Thought I'd post a progress report on my V60 after six months and 7000 miles. It's the 2016 model with 8-speed auto and the 191hp D4 engine.
So, the good...
* Exceptionally comfortable and a nice place to be. Passengers rave about how good the seats are.
* Pretty nippy from a standing start, even more so on country roads in Sport mode. Considering the power the traction control is remarkably restrained. Wheels will spin on a wet road though if you're careless.
* Excellent infotainment setup, even pulls album art from my iPod.
* BLIS / ACC / City Safety etc brilliant. Not really tested city safety (though did get a warning when I wasn't paying attention and the car in front stopped). Tested it on a shop dummy wrapped in a coat, seemed to work.
* Active High Beam is really clever, but sometimes it's lazy about dipping for oncoming traffic - this tends to be when the oncoming car has a bulb out so I'm not particularly bothered about dazzling them.
The not so good...
* The City Safety does tend to trigger false alarms (audio warning only) when driving down narrow streets with cars parked on the pavement. You also learn the hard way not to go rocketing up to car park barriers that overhang the bonnet.
* The lane assist will suddenly, for no reason, occasionally put quite a large steering input in which would send you flying out of the lane if you weren't paying attention. In the same sense it's also lazy about getting you back into your lane, and if there was a car next to you you'd hit it before getting a warning or intervention. Seems me it would make more sense to nudge you back to the middle of the lane before you leave it, not after you've crossed the white lines.
* The automatic wipers suck. Despite being on full sensitivity they don't wipe fast enough.
* The airbag cover in the boot rattles like crazy. It's got some tape stuck over it now as a temporary fix and I shall aim not to crash in the near future.
* The sat nav will lead you on some really weird routes. Not to be trusted IMHO (set to "fast with traffic adaptation").
And the terrible:
* The fuel economy. Jesus. It was actually pretty good when I got it (60 on a long run) and it's steadily fallen into the mid-40s on the motorway and less around town. Sit at 80 and you'll do sub-40. Not sure if this is a fault or not.
* The gearbox can occasionally get a bit confused about how to shift from 2nd - 3rd, and under moderate acceleration this leads to the revs shooting up to about 4000rpm as the box deselects 2nd, followed by a bang and a jerk as it finally finds the gear it wants.
It's worth noting that at least 80% of the whinge points about relate to items all linked to one component of the car - the camera - and I'm wondering if it's either a bit wonky in the housing or needs recalibrating. Will ask the dealer (skipped the 3 month check-up as busy with work but will try to slot it in this month).
I'd still buy it again, and will probably get another in 3 years when the new model is out, especially if it includes Volvo's under development autonomous driving package.
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Sat 2 Jan 16 at 15:36
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>> And the terrible:
>> * The fuel economy. Jesus. It was actually pretty good when I got it (60 on a long run) and it's steadily fallen into the mid-40s on the motorway and less around town. Sit at 80 and you'll do sub-40. Not sure if this is a fault or not.
It's normal to pussyfoot in a new vehicle. With familiarity the throttle foot becomes heavier. It isn't an entirely conscious process.
A dose of injector cleaner can help with economy (don't cook yr catalyser with it though, follow the instructions).
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Very interesting, FF, particularly as the V60 is on my shortlist for later this year. We had a good run in one a few months ago (all credit to Yeovil Volvo for letting us out in it or our own) and liked it a lot. SWMBO has an arthritis knee, and the one problem with my otherwise brilliant Octavia vRS estate is the side bolster on the seats, which holds you securely once in, but which she finds very awkward when getting in and out.
It would be higher up the list if Volvo offered a decent petrol engine with it. For logic-defying reasons known only to men in suits, there is a 2.0 petrol with manual transmission but only a 1.6 with the automatic. My Octavia is a petrol and on a long run, cruising at 75 mph, I can get 40+ mpg. It makes you wonder, given your disappointing returns, whether diesels are worth it any more.
Final point - I think I remember the electronic parking brake switch being down by the driver's right knee. Am I making that up? - if not do you find it a problem? EPBs are bad enough anyway, as an answer to a problem nobody had, without the switch being inaccessible as well.
Last edited by: Avant on Sat 2 Jan 16 at 16:39
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>> Final point - I think I remember the electronic parking brake switch being down by
>> the driver's right knee. Am I making that up? - if not do you find
>> it a problem? EPBs are bad enough anyway, as an answer to a problem nobody
>> had, without the switch being inaccessible as well.
>>
Presents absolutely no issue at all to me, on reflection seems a fairly sensible location for it. Push to engage, pull to release.
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>> >> Final point - I think I remember the electronic parking brake switch being down
>> >> by the driver's right knee.
