She is here (pics) / XC60 vs X3

[S60Chris]

Collected her from the dealership last night...

Spec is:

Volvo XC60 D5 SE Lux Nav AWD Geartronic
Saville Grey Metallic
Black Leather
18" Pan Alloys (Continental EcoContact 5 Tyres)
Winter Illumination Pack
Volvo On Call
Keyless Drive with PCC
Tinted Windows
Tempa Spare Wheel
Front & Rear Park

Initial impressions are very good. Very good indeed. It has a lot to live up to against our other car, which is a BMW X3 35d- which is considered a 'competitor' to the XC60 in a market of popular crossover vehicles.

First thoughts:

- Excellent build quality. Much higher quality fit & finish than the BMW which surprised me, but is nice to see. The doors have a much more satisfying 'thunk' and feel much more solid.
- Supremely comfortable. Much more so than the BMW.
- Superb stereo. I paid £980 for the premium stereo in my X3, and I think this (standard 8 speaker Volvo setup) sounds better.
- It's great returning to a 5 cylinder engine, a lot of character. No other diesel sounds better, It's a shame it's a dying breed...
- I like the new digital dash. Works better than expected. The digital speedo needle sweeps smoothly much like a physical needle.
- The sensus system works well, no complaints. Relatively similar to the iDrive system with the rotary knob input controller, albeit in a different place.
- XC60 Handbrake is in a silly place, and is missing an auto-hold function as seen in other cars.
- Keyless entry is a much better implementation than the BMW - the physical buttons on the door handles are nice. Keyless entry is on all 4 doors rather than just the front two on the BMW. On the Volvo I like that you can open the door handle in one motion. On the BMW you have to wait for the door to unlock as you grab the handle, and then pull it to open.
- Well isolated from the outside - no rattles or whistles. Very little road and wind noise.
- Disappointed that there is no longer a light on the gear selector which shows what gear your are in. I appreciate that there is a dedicated section on the dash for this but it would have been nice to have both.
- The Geartronic box is beautifully smooth, more so than the 8 speed ZF box in my X3 however it can sometimes feel hesitant to change, and is not the fastest when changing. I prefer this gearbox to the 8 speed when pulling away from stationary, it gives a smoother drive. Prefer the 8 speed on the motorway for the reduced revs and better efficiency.
- 70mph equates to over 2000rpm on the motorway which is more than I am used to and I keep thinking I have another gear to go. I assume this will change when Volvo introduce the 8 speed box into their range.
- The bonnet feels very light and less solid than the rest of the car.

Two very different cars - the X3 is clearly the drivers car with the sub 6 second 0-60 time and 8 speed sport auto box. The drivetrain technology is much better than the Volvo offering - with the 313bhp straight 6 twin turbo diesel returning 47mpg on a long run - a comfortable 10mpg more than the Volvo despite 100bhp difference in power. The X3 is available with options such as HUD and Top View cameras which are both excellent and very useful, whereas the Volvo does not BUT, the Volvo offers adaptive cruise control which is unavailable in the X3, along with Active High Beams and a couple of other bits.

I love them both. If I want to go and throw a car round some twisties and have some fun, I'll take the X3. If I want a sophisticated, relaxed and supremely comfortable drive I'll take the XC60. I want the latter more than the former, most of the time.

Can't figure out how to set up On Call though - we need a PIN number I think, and I have a hunch this is something the dealership were meant to sort out prior to collection. Hopefully they'll get back to me in a couple of days so we can activate it.

I am however thoroughly, thoroughly impressed and I look forward to stealing the XC60 off the Mrs on numerous future occasions...

[watchboy]

Very nice Chris and a good write up!

The grey is very nice, almost bordering on black but very classy indeed!

Paul

[NewVolvo]

Very nice indeed! Brings back alot of memory of the 2009 XC60 D5 SE Lux we had (205bhp). The Saville Grey does look quite black actually from your pics. Not really a colour one sees very often. One thing which is nice....not always the same colours around that one sees

Also interesting to read your comparisment with the X3 35d, especially as it's a smaller car of the two with a much bigger engine (I have the same engine in my 535d although now tuned to 365bhp!) and I can certainly relate to quite a few points with the Volvo and the Bmw.

[bullstar]

Great car , the only bad thing is its not sat on my drive

[Crockers]

Looks great.

[Brodick]

Yup, if I order another XC60 In think I will be going for the saville grey
Still not sure about the new alloys though.

Hmm, if you look at the top of the gear selector it did have a small green line/light indicating which gear the car is in. Unless it has changed.
As for the auto hill hold you just take your foot off the brake pedal. There is no button.

[madman1]

.....thanks!

[Whiterdesign]

Re on call you should have had an activation code from your dealer which is tied to your vin number. you enter via the sensus screen in the on call section. you then press the on call button in the headlining to talk to an operator who sets the system up for you. You need to talk to the dealer.

[S60Chris]

Originally Posted by Whiterdesign

Re on call you should have had an activation code from your dealer which is tied to your vin number. you enter via the sensus screen in the on call section. you then press the on call button in the headlining to talk to an operator who sets the system up for you. You need to talk to the dealer.

Thanks - yes this is what I thought. We didn't get a code as the sales chap said that he hadn't ever set up a car with on call before so I don't think he knew. He'll look into it over the weekend.

[S60Chris]

Originally Posted by Brodick

Yup, if I order another XC60 In think I will be going for the saville grey
Still not sure about the new alloys though.

Hmm, if you look at the top of the gear selector it did have a small green line/light indicating which gear the car is in. Unless it has changed.
As for the auto hill hold you just take your foot off the brake pedal. There is no button.

There used to be a small green light, but for some reason they changed this and got rid of it!

RE Auto Hold, I meant something like BMW - so under normal driving every time you stop, the brakes 'stick' to stop you rolling forward and are released when you press the accelerator. This works on level ground also.

Very impressed with Saville grey, its quite a sophisticated colour and i'm glad we went for it.