Distance: 541km
Location: Ontario, Quebec, New York
Date: 22-23 March, 2024
Up front: In general, the Swedish design has the material refinement of Mercedes and the minimalism of a Tesla. There are pros and cons with this approach. The mid-level Plus trim option doesn’t offer leather anything, but the imitation is nice enough for the $63,000 price point when combined with open pore wood. All the soft touch plastics are solidly built and it’s easy to get comfortable in the seat, save for lumbar adjustment that doesn’t go up or down.
The giant Tesla-like large middle screen is the greatest limiting factor. Apple CarPlay paired seamlessly every time, but it required a cable to connect, no wireless charging or Wi-Fi connection on this model. While the screen comes built-in with intuitive Google Maps that shows up next to the speedometer, the same feature isn’t available to Google Maps paired through a mobile phone.
Basic controls like air conditioning, seat heating and the heated steering wheel take two taps to access and one tap to dismiss, whereas a physical button would do the job with one touch. I found myself needing two to three seconds to adjust the heated steering wheel and lane keeping assist kicked in when I strayed out. I wouldn’t need expensive assistance features if the expensive screen made it safe to drive.
In the back: The panoramic sunroof doesn’t benefit the front passers as much as it does the second row. The polarized tinted glass keeps the cabin cool even under the sun, but the thin fabric sunshade leaks light. I’d rather have a solid shade with a smaller sunroof. Outboard second row seats are heated and the cupholders pop out of the centre armrest so you only rest your arm on soft plastic.
Although the V60 is longer than the comparable BMW 3 Series and Audi A4, there isn’t more rear legroom. The rear doors are small, the rear bench doesn’t recline even though it folds down and fitting a rear-facing child seat will limit front row movement. Although the size is most suitable for children, they may get carsick from the small rear windows, obstructed forward view from large front row headrests, and windows that don’t crank all the way down.
Driving: Despite being similarly priced to the mid-trim 3 Series, A4 and C Class, it is slower, puts out less power, and torque steers. V60s come front-wheel drive as standard, so even this AWD model severely understeers around corners above 60km/h. To fix this, the car selectively applies the brakes on one or more wheels—and made the car fishtail in the snow. If I wanted to brake, I would brake, please just give me precise steering and linear acceleration.
The turbocharged four-cylinder has turbo lag of about three quarters of a second, much longer than its BMW or Mercedes four-cylinder rivals. Acceleration is linear up to about a third of the way down the acceleration pedal, and then the turbo kicks in when you cross that line. Relying on the turbo for power also leads to poor fuel economy. I got about 10km per litre and 0-100km/h acceleration of about 7 seconds, which isn’t far from Japanese V6 sedans from a decade ago. And the Volvo will be costlier to fix.
The cruise control only works with pilot assist, which only works if the forward radar sensor isn’t obstructed. There’s no way to turn pilot assist off if the front of the car is covered with ice or mud. Competitors like Mercedes allow cruise control to remain activated while deactivating driver assistance features, Volvo annoying does not. There’s also no way to turn off steering assist while in cruise control. I wanted to maintain space while passing a truck and the system kept pulling me back towards the centre of the lane without regard for context. Just buy the 3 Series or A4.
