[jfxavier]

The Volvo S60 T6 might not need a big intro here in Team BHP.

This was one of the cars that made a deep impression on me soon after the launch. Being used to the petrol cars, I wanted to upgrade to the T6 at some point of time when the pre-owned cars were entering the market. I wanted a car that is not kind of "Look at me" loud, but with the go to match the show. There were not many that would fall in that category.

Since this is not a car that is available in large numbers and the lack of brand snob value meant that only genuinely interested parties will look for buying it, the negotiations were not so drawn out. I knew exactly what I wanted and he knew what he was selling. We had almost agreed on the price, even before I went to have a look at the car. After an inspection & test drive, we went straight to price negotiation and settled the deal within a few hours. I made the payment and took the car home.

I took the car pre-owned, so there was not much picking and choosing of options etc. but a question of making sure that there are no big issues with the car that will surprise me later. The car was out of warranty and hence I had to live with the issues that the car came with. I took my friend (who is an automobile engineer) along with me to inspect the car. Looking at the car during the pre-purchase inspection, we felt that it was well maintained and the ASS history confirmed it.

I was having a Honda Accord at that time and hence you might find a few times I have made a comparison between the two, it's just my perception & am not saying that the two cars are similar.

Here are the likes & dislikes after driving the car initially (the odo read around 25000 when I got the car). Some things which I was expecting to dislike (after reading the Team-BHP review) were non-issues for me eg. the lack of rear seat space was not a big problem as our kids will be sitting behind normally.

Likes:
• Engine - Fantastic, responsive unit.
• Ride - Very controlled.
• Acceleration - Relentless & linear, no turbo lag.
• Fit & finish - Excellent quality.
• Built like a tank. Check out the door thickness!!

Dislikes:
• No reverse camera for a sedan with smallish view behind.
• No TPMS for a car that comes without a spare wheel.
• No paddle shifters or manual transmission option for a 300 bhp car!! what was Volvo thinking??
• All black interiors - I like a bit lighter shades and if I was buying it new, I would have opted the interiors differently.
• Too much electronics - As I am from an engineering background, we sometimes see more electronics in the controls as "more troubles later". But I also like the gizmos to play with.

Here's the Black Beauty - In the flesh.


Car specs (As when I took the car):
• 3.0 L Turbocharged Petrol Engine. 300 bhp, 440 Nm Torque.
• 6 speed Auto w/ Sport mode, Haldex AWD, DSTC, Adaptive Cruise control.
• City Safety, Collision warning w/ full Auto Brake & pedestrian detection, Driver alert control, Lane departure warning, Parking sensors(rear), Auto lights/ wiper, and a whole lot of buttons on the centre console.

Usage pattern:
I mostly use this car for long journeys or a late evening trip to meet my friends. 85% Highway use. Normally use the Hyundai i10 for all trips to town during daytime.

[jfxavier]

Exterior styling & design:
The car came with the front & rear sport cladding and the rectangular exh. tip, which I thought looked fantastic.


The styling grows on you after a while. The aggressive front end styling is not so obvious in the first look.


The coupe like roofline looks good, and the extra height of the boot is welcome for both good looks and boot space.


Overall build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps:
I must say that I am really impressed with the build quality, fit & finish.


The overall touch & feel of the panels is nice and design is very good with wooden & chrome styling inserts. Volvo being eco-friendly, uses water based paint & claims that 85% of the car is recycle-able. Feels good. The scratches & small dents etc. during the pre-purchase inspection showed that no denting/ painting job was done so far and I felt comfortable with it. I definitely prefer that to a spotless recently painted car. I was planning to do a cosmetic upgrade very soon.

The scratches, minor dents etc. that the car came with meant that I had to get the cosmetic looks sorted out to bring it up to a BHPian's standard. I had ordered the t-BHP stickers, but did not put it on till this job was done. The alloys were cleaned, polished & paint repaired where necessary. The minor dents were taken care of & paint damage repaired.

And since the car is black, I had to get the paint sealing job done. I think black is the most difficult colour to maintain. After evaluating various options, I went with Travancore Auto Spa, Trivandrum for the job.


