V60 Business edition 6months 18k in

[harvsurrey]

Well time came today for the first service on the V60, so i though i would put fingers to keys and throw in a few pics of the last 6 months.

I have come from the Lexus/Audi/Bmw line of cars for business, but as the tax burdens become greater, and my need for some extra capacity inside grew i had to look for a different choice.

By way of an act of pure fate i swapped my last Audi out with a collegue for a V50 Rdesign , despite it being a practical estate it was a hatefull car and the list of failures is lengthy and i won't bore you with them.

However i spent so much time at my volvo dealership i grew to like the way they handled issues (big thumbs up to Squire Furneaux Hersham) and realised that certainly Volvo aftersales was as good as Lexus and better than BMW and Audi.

When the car list came round i had all manner of choices ,including a list of Vand S 60's

I studied the list i had from R Designs down to ES models and went to visit my dealer , however ES had been replaced with Bus edition and had lots of toys for a big tax saving , however i could not live with the little wheels and no leather.
So we priced a D4 (unfortunately no D5 bus ed ) with leather and 17's (hate the ride on 18's after previous cars) and it came well in budget so that was done.

Great tax savings , all the toys i wanted , and a swift enough car. I might add i am a little spoilt at home as i have an old 911 , a nice V8 S4 audi and a pocket rocket legend in a Clio 172 cup also on the drive so i needed something with ooomf !!




So how have the first 6 months been ?

well the ride on the 17's is great , snow is a little bit of an issue as the tyres on the 17's are wide at 235-45-17 , however for a trip to the alps i bought some of the Maggi trak quick fit chains.
I might add they are not quick on the first fit but after the first go its literally 30 seconds and no reaching over the back of a filthy tyre , youtube will show you how they fit ,but you drive them on .
They are also adjustable to fit from 16 to 18 inch wheels ,another bonus with multiple cars and make them better value .

So the alps and back for 10 days , ski's,luggage and 4 ,yes 4 adults , we did fit a roof box but were all comfortable on our 1900 miles of driving over 10 days. We didn't hang about ,and the car only had 4k on the clock when we left but considering the speeds (shhhhhhhhhh) and loading ,we got a respectable 38mpg.




I love the Sensus media system and despite some sat nav anomalies which were cured by the latest map updates i have found one issue. I spend a lot of time on the phone during the day and to completely comply with the law fitted a nice proclip bracket and brodit powered mount .



Its hard wired in so the phone just pops in and i connect the usb lead and no more dead blackberry. I have modded the bracket as it originally stuck out to far, but now is perfect.
Music is on a tiny 64gb usb stick and the sound system rivals the best i have had and isn't far off the Alpine system in the Audi we have .

I have also fitted a load area bumper protector on the back , lugging stuff in and out including all my sailing kit and sails (i have a B14 skiff ) i decided to fit something to protect the rear



50 quid and 5 minutes to fit i got a Richbrook rear bumper cover in grey, it almost looks factory fit ,and is a good match to the plastics on business editions so was perfect. A point of note and another business edition plus is audi and bmw charge you to have no chrome trim round windows etc , its free on the "bus' ed' " , and i wasn't keen on the chrome bling .


First and only problem came when i had a puncture , driving down a dual carriage way the os/f deflated fairly quickly , fortunately a few hundred meters from a layby however the site that then greated me left little doubt the can in the back would not help.




fortunately with the help of the AA the lease company and Kwik Fit mobile it was fixed while i played golf that day , however it has made me realise not having a spare really could be an issue.

Last trip was loaded up for a few nights camping




everything fitted, including me working out that a Saris Bones RS Cycle Carrier does fit, if you put the hooks just inside the bootlid hinges , and will carry our bikes securely with no damage to the car.


so today , after booking a service yesterday and it being done today (well done squires) i gave the car a polish ,and look forward to many more years happy in a well speced tax efficient Volvo.




just my ramblings , but the sort of stuff thats always useful to see if your choosing between a few company cars ,or need that final push to part with your own cash .........


apologies for any spelling or grammatical issues in this , just for the usual forum grammar police !! , though i am sure your all a more friendly bunch than that !!



Harv.

[Crockers]

Great write up. I had 18" on my V60 and the ride was still fine. I did notice though the 17" winter tyres gave a "better" ride though so good choice.

[JRL]

That shredded tyre doesn't look like much fun. Space savers look like crap and you can't go fast with one on but at least you can go!

[Harvey1512]

Really good write up.What sort of mpg are you getting? You mentioned the Alps figure but how about day to day stuff, town and motorway driving?

[craigv60]

Good write-up, thanks! +1 to what Harvey1512 asked. I have a 2011 V60 D3 (with the 163bhp motor) from before they badged this variant as the D4.

I've done 28K in mine in just over 2 years and averaged a genuine, brim-to-brim 46.75mpg from new. 70% urban driving / trips less than 10 miles, 30% longer / motorway journeys.

On longer trips with cruise set at 82, I get 50mpg, so I can guess how fast you were going to average 38mpg

[harvsurrey]

Thanks guys I am far from a writer but felt the input may help others.
My true life mpg is currently 44mpg however I spend alot of time in central London traffic and M25 jams so I probably represent a real world worst case on mpg.

As for the alps 38mpg dont forget what happens when you add a roof box , even an aero one ...add to that 4 adults luggage , skis , ski boots and food ... the loaded rear arch gap was minimal .

The blowout was actual no major deal the car felt stable and fine @ 60mph testament to the chassis design .