>>
>> Presents absolutely no issue at all to me, on reflection seems a fairly sensible location
>> for it. Push to engage, pull to release.
...although presumably you don't need to release it as it does that automatically? Took me a while to realise it did that when I got the A3, but once I did I liked it a lot more :)
Last edited by: Focusless on Sun 3 Jan 16 at 12:31
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As with the demise of youth clubs, the likely extinction of proper hand brakes will just lead to a further lack of entertainment opportunities for young people.
How the heck can you practise handbrake turns and j turns on Asda car parks late at night with an electronic handbrake?
They haven't thought this through you know.
;-)
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Talking of side bolsters on seats, I used to road rally, back in the old days, an RS2000. Buckets and four point harness. My mum was probably in her fifties then and got quite excited when she was strapped in. Still does, bless her.
I wish I could get my car to cruise at 75 on the motorway.... Mind you the, probably inaccurate, trip computer is currently showing 32.6 mpg so if I were really restrained I could probably get pushing 40. But it's not going to happen.
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FF, excuse the ignorance, and I am not a daily visitor to here, but I seem to remember you were getting a top of the range Insignia estate fully loaded? What happened with that?
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>> FF, excuse the ignorance, and I am not a daily visitor to here, but I
>> seem to remember you were getting a top of the range Insignia estate fully loaded?
>> What happened with that?
>>
Got rid. Clutch was seeing my knee to an early grave during stop-start traffic on the drive to work.
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Must have taken a huge hit on that?
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>> Must have taken a huge hit on that?
>>
Voluntary termination on 0% finance. Not really an issue.
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My Octavia is a petrol and on a long run, cruising at 75 mph, I can get 40+ mpg. It makes you wonder, given your disappointing returns, whether diesels are worth it any more.
I think you've fallen into the 'on a run' trap there, Avant. You're comparing your petrol engine, under something like ideal conditions (I presume it has a very tall sixth gear) with what a diesel in a car of similar weight and performance will achieve day in, day out in all kinds of traffic (41 mpg for my six-cylinder BMW diesel.)
Incidentally, diesel drivers (except those who believe their fuel computer; mine shows a long-term average of 44 mpg but doesn't offer a per-trip calculation) don't really get 'on a run' figures to mislead themselves and others with. It's very hard to maintain those ideal conditions for all of the 600 miles it takes to get to the next fill-up!
Last edited by: WillDeBeest on Sun 3 Jan 16 at 14:11
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>> Incidentally, diesel drivers (except those who believe their fuel computer; mine shows a long-term average
>> of 44 mpg but doesn't offer a per-trip calculation) don't really get 'on a run'
>> figures to mislead themselves and others with.
Don't believe it, there's plenty of people kidding themselves about mpg, plenty of them have diesels!
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Exactly, and I don't - hence mentioning the true value of 41. I seldom even look at it - keep it on miles-to-empty and try to keep the total of that and miles-since-full above 600.
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My 320 does around 47 unbridled - I manage around 52 mpg on my commute driving like a fart.
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E250 pretty much the same RP. Pretty good for a big heavy automatic I think.
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>> E250 pretty much the same
>>
Fraternising with the chauffeur, Runfer?
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It's either that or lie down next to the long box in the back.
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>> It's either that or lie down next to the long box in the back.
If not actually in it. Much more comfortable.
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>> If not actually in it. Much more comfortable.
>>
As long as one doesn't fall asleep.
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Heh heh ! I had a school friend who's father had a limousine hire business, they did wedding cars mainly and funerals in conjunction with a local undertaker.
My pal used to 'borrow' one occasionally if we were going to a fancy dress or something.
Suffice it to say, some idiot would usually get in a coffin in the back and play the part of the corpse.
Whenever we stopped at traffic lights or whatever, it used to get a bit of a reaction when he lifted the lid and raised a bottle of Holsten Pils in toast to passers by...
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>> Heh heh ! I had a school friend who's father had a limousine hire business,
>> they did wedding cars mainly and funerals in conjunction with a local undertaker.
>>
>> My pal used to 'borrow' one occasionally if we were going to a fancy dress
>> or something.
>>
>> Suffice it to say, some idiot would usually get in a coffin in the back
>> and play the part of the corpse.
Friend of mine was an undertaker, we used the hers to go down to Brighton for a p-up one evening. Got pulled over for speeding on the A23 by plod. "where are you going so quickly" they asked. "Going for a burn-up" we replied.
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...we used the hers...
There are His and Hers hearses?
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"I think you've fallen into the 'on a run' trap there, Avant."
No - that's why I said 'on a long run'. About 34 mpg on short journeys, overall average 37-38 mpg. Still good for a petrol.