Gireesh is very thorough and keen on the work that he is doing. He is so thorough that after completion of the job, he didn't like the results on a particular area of the car top & re-did the coating on that area, even though it meant extra job/ expenses and loss of time for him. I will write a separate thread on the job with more detailed pictures etc.


I have used quite a few pictures taken by Gireesh on this review. When I started making this thread I had used some of the older pictures that I had taken. But after seeing the pictures that Girish took, I replaced all of them. Thanks again.

Wheels & tyres:
The car came with the original alloys & tyres of size 235x40R18. Two tyres were renewed a while ago due to damaged sidewalls. So there were Pirellis & Contis on the wheels when I got the car. On the first week itself that I had the car, I managed to hit a perfect pothole and get a bulge on one of the Pzeros. The Conti CS3s were the original ones and now I was not at all happy. After getting to know the prices of the various tyre options that I had, I decided to get a set of four Michelin Supersports from tirerack.com.


I had written a separate thread in the Tyres section about it.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...vo-s60-t6.html

Interior design & quality (plastics, upholstery, fit & finish etc.):
The interiors are stylish and quality is very good.


I would have been happier with a more contemporary styled gear knob. I see that they have changed that in the next facelift. The LHD layout of the stalks on the steering and the bonnet opening latch control on the left foot-well needed getting used to. A few times I started the wiper instead of the turn indicator.

One of the things I decided to improve right away was to add a 12V outlet somewhere near the dashboard (The existing one is near the cup holder. I hate having liquids & electricity outlet near each other). More on that later.

Interior space & comfort...front & back:
I think the front seats on the S60 are one of the best.


I never felt tired after long drives. Maybe that has something to do with the overall driving experience as well. Even my better half told me that she liked the experience better than the Accord, especially through the twisty roads she felt much better.

Back seat space is just about adequate in my opinion (Maybe I don't keep my driving seat too far away from the steering).


If you put the passenger seat reeaaalllyy backwards, it will be a squeeze behind. But such a position of the seat is not safe I believe. I prefer to sit with the seatbelt in contact with my body all the time. No one ever complained to me about lack of space. But mostly my kids sit behind.

Driving position, ergonomics, controls & MID:
Finding your preferred driving position is a breeze on this car. The car's memory stores the seat position as well as the mirror position and the key id. So it's basically just start & go if you are the only one to use the particular key. The car came with two keys, that means a total of 6 positions can be saved in the memory.

The plethora of buttons needs getting used to. The owners will be very grateful that Volvo replaced the whole thing with a single touch screen in the new XC90. I must say that I have spent a few quality hours with the instruction manual learning all the functions. The various settings including the duration of the "take me home" lights, puddle lamps & automatic changeover of the AC to fresh air can be changed / customised.


The DIM module gave me hassle after the first week of ownership itself as the PCB mounted micro-speaker which gave alarm sound for all safety functions etc. went kaput. I was told a replacement will cost 1.5 Lakh Rs. I got the DIM removed and checked the speaker and re-wound the coil. The sound output was less due to the paper diaphragm used instead of the Mylar one. I got in touch with the Volvo Cars India management and after a few e-mails exchanged regarding the subject, they decided to replace the DIM free of cost, even though the car was well out of warranty. That was a really good experience from the ownership point of view.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-goodwill.html

Visibility & size of mirrors:
The mirrors are big and retracts when you lock the car (If you don't like it, you can change the settings). I liked the option to set the rear view mirror to tilt downwards while reversing. I preferred only tilting the passenger side ORVM & not the driver side one. The IRVM has an auto dimming function and works like a charm, excellent. But the rear visibility is below average when looking at the IRVM.

To offset this, I tried to get the BLIS (Blind spot information Sys.) as an accessory from Volvo, but the ASS said that they do not sell it in India anymore. Maybe its because most of the people who got it must be keeping it off in "Indian driving conditions".

Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness:
There are AC vents from the B pillars as well as in the middle for the rear passengers. The automatic changeover to fresh air had to be disabled using the settings as I did not like the "not so fresh" air from outside at some places. I was mostly concerned that the activated carbon filter might get saturated soon and I will have to renew it more often than normal. The activated carbon filter for the cabin AC takes away any odour present in the cabin. I really liked the freshness and the air quality. Volvo claims to be making one of the best AC in the business. The various sensors & filters does make a difference I think.

