Volvo S60 T5 2019 Review

There’s plenty of discussion about Porsche, BMW and Benz becoming SUV companies, but what about Volvo?

Check out the Chinese-owned Swedish brand’s Aussie website and you’ll find it currently sells no traditional low-riding passenger cars.

It is for all and intents and purposes an SUV company.

But that will change in the next few months. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and under ‘coming soon’ you’ll find listed the S60 mid-size luxury sedan.

More specifically, expect the third-generation Volvo S60 here in August.

Carsales.com.au has already sampled the new S60 as a twin-turbocharged T6 and petrol-electric hybrid T8.

But this time it’s our first drive of the entry-level single-turbo 2.0-litre petrol T5 on Volvo’s homeground in Sweden.

The Australian S60 line-up will comprise the T5 and T8. The T6 is under consideration but not part of the launch line-up.

Before we get to that, a disclaimer. The car in the Volvo S60 T5 specification we’re driving here isn’t actually coming to Australia.

We’re sampling a front-wheel drive version of the T5, but in Australia this model will come with all-wheel drive.

So, this is more about sampling the engine and the ambience of the S60 variant that is expected to sell in the biggest numbers.

We’ll qualify that by saying not even Volvo Cars Australia expects the S60 to be a big seller, but that doesn’t mean it’s just rolling the arm over on the S60 T5 AWD.

There will be three trim levels – Momentum, Inscription and R-Design -- for this model and a Polestar tune for the T6 and T8.

The promise is it will come with more equipment than the equivalent BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-class for the same sort of money.

So that means an equipment baseline that probably includes a bevy of driver-assist functions led by autonomous emergency braking and the semi-autonomous Pilot Assist system.

It also indicates a price starting at around $65,000 pus on-road costs, bearing in mind the cheapest C-class is the C 200 at $63,700 and the cheapest 3 Series for now is the 320d at $67,900.

Warranty and servicing costs are an interesting question. At the moment VCA offers a three-year warranty and a servicing schedule that’s quite expensive.

Both are under review, so there might be changes soon. It’s worth asking about if you are serious about S60.

In terms of real estate the S60 certainly delivers bang for buck. It’s appreciably longer and wider than the new G20 BMW 3 series and it dwarfs the five-year-old Mercedes-Benz W205 C-Class.

There’s plenty of room up-front, while legroom is ample in the rear if a little knees-up. Headroom may be tight for people beyond 180cm. The centre seat is compromised for legroom by the exhaust tunnel.

The boot offers 442 litres of luggage space, but ramps up toward the rear bulkhead.

Seats are great -- especially in the front – and there is no shortage of storage spaces. This is a very user-friendly car.

The same can be said when you hit the road. Based on Volvo’s SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform that underpins all 60 and 90 series Volvos, the S60 displays a level of handling balance and steering crispness unknown in its predecessors.

Caveat; this impression was formed on pretty open and smooth Swedish roads, so the jury is definitely out on what will happen when the S60 encounters a stretch of Sydney suburban bitumen, or a crap country highway.

Perhaps forebodingly, the test car felt quite taut in R-Design tune on Swedish roads, with notable impact at low speeds. The ride seemed to smooth out as speeds rose.

The single-turbo engine from the new-ish Drive-E range makes a meaty 184kW and 350Nm and claims a 0-100km/h sprint in 6.5 seconds. That’s not all that quick these days and to be frank that’s how the S60 feels when you tromp the throttle.

It gathers its skirts without fuss or noise and melds neatly with its eight-speed auto, but it’s never strong like a BMW 330i is.

Some of that has got to be due to the kerb weight, which is close to 1700kg before you add extras… like people. The AWD version will be heavier but Volvo claims it’s 0.1sec quicker to 100km/h.

This mechanical tuning is all unrecognisable from the previous S60 and other old Volvos. It is a confidence-inspiring thoroughbred to drive and yet more proof of SPA’s fundamental quality.

Of course, this new-found dynamism combines with a typically refined, functional and handsome interior.

The S60 R-Design’s leather isn’t that special, but there’s a really handsome metallic trim that splits the dashboard and adds character.

That combines with a minimalist approach to the button array. Most important cabin comfort functions are achieved via the 9.0-inch touch-screen which dominates the centre stack, while the instrument panel is digital.

Audi volume is still controlled via dial, which makes sense, but most functions are dealt with on the screen via a swipe and a finger touch.

There is one ergonomic faux pas though; it’s very easy to roll the palm of your right hand over the buttons on the right-hand steering wheel spoke as you turn left and activate the radio.

The S60 goes on sale in Australia in August in T5, T6 and T8 guises. The V60 wagon is expected here in September/October and the V60 Cross Country in 2020.

Yeah, good question. Primarily, people who aren’t rusted on to buying German luxury cars. That doesn’t leave many, does it?

There will be the Volvo loyalists attracted by the safety standard and the interior quality, but people could also buy this car simply on the basis of its exterior looks. It really is handsome.

We’ve already listed the obvious rivals for the S60 and to them you can add the Audi A4, Jaguar XE, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Infiniti Q50 and Lexus IS300.

Gauged against that competition the Volvo S60 feels right up there (previous caveats noted of course). And why not? The XC60 and XC40 have both proved what a rich vein of form the Swedes are in right now.

No, this specific variant of the S60 isn’t coming to Australia, but something a lot like it is. And it will deservedly find some happy homes.

How much does the 2019 Volvo S60 T5 AWD cost?
Price: $65,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder
Output: 184kW/350Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel: 7.1-8.0L/100km (WLTP Combined)
CO2: 161-181 g/km (WLTP Combined)
Safety rating: N/A