Volvo V60 2014 Review

Volvo figured it had well and truly cast off age-old perceptions when it launched its all-new S60 in the second half of 2010 as the “sportiest Volvo sedan yet made.”

In addition to a host of then-new safety innovations including the crash-avoiding City Safety system as well as Pedestrian Detection technology, the svelte “coupe-style” Volvo sedan was well and truly oriented towards pleasing the driver with elevated levels of on-road dynamics and a range of punchy diesel and petrol engines.

Between 2010 and 2012, the S60, along with its wagon equivalent, the V60, was the biggest-selling Volvo other than the XC60 and XC90 SUVs until it was overtaken by the new V40 in 2013.

Clearly the S60/V60 range was due for a refresh and that is exactly what it got in October 2013 with modified looks (mainly concentrated on a new front end design), a bit more interior refinement and some upward steps in safety technology.

As well as an upgraded version of the company’s pioneering City Safety system, the new 60 series Volvos come with – or specify as optional – added safety technology including a cyclist detection system that is part of the optional Adaptive Cruise Control and augments the existing pedestrian detection system. Also optional are cornering lights that are an extension of the Active Bending Light system, improved blind spot monitoring, Cross Traffic Alert to help when reversing, and Active High Beam Control that sets out to remove from the driver all responsibility for dipping the headlights.

All this is the sort of stuff you would expect from a company that has stated that its long-term goal is to virtually remove car-related deaths from the road statistics.

However, while a lot of advanced safety technology is standard on the 60 series Volvos, it's a pity that so much of it remains optional.

Sitting comfortably in the prestige sector alongside the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4, the Volvo covers a wide spread of sedan and wagon variants using various diesel and petrol power plants, as well as all-wheel drive on the top-of-the-line six-cylinder T6 version.

Our test car was a V60 five-cylinder D4 turbo-diesel wagon, trimmed at Luxury level and carrying enough options to lift the $61,990 starting price to $69,115. Much of this was taken up by the $5000 Driver Support Pack that includes the Blind Spot Information System, Cross Traffic Alert, Driver Alert (with Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Aid, Active High Beam Control, Forward Collision Warning and Road Sign Information), Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning and Autobrake, Front parking sensors, and auto-dimming rear-view and side mirrors. On top of this were heated front seats ($375) and metallic paint ($1750).

In other words the V60 was a virtual mobile safety laboratory capable of out-guessing the driver when human reactions or perceptions weren't quite enough.

The jury is out whether or not this sort of technology eventually encourages lazy driving, although it is hard to ignore the decades-long decline in road deaths and the role played by modern car-safety technology.

Ambling down the freeway in the V60 D5, conscious of all the systems quietly working away in the background for your benefit is quite comforting, but there is still plenty of vital information being fed back to the driver.

The V60’s driver controls are intuitive enough for quick acclimatisation, although an analogue-style speedo – for most people – would be preferable over the digital readout that is part of the new-look instrument panel.

The Active High Beam Control is indicative of where after-dark technology is heading. The system is designed to operate automatically and does more than simply select high or low beam. When another car is approaching at night, the headlights go through a whole series of convolutions that blot out a very specific section of road occupied by the oncoming car, yet provide plenty of illumination around it. We didn’t try it, but it would be interesting to approach a V60 at night, in another car, to experience the effects.

The steering is weighted well enough (it swings from lock to lock in a quick 2.6 turns, although a few more degrees of turning and a tighter than 11.9 metres turning circle would be preferable) to help give a sense of security on the open road and the ride, on the standard 18-inch wheels, is best described as nicely controlled: Firm, but not jolting, yet soft enough to be comfortable.

And the front-drive V60 doesn’t mind a bit of throwing around. Even if Volvo isn't seen as dynamic in the same sense as a BMW, and mild front-drive understeer is the prevailing characteristic, there’s no problem putting the wagon to test on a sharp, winding and poorly-surfaced back-road. The V60's front seats do a good job too, keeping their occupants comfortable and fatigue-free on long journeys.

The 120kW five-cylinder 2.0-litre diesel winds out more power than its main BMW or Benz competitors – although slightly less than Audi's 130kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder – and its hefty 400Nm of torque gives it a decent edge over the rest.

On the road, the V60 D4 is sweet and unobtrusive, quiet anywhere except in an enclosed space and responsive to the accelerator pedal even at low rpm.

Perhaps we are getting more accustomed to forced induction engines, but it's becoming quite uncommon now to find a turbo engine that falls into the once-familiar and sometimes embarrassing low-rpm hole as it waits for the turbo to spool up. The Volvo's five-cylinder oiler just gets on with the job right from the get-go.

The official zero to 100km/h claim of 9.4 seconds isn't about to induce whiplash, but the figures don't tell the real story: With that 400Nm on tap, the V60 is swift to overtake on the open road, and barely notices long upgrades. The conventional six-speed Adaptive Geartronic auto is a smooth, intuitive shifter that is nicely matched to the turbo-diesel.

The D4 is neither the most economical, nor the cleanest in its class though. The official consumption claim is 6.0L/100km, where its BMW equivalent is quoted at 4.7L/100km. We recorded an average 7.0L/100km covering plenty of freeway kilometres on test. The 160g/km CO2 figure wasn't best in class either, well short, for example, of the BMW 318d wagon's 123g/km, or even the Benz C200 CDI's 144g/km.

Wagon packaging is something Volvo has always been pretty good at, but in the case of the V60, something has been lost along the way. The slinky style looks great on the road, but when you investigate the rear load area you’ll quickly discover it’s brought some compromises: there’s not an awful lot of cubic metres available.

The combination of a low roofline and a high floor limit space, while the “Tempa” space-saver spare straps onto the rear floor and gobbles up a lot of the 430-litre load area when all seats are in position. Previously the V60 utilised a repair kit, rather than a spare, to maximise the load area.

Volvo’s predilection for building-in safety is evident in the V60’s roll-up cargo barrier that can be located either behind the rear seat, or moved forward if the full fold-down facility is being used.

The back seat, too, is not the roomiest in class with tight legroom when a reasonably tall driver is behind the wheel. That said, the quality of the cushioning is exactly what you’d expect of a Volvo – passengers are held nicely in place and there’s support in the right places to make long trips as pleasant as possible.

Volvo may not have done an awful lot refreshing the looks of the V60, but improved safety systems are always welcome, even if a lot of the technology is a matter of owner choice. It will be interesting to note how many V60 buyers opt to pay an extra $5000 for the complete suite of safety technology.

Volvo V60 D4 Luxury pricing and specifications:
Price: $61,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 120kW/400Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.0L/100km (combined)
CO2: 160g/km (combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

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