Audio system & sound quality:
I found the stock sound system to be adequate & having all necessary features. I must say that the bluetooth integration with my phone was seamless and the car display could show the complete address book, which the Map My India head unit on my Accord could not. There I used to see only the number and had to guess who is calling.

Interior storage, practicality & boot space:
The interior storage for small items is adequate, but at less than 400 ltrs the boot space is not going to get the award for being "the biggest in class". One of the first accessories that I got was a space saver spare tyre, but I think that did not change the boot space much as the tyre went into the same place as the puncture repair kit / compressor.

Engine performance & driveability:
Put the remote into the slot and press the button & the real show begins. I like the way the engine fires up, the starter is quieter than most of the cars. I don't think I must talk much about the way this engine performs, GTO has given a good description in the Official review.

The engine is so addictive, that I got the Polestar ECU remapping done by Volvo ASS. I guess another 25 bhp didn't hurt. Boy oh boy, if you see a guy with a BIG grin permanently pasted on his mug while driving an S60, that would be me. Never hesitant, always game for more. "Relentless" will be the one word that I would like to use while describing this engine.


Transmission:
Paddle shifters are sorely missed on this car. However the change in the nature of the beast when put to "sport" mode from the plain "drive" mode kind of makes up for it. If I feel the need to get away from anyone or anything, a slight push on the gear lever to the S mode and the transmission has shifted down already and is eager for that tap on the throttle so that the car can leap ahead. The amount of power/ torque available meant that I hardly ever used the manual shift mode. I am not into pushing the car to the limits etc. so for me the D and S modes were more than enough.

Overall NVH levels:
Nothing to complain about.

Fuel efficiency: City and Highway
I felt that if I drive reeeaaallly sedately, I could get double digit mileage. But I never got to see it and guess I could put the blame on the way this engine behaves.

Suspension & ride quality:
Suspension is on the firmer side. Well sorted out on high speeds. Ride quality is very good, even at low speeds it is more comfortable than a 3 series on run-flats in my opinion.

Handling, on-road behaviour, grip levels, stability, body roll & turning radius:
The grip levels and stability provided by the suspension, AWD & Torque vectoring are something that has to be experienced. Maybe the extra usage of brakes for torque vectoring is the reason why the ASS told me that the brake pads have to be renewed sooner than later (odo 28000 km so far).

Body roll is well controlled. Even my better half told me that she liked the experience better than the Accord, especially through the twisty roads she felt much better. Maybe that has a bit to do with the body control of the car.

The electronic traction control & stability program cannot be switched off completely and so you can forget about sliding the car around in style.

The turning radius is a bit high. Maybe due to the wider tyres in use.


Since the car is used mostly for long distance travels, I did not have any big issues but if someone used this car as a daily commute to the office or something like that maybe he would like a shorter turning radius.

Steering:
This car came with all black steering (older ones had beige) and a whole lot of buttons & knobs, but without paddle shifters!!!

The settings for steering wheel force can be changed & I liked the medium setting.

Braking:
The brakes are more than adequate for all normal speeds. I guess the more powerful the car is, the better the brakes provided are.
A mention has to be made about the automatic braking function of the car, which has been activated a couple of times so far (You get a message on the DIM). Atleast on one occasion I though that I had enough time remaining before panicking. I reduced the sensitivity of the system down by one level after that.

The first owner had opted for the pedestrian detection function as well, which I tested by standing in front of the car while my wife rolled it on in idle speed. She refused to volunteer and stand in front of the car while I tested it at higher speeds.

What has this world come to??

Ground clearance:
Although the car stance is low at 135 mm GC (Very good stability at high speeds) the lack of ground clearance was not a big issue on normal speed breakers etc. as the suspension is stiff enough not to make the car dip further just after going over the speed breaker and I thought that the Accord with its soft suspension set up was touching more speed breakers than the S60. A few times I was surprised to not hear the crunchy sound I was expecting.

Niggles, problems or part replacements:
The DIM (instrument cluster) of the car stopped giving alarm soon after I got the car. Volvo has decided to replace the DIM. Impressed with the decision & should be applauded.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-goodwill.html

I had a bulge on the front left tyre, probably due to a pothole. I replaced all tyres with Michelin Supersports. There is a separate thread detailing the purchase from tiretack.com
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...vo-s60-t6.html

Quality of after-sales service:
I have been to at least two Volvo service centres & must say that the experiences have been very good so far. Compared to their average customer, I must have been more demanding/ inquisitive & they were very courteous and dealt with all my demands appropriately.

