Volvo V60 T5 R-design
The Swedish estate has still to reveal its driver appeal
IWON’T LIE, I FEEL A BIT SORRY FOR our Volvo. While we waited for our longtermer to arrive, the Swedish brand sent evo a stream of different V60s, V and S90s, and even some of its incredibly popular SUVS, and it wasn’t difficult to identify the properties that make these cars so successful in the UK and beyond. In particular, I thought the humble D3-engined V60 Momentum was simply a pleasant, effective estate car. Quiet, comfy, frugal, and unprepossessing in an attractive way, it was a tool for a job and a fine complement to a garage that included something that was actually interesting to drive. I would recommend one, and indeed have already done so to others.
The trouble is, our V60 is a T5, and an R-design with sporty bits at that, and with this comes the expectation that it’s going to have a certain amount of driver appeal. And so far, I have to say, it has exhibited precious little of that.
Where does it all go so frustratingly wrong? Let’s start with the engine. A 247bhp turbocharged ‘four’ sounds promising, but this is a desperately joyless unit. To be fair to Volvo, none of these
modern, do-it-all, petrol or diesel four-pot modular engines, whether Jag’s Ingenium or BMW’S B series, has much charm, and they all feel like the pursuit of refinement, response and character has been cynically subsumed by the ability to save as much in development and production costs as possible. In the T5’s case, its woolly response, weird spiky delivery and coarse, unenthusiastic top end mean driving it quickly holds precious little appeal.
Frankly, a switch to electric power can’t come soon enough for powertrains such as this one. Surf a narrow band of mid-range torque and it’s rapid enough. However, the engine’s issues are made worse by an automatic gearbox that simply isn’t the slightest bit interested in enthusiastic driving. Shift manually and the changes are slow and clumsy, or if the conservative electronics don’t like it, they don’t happen at all. Yes, there’s a Dynamic mode, but that also triggers the stiffer, ‘sporty’ damper setting, which is not pleasant. The Individual mode doesn’t allow you to select softer dampers, either. So I leave the car – and hence the ’box – in Comfort, and that’s completely non-sporting. Dynamically, well, perhaps we’ll tackle that next month, but to summarise, it’s the worst of both worlds, not the best.
Positives? I still think it looks great: a really handsome estate without the pushy overtones of the German opposition. I find the seats very comfortable, and overall it seems nicely screwed together. The hugely expensive optional Bowers and Wilkins sound system is effective (although not so great that I can recommend spending £2500 on it), and there’s plenty of storage space and neat little design touches. I so hope we soon discover some hidden talents, but I fear on current form the V60 is destined to leave us disappointed with what it could have been, but sadly isn’t.
Date acquired April 2019 Total mileage 3450 Mileage this month 875 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 25.4
‘A switch to electric power can’t come soon enough for powertrains like this’