New XC60 Preview

[NewVolvo]

Originally Posted by NigelDay

Autocar have just published a review of a D4 R-Design.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/xc60
Strangely it only gets 3.5 / 5 stars and is bottom of the 5 contenders (you only get to see this in the printed copy).
I wonder if VUK offered them the wrongly specification / optioned car. Other early reviews have been more complimentary. Or is it just that Autocar have a bias towards the Q5 ?

Very strange. But I have always felt they love their BMWs, as most UK car mags!

[bobby2000]

Originally Posted by NigelDay

Autocar have just published a review of a D4 R-Design.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volvo/xc60
Strangely it only gets 3.5 / 5 stars and is bottom of the 5 contenders (you only get to see this in the printed copy).
I wonder if VUK offered them the wrongly specification / optioned car. Other early reviews have been more complimentary. Or is it just that Autocar have a bias towards the Q5 ?

Most of the reviews that I have read have been of the D5 Inscription pro, so that might be the difference and I agree that a lot of so called testers are German lead.
Even top gear gave a good review, their recommendation was the T5 Momentum.

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by bobby2000

Most of the reviews that I have read have been of the D5 Inscription pro, so that might be the difference and I agree that a lot of so called testers are German lead.
Even top gear gave a good review, their recommendation was the T5 Momentum.

So, as with most brands/models, there are certain 'sweet spots' to go for, and other variants to avoid.

[NewVolvo]

Its a real pity Volvo UK does not include the T6 in the UK line up of the XC60!

Nothing wrong with the T5 (we have it) but the T6 is really something else....

[bobby2000]

Originally Posted by NewVolvo

Its a real pity Volvo UK does not include the T6 in the UK line up of the XC60!

Nothing wrong with the T5 (we have it) but the T6 is really something else....

When I get my new XC60 T5 it will be the first petrol car I've owned since 1987. I must admit to being a bit apprehensive about it, but I think it probably makes more sense for me now because of the lower mileage and possibly shorter runs that I will be doing.
I still think I will yearn for my diesel engine, must stop thinking like that, I'll still have my Pug to satisfy the urge.

[NewVolvo]

Originally Posted by bobby2000

When I get my new XC60 T5 it will be the first petrol car I've owned since 1987. I must admit to being a bit apprehensive about it, but I think it probably makes more sense for me now because of the lower mileage and possibly shorter runs that I will be doing.
I still think I will yearn for my diesel engine, must stop thinking like that, I'll still have my Pug to satisfy the urge.

You will not be unhappy!

The T5 we have is ultra silent. Very smooth and refined. A great engine. Wife does 12k a year and has proven to be great on fuel and very powerful. Certainly no need for a diesel anymore (I do 20k a year and have a petrol since march, but something very different than a T5). However, it does sound like a typical 4-cyl engine when revved, the only BIG thing I dont like with it!

[RichardXC60]

Originally Posted by NewVolvo

Very strange. But I have always felt they love their BMWs, as most UK car mags!

Having driven the D4 R-Design at Millbrook at Company Car In Action last month I thought Autocar were writing about a totally different car. AUDI weren't there but I did drive the closely related Porsche Mecan Diesel and also the new Land Rover Discovery. My wife also drove all three cars and we both agreed that the XC60 was the best all round of the three taking comfort, handling, interior ambiance and price into account.

Having read Autocar raving about the Mecan for years we were both underwhelmed by the diesel engine, not to mention its less than commodious interior. As a pure drivers car it may have the edge but that doesn't make it a better car to live with

The Land Rover is spacious and comfortable in a straight line but show it the Alpine Hill Course at Millbrook and the XC60 not only out-handles it but offers a far more assured ride too.

We are not entirely sure if the XC60 that we drove had the air suspension which failed to find favour with Autocar, but it appeared to me that they had marked it down deliberately on every section, even the superb interior only getting four stars.

Sadly this comes down to advertising budgets and a heavy handed bias towards the German marques who supply for test cars so loaded with options that they bear little relationship to any customer car.

I have been a subscriber to Autocar since 1980, was reading it for ten years before that and have to say that having driven the same model myself three weeks previously thought that the most misleading road test that I have ever read - bringing into doubt everything else that I now read on any subject in that magazine.

[bobby2000]

Originally Posted by NewVolvo

You will not be unhappy!

The T5 we have is ultra silent. Very smooth and refined. A great engine. Wife does 12k a year and has proven to be great on fuel and very powerful. Certainly no need for a diesel anymore (I do 20k a year and have a petrol since march, but something very different than a T5). However, it does sound like a typical 4-cyl engine when revved, the only BIG thing I dont like with it!

My mileage is now only about 6k per year, if I had gone for the diesel it would have been the D5 @ a £3000 premium and that's a lot of petrol, so yes I think I've probably made the right choice.

[Crockers]

I've just bought a petrol car for the first time in 12 years too. I absolutely love it.

Golf GTI....getting mid to high 30s so very pleased. Still like the XC60...

[bobby2000]

[QUOTE=Crockers;2294681]I've just bought a petrol car for the first time in 12 years too. I absolutely love it.

Golf GTI....getting mid to high 30s so very pleased. Still like the XC60.


If I can say I love that petrol engine after a month or so I'll be happy. I'm hoping that this XC60 will last me out or at least until I have to downsize. (Perish the thought )
But I do have this terrible weakness for changing my cars. When I'm out driving my current XC60 I do think to myself, why am I getting rid of this one, it's really got everything I need and more. It's a good job I don't change my wife that often!