In-depth reviews

Volvo S60 saloon (2010-2018): owner reviews

“The Volvo S60 is a handsome, comfortable and subtle alternative to conventional executive saloons from Audi, BMW and Mercedes”

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by Richard Ingram

29 Apr 2019

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Carbuyer Rating

3.2 out of 5

Owners Rating

2.9 out of 5

Reviews

Owner Reviews

5 out of 5
4 out of 5
3 out of 5
2 out of 5
1 out of 5

39%of people would recommend this car to a friend

Common Problems

Suspension, Other (1 case)
Engine (3 cases)
Electrics, Other (2 cases)
Electrics (1 case)
Other (1 case)

Review 1 of 18

Tell us what you think about your car?

Comfortable seats, reasonable economy, quite powerful and good on motorways. However, on our country roads, with their ruts and pot holes, the car is awful! The suspension is far too firm and the car often follows raised white lines, ruts etc. making it a handful in everyday use. There are a multitude of squeaks and rattles and for a car costing over £32,000 new, it is a disgrace! Fortunately, I bought the car when it was 6 months old from the main dealer, for a little over half the list price. But, my wife's Skoda Octavia is a far better car. It' roomier, doesn't rattle at all and cost less, even brand new. The steering issues don't appear to be unique to the S60, as my previous car, a 2007 S40, developed the same wayward tendencies, at about the same mileage (approx. 28,000) Anyone else had similar issues?

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Problems with water loss due to head gasket issues @ 35000 miles. Currently have alternator pulley noise..suspect bearing

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

I bought this car on the basis of sustainability, emissions, fuel consumption an build quality, all of which have let me down very badly from day one. The fuel consumption is a joke, i got more out of my previous BMW 3 series. Then it started to break down on a daily basis. Now, two days after my service last week the engine management light came on again.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

I went for the S60 with the new Volvo D4 engine which can do 0-60 in under 7secs but Government official MPG is still over 70 and CO2 99g. I have now had the car for six weeks and find it very pleasant to drive and very quick if you want it to be. It's comfortable and well equipped with a decent stereo system which has a 20GB hard drive onto which you can load your own music or listen via a USB key or bluetooth. It also comes with SatNav and Bluetooth as standard. The bluetooth "remembers" up to 5 phones and so makes it easy for any one in the family to automatically connect on entry to the car. I upped the spec on mine to include the TFT display which gives three options for the screen which is fun, Folding Mirrors and rain sensing wipers. Having had the car now, it only comes with rear parking sensors and I wish I had ordered the optional front sensors also as the driving position is quite low and gives no reference points on the front of the car to judge distance. Being a Volvo, it has all sorts of safety kit including a big brother braking system which automatically prevents you from running into the car in front or a pedestrian at speeds under 30 mph. I asked my wife to test if that was working but she would not stand in front of the car to try! I was less keen on there being no spare wheel as standard with just one of those aerosol seal and inflate cans in the boot. I took the option to order a space saver wheel but as standard that comes in a bag which just lies about the boot floor so I also went for an optional boot kit for that which raises the floor height and allows the wheel and jack to be stored under it. Downside is that it reduces the size of what is already a fairly small boot. Its big enough for myself and my wife as our kids are all grown and away but it could be a problem for families, especially young families needing to carry prams and other baby paraphernalia. My other gripe is that I have not yet achieved anywhere near the government MPG figure. I did not expect to but did expect to get more than the 48mpg average so far. The car has only done around 1200 miles so maybe that will improve. Finally, my wife is less keen on it as she does not like the stop start system at traffic lights (despite being told she can switch it off) and the automatic parking brake. To be honest, for a while I felt I needed an extra hand when parking as the key socket and stop/start button are on the left and the handbrake button is low down on the right. It's just different after 40 years of driving cars with a central handbrake lever on my left and conventional ignition key to the right. Volvo say their system is safer as ignition keys have wrecked countless knees in accidents and that sound quite a good reason for their layout! Overall I am happy with my purchase and so far there have been no niggles or delivery faults. I have scored it 4/5 due to no spare wheel as standard plus lower than expected MPG.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

This is the worst car I have ever bought. I have only had it for 8 weeks, and it has already been back to Volvo 5 times. The trouble I have had is with SRS airbag warning light and the low oil warning light. I would keep away from Volvos

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Overall very reliable other than 2 cylinder liners cracked allowing water and oil to mix and whole engine was replaced under warranty at 1 year and 28,000 miles. Vehicle did not breakdown, but was down on power etc.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

I am very pleased

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

I've never had any problem or failure. I've managed 50mpg on average over 3 years, according to my Fuelio app (extra urban). If I drive only in London traffic jams I get around 25mpg. When I bought it the suspension was okay but after another 40k on London roads it completely lost comfort. It has very good acceleration and my best fuel economy on along motorway trip was around 58 mpg. After 6 years the leather still looks like new and it has very good seats. I'm really sorry that I need to sell it because is not Euro6 compliant.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

The ergonomics of the car are appalling I have a bruise on my left forearm from changing gear with a phone charger plugged in due to the charger being vertical out from the centre console. Fuel economy: The Euro III D5 (166g/km) in my hands averaged mid-40’s to the gallon, the Euro V D3 (139g/km) averages 38 for the same journeys. That is some trick increasing fuel usage whilst reducing emissions. The door rattles others have mentioned also feature on my car. On the plus side the car is a great long distance vehicle which is why the previous generation S60 was replaced by another, something I have never done before, replacing a car with the updated version. My biggest gripe is with the manufacturer and dealer network. I bought through VolvoSelekt thinking they would have the best of the used range. My car was advertised with a full Volvo service history. Volvocars service promise is a software update with every service. My car recently suffered an infotainment melt down. The solution? A software update. The car will not accept any software updates, I am now questioning whether or not this car has had any updates since PDI and if not, how does this qualify as a full service history? Volvocars appears not to have an answer to that and I still have a car which does not accept updates and crashes and reboots the centre console on a random basis. Don’t think I’ll have another Volvo. It’s too much like hard work getting them to deliver on their “promises”. A real triumph of marketing over design, such a good looking saloon, such a sad disappointment.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Tell us what you think about your car?

Engine over-runs occasionally when switched off.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

Comfortable, reliable. Economy not as it should be. Too many auto features for my liking, e.g. automatic adjustment of side mirrors when reverse parking, they can be switched off, but not easily manually controlled, unless stationary. The boot should be bigger and i don't like that there is no spare wheel, which is replaced by the "wheel repair kit". Never used one and i dred the moment i have to use it.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

Yes Green thumbs up

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

Tell us what you think about your car?

THE ENGINE/TRANSMISSION ARE FINE BUT VOLVO SERVICE HAS BEEN SO-SO AND WARRANTY WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN QUESTIONED.

Would you recommend the car to a friend?

No Red thumbs down

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