V60 which engine advice please

[Marengo]

Hi,

I am looking at buying my first Volvo, and with the budget and my needs for type/size of car I am looking at a V60 from around 2014ish. It is likely to have somewhere in the region of 100k miles at that age.

As I haven't had one before, I wondered if anyone had any advice on engine type and reliability. I am likely to do about 10k miles a year, with no day-to-day commute (work from home) but reasonable journeys to see clients, days out, holidays etc.

I see there are a lot of 1.6 diesels out there, with great economy and attractively low tax, but I do wonder if those are finicky engines?

Also any common faults to watch out for?

Any help appreciated,
Ross

[Sotosound]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Hi,

I am looking at buying my first Volvo, and with the budget and my needs for type/size of car I am looking at a V60 from around 2014ish. It is likely to have somewhere in the region of 100k miles at that age.

As I haven't had one before, I wondered if anyone had any advice on engine type and reliability. I am likely to do about 10k miles a year, with no day-to-day commute (work from home) but reasonable journeys to see clients, days out, holidays etc.

I see there are a lot of 1.6 diesels out there, with great economy and attractively low tax, but I do wonder if those are finicky engines?

Also any common faults to watch out for?

Any help appreciated,
Ross

Well, you've come to the right place for advice.

A few questions, if I may?

1) What is your budget?

2) Do you need something that's ULEZ-compliant?

3) Are you looking for any particular level of performance?

4) Are you wanting manual or automatic?

5) What features do you want the car to have? For instance, do you need memory seats, or are you happy to manually adjust the seat when required? Do you want heated seats?

6) Are you wanting petrol or diesel?

7) Are you looking for a sportier model, i.e. an R Design with bigger wheels, thinner tyres, and lowered suspension, or are you looking for the standard suspension set-up?

8) Does the sound quality of the stereo matter to you?

9) Do you need satnav?

10) Are you happy with analogue instruments, or are you after the later digital TFT (thin film transistor) display, wherein you can change the look of the speedo, rev counter etc.?

Once we know some of your preferences, we can make sure that we tailor our suggestions to match. Also, we can provide more focused advice regarding engines, transmissions, reliability or otherwise, and things to look for or even to avoid.

[Rob3583]

I've got a 2015 model V60 D4 SE Lux on a 2014 plate, you should be able to find an excellent example for around 4k. Map out and blank off the egr and you will have yourself a great car, zero road tax and over 60 mpg on the motorway, over 50 mpg mixed . I believe Volvo will no longer support updates on the Nav in 2025 so wouldn't pay extra for a Nav model. R design has a harsh ride, so wouldn't bother especially with the state of UK roads at the moment. Go for the facelift model and make sure it has the 181bhp vea . Early facelift models still had the ford engine which isn't ulez complaint, the later 2014's are euro 6, so ulez complaint and the manuals are zero road tax.

[Rob3583]

I forgot to mention the 2015 cars were the last that allowed Vida 2015, software to diagnose any problems along detailed instructions on repairs etc.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Rob3583

I've got a 2015 model V60 D4 SE Lux on a 2014 plate, you should be able to find an excellent example for around 4k. Map out and blank off the egr and you will have yourself a great car, zero road tax and over 60 mpg on the motorway, over 50 mpg mixed . I believe Volvo will no longer support updates on the Nav in 2025 so wouldn't pay extra for a Nav model. R design has a harsh ride, so wouldn't bother especially with the state of UK roads at the moment. Go for the facelift model and make sure it has the 181bhp vea . Early facelift models still had the ford engine which isn't ulez complaint, the later 2014's are euro 6, so ulez complaint and the manuals are zero road tax.

Have you had issues with oil consumption? Early D4’s were known to have that problem.

There were no Ford engines in these cars. All are Volvo engines.

[Marengo]

Thanks to everyone for replying - it is much appreciated. Some answers below:

Originally Posted by Sotosound

Well, you've come to the right place for advice.

A few questions, if I may?

1) What is your budget? Up to say £7,500ish.

2) Do you need something that's ULEZ-compliant? No.

3) Are you looking for any particular level of performance? Whilst I have had fast cars in the past, I am not feeling that need anymore (age I expect!), so as long as it isn't stupidly slow, all is good.

4) Are you wanting manual or automatic? Manual. (preferably - I had a think about that and qualified my answer!)

5) What features do you want the car to have? For instance, do you need memory seats, or are you happy to manually adjust the seat when required? Do you want heated seats? Good stereo, comfort, preferably leather seats, but don't mind the seat being manually adjusted. Heated seats are good.

6) Are you wanting petrol or diesel? Dont mind either.

