer and the handbrake lever which looks awkwardly sited squashed between your seat and the central console, in use it falls perfectly to hand.

Not only well laid out, but it is also very good to look at this particular Volvo interior.

VISIBILITY: 8 / 10

Looking at the sleek shape of the S60, one could draw the conclusion, from the drivers' point of view, that it will suffer blind spots. This really is not the case, the sensibly sized door mirrors cover a very wide field of view. The windscreen wipers cover an excellently large area of the windscreen too.

You may curse the relatively poor steering lock on this car, but otherwise it is not at all difficult to park and is unusually easy to position correctly on the road.

SPACE: 7 / 10:

Probably the only cars in this size category to offer more interior space are the Mondeo and Vectra. Partly due to the slightly lower than average seating position, head room is good, front and rear, whilst the S60 feels particularly spacious for shoulder and elbow room compared to many others in the class.

Very surprising, again bearing in mind the svelte shape, is the cavernous boot, the rear seats fold individually too in order to extend the useable space through into the interior. A small criticism here, whilst the boot hinges are cleverly designed so as to take up no space as the boot closes, the overall boot opening area is rather small which restricts the loading of larger items.

STYLE 8 / 10:

Apart from the superb engine, my second prime reason for purchasing a Volvo S60 would be to enjoy the interior style and ambience. This is simply THE nicest interior in which to spend time, either as a passenger or as the driver. The dashboard is shaped in a way that very much puts the driver in control, but it is done in a stylish rather than Teutonic manner.

Unlike so many other interiors, that of our Honda being a typical example, Volvo have not used as many different materials and textures as they can cram into a car interior. The result is that the S60 interior "flows" and is easy on the eye, naturally it looks better in some colours than others, the paler materials looking more "Swedish cool" and aiding the impression of space.

MATERIALS, FIT & FINISH 9 / 10: Aspreys or Ratners?

Well this follows on from the theme above, an SE trimmed Volvo S60 has plenty of high quality Scandinavian leather in it. The "wood" trim strips that used to be standard are now optional, having been replaced by more modern looking aluminium items.

In the Sport version, there is an equally attractive combination of half leather, half cloth seats.

Overall this is an unusually attractive, high quality interior which goes some way towards justifying that high initial price.

AUDIO & CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEMS 8 / 10: Strange grouping?

Along with the good ergonomics, Volvo have ensured that the sophisticated climate control is operated by the most logical and simple to use controls that we have come across.

This particular system is actually far more sophisticated than the norm, as it incorporates sensors, detecting fumes and pollution that actually close down the air intakes, re-cycling the interior air until fresher conditions prevail outside.

The standard fit sound system is similarly easy to use and sounds superb too. There are several very expensive upgrades for this, why anyone would want to do so I cannot really understand.

ON THE ROAD……..

……Time to start it up and to offer you a driving assessment.

NOISE, VIBRATION & HARSHNESS 9 / 10 Silk purse or sow's ear?

This car is, in diesel terms, the proverbial silk purse!

In ordinary driving it is quiet, smooth running and entirely vibration free. The transmission (clutch and gearbox) is very well matched to the five cylinder, all aluminium engine.

The automatic version is, if anything, even quieter and more refined, although I have to tell you that I am a manual gearbox driver to the core, I have no hesitation in recommending the automatic if this is your preferred type of transmission though.

Due to the five cylinders, from the outside at tick over, or on start up, the Volvo does not sound like a diesel at all. Neither does it when you "open it up" making use of its' considerable performance. For the rally enthusiasts amongst you, think Audi Quattro, with the volume turned down, and that is what an S60 D5 sounds like at full bore.

This really is a diesel to appeal to petrol-heads!

PERFORMANCE 8 / 10 Sh*t off a shovel or a constipated tortoise?

There is nothing constipated about this car!

My original driving notes, made after first driving a D5 over three years ago now, described the performance as "towering". I was at the time comparing it to my 170bhp V6 Vauxhall Omega. At the time diesels did not figure very highly in my opinion, in terms of performance (and refinement) the Volvo S60 D5 was, as far as I am concerned, a landmark car - it converted me to diesel motoring!

Like all good diesels, it is not the outright acceleration from rest (the 0-60mph figure if you like) that impresses most here. It is the sheer relaxed flexibility which is most appreciated, the S60 D5 just picks up and goes without fuss and needs the absolute minimum of gearchanging to do so.

RIDE & HANDLING 7 / 10

Looking at the ultra-low 45 profile tyres fitted as standard to the 17 inch wheels, we were expecting the S60 to have a very unforgiving ride. Nothing could be further from the truth. It rides very comfortably on all surfaces - having been developed around these big wheels.

Usually a car that rides well, also handles well and up to a point the S60 D5 does. However, I would have to class the handling as "safe" rather than enjoyable. Certainly our own Honda Accord rides just as well, yet provides more enjoyment when driving rapidly on a twisty or undulating road. Whatever engine it is powered by, the S60 feels a little "dated" in the handling department when compared to the likes of a Mondeo, BMW 3 Series or even a Toyota Avensis.

CONCLUSION - Would I buy one myself and would we want to drive it to Poland in a day?

Yes, I would - albeit a second hand one now, and yes we would enjoy driving one of these to Poland in a day!

As a private purchase, new, the hefty depreciation rules a D5 S60 out as a sensible buy. As mine is a company owned car, and I therefore pay benefit in kind taxation on the CO2 emissions of my vehicle, the Honda Accord at 143g/km saves me a small fortune compared to the S60 D5's 174g/km.

After saying all of that, the S60 is really only let down here by the economics of running it. I would unhesitatingly purchase one privately second hand in preference to any other car in this market sector, including the Honda Accord which we currently run.

FINAL SCORE: 120 / 170 - 70.6%

The Saab 9-3 1.9TiD, the only S60 competitor so far reviewed on this basis scored 68.2%