Cost of upkeep & maintenance:
Comparing the price of the parts & expenses, I expect this car to cost me less than the Germans, but more than Japanese for sure.

Upgrades/ Projects:
I will write about the various upgrades I did on a separate post in this thread later. Meanwhile I hope that you enjoyed the review as much as I am enjoying the drive.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved from Assembly Line to Long-Term Ownership Reviews. Thanks for sharing.

[reignofchaos]

Let me be the first to say congrats. You managed to snag a good preowned deal. Too bad Volvo stopped selling this model now in India.

I'll be looking for a new ride the coming year and this car was on top of my list. Too bad I won't get it now as preowned ones are almost impossible to get.

[GTO]

Congratulations! You've really gotten the mother of pre-worshipped cars, haven't you

The best part about all these new launches is the effect on the pre-owned market . Fans of used cars like us never had a better choice. Just wait another 4 - 5 years and there will be V8s, AMGs, Ms and Porsches for everyone!

I fondly remember the S60 T6. It's the only car that we repeatedly went up & down our favourite ghat section for (IIRC, repeated the Igatpuri ghats thrice in succession). What fun.

You're going to be flying low in this car. Congrats again!

[Dieselritzer]

Volvo replaced the part under goodwill? Wow, such companies do exist. The car looks absolutely stunning. Just a question, we all know that the number of Volvo workshops are limited, so does the company have any tie ups with other brands to service volvo cars under emergency?

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Volvo replaced the part under goodwill? Wow, such companies do exist. The car looks absolutely stunning. Just a question, we all know that the number of Volvo workshops are limited, so does the company have any tie ups with other brands to service volvo cars under emergency?

Volvos are way more reliable than the average germans according to most ownership reports. In fact their reliability rating rival most of the better Japanese manufacturers.

I won't be surprised if the car never ever requires any emergency maintenance.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Nice. Was almost halfway through the review when I noticed the car is from Kerala. I'm sure you must be having a good time on the twisty kerala roads. Congrats.

By the way- Do you have a dealer at Trivandrum? Or need to visit Cochin for service?

Travancore Auto Spa seems to be getting some very good reviews. I'm also planning to visit them soon.

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Volvo replaced the part under goodwill? Wow, such companies do exist. The car looks absolutely stunning. Just a question, we all know that the number of Volvo workshops are limited, so does the company have any tie ups with other brands to service volvo cars under emergency?

The nearest Volvo ASS is in Kochi.
Me being an engineer and a hands on kind of guy, I suspect the visits to the ASS may not be that frequent.
I think I will time it with my routine visit to Kochi.
Hopefully will not need to call a breakdown service.

[4nd3r50n]

Congratulations on the new ride. THe S60 looks stunning in black! I've always felt that the S60 was an under-appreciated car. You really have to look through it's looks to realize it's worth. Being a Volvo, it's needless to say that this car will serve you well. On a side note, the S60 is on my upgrade wishlist- perhaps a few years down the line.

[puchoo]

Many congratulations and have fun , i love Volvo's , not sure if i can ever convince myself to spend that much on a car but the S60 really stands out for me , turns my head everytime i see one here in Delhi!

[johannskaria]

Congrats !

The sport claddings and the Exhaust tip make it look exquisite!
Hope to see you zoooooooom by someday!

[akhil_007]

Congrats on such a fine sedan, which I must say is way better than Big 3 Germans. I m a big fan of Volvo cars and whenever I see one, I fix my gaze in amazement till the car disappears out of sight. It Oozes Understated Elegance(Oxymoron, you see!!). If I have the moolah, I m gonna plonk it on Volvo any day. Thanks for the pics.

Can you give us an approximate range of the price you paid? No need to quote exact figure

Do keep updating the thread with more pics and ownership details.

[drmohitg]

Stunning car. So this is the second Volvo you got right? What was the price you paid for this?

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Stunning car. So this is the second Volvo you got right? What was the price you paid for this?

No drmohitg, This is the my first Volvo.
Maybe a little late with the review