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>> * The gearbox can occasionally get a bit confused about how to shift from
>> 2nd - 3rd, and under moderate acceleration this leads to the revs shooting up to
>> about 4000rpm as the box deselects 2nd, followed by a bang and a jerk as
>> it finally finds the gear it wants.
I presume that this is one of the work of Satan automated manual DSG type things rather than a proper TC slushbox ?
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>> I presume that this is one of the work of Satan automated manual DSG type
>> things rather than a proper TC slushbox ?
Traditional autobox. 99% of the time smooth as silk except when it cocks it up. The design of the box is effectively two 4-speed boxes bolted together, so I think this is the shift between boxes.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 2 Jan 16 at 23:05
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>>automated manual DSG type things
Ever seen a non-auto DSG? How would one control two clutches? It's not an automated manual gearbox. It's an auto gearbox with two clutches and gears in two banks etc. Not everyone like them of course and there are reports of reliability issues with the dry clutch variety*.
* My dry clutch DSG box is doing fine so far.
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>> * The fuel economy. Jesus. It was actually pretty good when I got it
>> (60 on a long run) and it's steadily fallen into the mid-40s on the motorway
>> and less around town. Sit at 80 and you'll do sub-40. Not sure if this
>> is a fault or not.
You've got a performance ish type car with an auto box, so i'd suggest 'no' to the fault.
As an example, my 2.0d manual estate with the 130bhp Ford engine, (re-mapped to about 165 -170 bhp) will show 60mpg on the trip if you drive it like a nun.
The last time I achieved 60mpg was following someone in the Scottish Highlands on a single track road, letting them take all the risk and allowing me to keep moving in a higher gear than normal.
However, flogging the backside out of it at higher m/way speeds with a big roof box, I've had as low as 28mpg.
V high speed m/way work is about 38 - 39 mpg and locally around Dartmoor never properly warmed up it's about 36 mpg.
Now yours is 10 years newer and therefore a lot more efficient..but .. has a bit more poke and the auto box...so about right IMO.
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I'm on same page as Westpig (for once!!)
Both our cars are 1.6 manual diesels, 115PS in the 'lingo and 90PS in the Roomster.
In both cases, whether absolutely accurate or not, the instant fuel consumption readouts amply show how rapidly 'making progress' (or towing) degrade fuel consumption.
Both can do 50mpg. Both can cruise all day at 80mph.
Neither can do both at same time.
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A fair review FF, however I would be banging on the dealers door with a rattling trim more so on a £30k + car.
I fancy an auto for the next car (still a few years left however until that happens).
Almost 200hp and 40mpg, not too shabby. Horses for courses (literally) in your case. My 07 2.0 Toyota diesel averages 55 mpg (to the trip) on my daily run but the long uphill M18 slog I make for that 3 mile section has it down to 31mpg at 70mph (17-21mpg at 80+ and pulling).
Dads bigger Avensis estate with almost the same engine only averages 5mpg less.
Side note, a colleague commented before xmas that he has done 40k in 2015 in his ageing 2.5 TDI Touareg, can you imagine the fuel bills there!
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What airbag do you have in your boot?
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...one that blows on the motorway at 85mph and obscures the rear number-plate.....
A recent addition.
;-)
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I have the same D4 engine / 8-speed auto box combination in my 2014 V70, albeit in 181hp tune.
Initially the MPG was c. 42mpg, but as the miles went on this really improved. Whether this was my driving style adapting to a FWD auto (after a RWD manual), or the engine loosening up I am not sure. Had it averaging 48 / 49MPG on a daily run and over 50mpg on a longer trip involving M/Ways, but it is so influenced by a concious effort to be more gentle on the loud-pedal.
Since the Michelin Cross-Climates went on MPG has dropped by a couple of MPG which is annoying, but the traction from the off is considerably better. Difficult to get the wheels to even think of spinning.
No rattles and squeeks in mine. The only issue I had was a tortoise symbol appearing on the dash telling me that I was in limp-home mode (although actually I had full power there) and on investigation is was something to do with a fault in the engine management system (possibly the DPF?)and known to be a simple repair job, although we had to wait for a part from Sweden.
All Volvo's going forward will have just one of 2 engines, a 2.0 diesel and a 2.0 petrol, with various turbos, super-chargers / electric bolt on's to up or lower power output, so a petrol auto may come along for the person earlier who mentioned a desire for one.
I am pretty darn happy with mine, albeit a rare sight on the road being about to be replaced by the V90 in due course. The discounts possible on the run-out V70's were massive when I got mine - especially if you look at brokers. Also ex-demo fully specced examples are so cheap. Worked out a lot cheaper than a V60 and the spec is very generous too.
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V60 - six months on - Armel Coussine