7) Are you looking for a sportier model, i.e. an R Design with bigger wheels, thinner tyres, and lowered suspension, or are you looking for the standard suspension set-up? I am a bit of a sucker for this kind of thing, but this isn't a big factor, as I would prefer it to be comfortable. As one of the other kind people to reply said - UK roads are getting terrible. My last car was lowered and on coilovers, and it was getting unbearable!

8) Does the sound quality of the stereo matter to you? Yes, it does.

9) Do you need satnav? Nice to have, but not essential.

10) Are you happy with analogue instruments, or are you after the later digital TFT (thin film transistor) display, wherein you can change the look of the speedo, rev counter etc.?

Again, nice to have TFT - it would be nice to feel the car was a bit more modern.

Once we know some of your preferences, we can make sure that we tailor our suggestions to match. Also, we can provide more focused advice regarding engines, transmissions, reliability or otherwise, and things to look for or even to avoid.

Thanks very much for taking the time to help, and ask the questions!

[Sotosound]

Hmmm!

Most will be diesels.

I would opt for a 134bhp / 136bhp D3 or 163bhp D4. These have the Volvo 2-litre 5-cylinder diesel engines, which are cheaper to buy and run than a D5 but which still perform very adequately and sound nice. They are also not known for high oil consumption, whereas the later 4-cylinder 150bhp D3 and 181bhp D4 Volvo VEA diesel engines are, and ought, perhaps, to be avoided for that reason.

My own 181bhp V70 D4 seems to be OK, but my good lady's 150bhp V60 D3 definitely wasn't. The 4-cylinder D3 and D4 engines are also known for expensive EGR and EGR cooler issues, and this is what my D4 has had twice in my six years of ownership.

At your desired mileage, you'll need to check the clutch in manual cars and you'll need to check for a correctly operating gearbox that has had a fluid change service in automatic cars.

SE or SE Lux trim levels should work for you, but look for the "High Performance" 45W/channel sound system, as this is a goodun. SE Lux brings better headlights, memory seats etc. but would still fit your budget. Look for heated seats if you can as these are a nice treat on a cold day. In picture 10/12 of the black V60 below, you'll see the heated seat symbols inside the LH and RH temperature control knobs.

Having recommended the 2-litre engine, this D5 looks OK, even if the colours of the upholstery and bodywork aren't a perfect match IMO. It has the TFT display and the slightly later version of the Sensus infotainment system with rudimentary internet functionality and, most probably, USB stick update for the satnav.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...o=2014&fromsra


And this next one pushes the budget a little, but it's fully, fully loaded and in a better colour combination IMO.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...o=2014&fromsra

Finally, you might have to travel a bit to find the right car.

[Marengo]

Thank you - that is extremely helpful. I will keep an eye out for these versions.
I'll report back in due course as and when I find something.
Best,
Ross

[Marengo]

Just to finish this thread, I am pleased to say that I am now the owner of my first Volvo - but not quite the one I expected to purchase.

Notwithstanding the fact that I have bought a V70 rather than a V60, the advice on engines from this thread was much appreciated.

So I now have a 2014 V70 D3 (136) SE Lux Geartronic, with 108,000 on the clock.

It is exceptionally clean and tidy for its age, and was well priced because of ULEZ (which doesn't affect me, living in Hampshire, but did affect the location of the car). It was being sold by the son of the previous owner, who was now too old to drive it.

It drives very well and has not (yet) made any funny knocks or rattles, on its test drive or journey back from SE London to Hampshire, so hopefully all is good.

Cambelt etc done last year, but not sure about the fluid change on the auto 'box, so will look into that when I find a local specialist.

Thanks to you all,
Ross

[Sotosound]

Originally Posted by Marengo

Just to finish this thread, I am pleased to say that I am now the owner of my first Volvo - but not quite the one I expected to purchase.

Notwithstanding the fact that I have bought a V70 rather than a V60, the advice on engines from this thread was much appreciated.

So I now have a 2014 V70 D3 (136) SE Lux Geartronic, with 108,000 on the clock.

It is exceptionally clean and tidy for its age, and was well priced because of ULEZ (which doesn't affect me, living in Hampshire, but did affect the location of the car). It was being sold by the son of the previous owner, who was now too old to drive it.

It drives very well and has not (yet) made any funny knocks or rattles, on its test drive or journey back from SE London to Hampshire, so hopefully all is good.

Cambelt etc done last year, but not sure about the fluid change on the auto 'box, so will look into that when I find a local specialist.

Thanks to you all,
Ross

Many thanks for this. I hate unfinished stories.

I test drove a 2012 D3 SE back around 2018 and thought that it was an extremely nice car. In truth, it was all I really needed, but my lust for a little more power and more bells and whistles led me to my current VEA-engined D4.

If it's been cared for then you have gotten yourself a very nice car. Well done!