The Top Gear car review: Volvo S60

August 11, 2019

Everything we've come to love about new-age Volvos in a smaller size

Overview
What is it?

It’s a brand-new saloon car, just as we’re being told the unstoppable march of the SUV is killing the traditional four-door off. But the new Volvo S60 counters by purporting itself as a modern-thinking saloon car. Not least by offering no diesels; it’ll only come in petrol and hybrid form.

It follows the V60 estate, and is essentially a less roomy version of it. They’re both based on the same mechanicals as the rest of the Volvo range, a seemingly flexible toy box of bits that the big seven-seat Volvo XC90 also comes from. This may be a saloon that’s trying to keep you from the worryingly inevitable SUV, but it’s kinda based on one.

That flexibility is working wonders for Volvo’s minor transformation of late, though. This S60 is the Swedes’ seventh all-new car since 2014, though the cynical among you might suggest such turnover is easy when all your cars look the same. Indeed, if you’re not sold on the way the styling of the XC90 (or V90, or S90, or XC60…), you won’t be keen on this. We happen to think it looks flipping fantastic – clean and classy without being boring, in a world where the BMW 3 Series manages the opposing trick of being fussy yet dull.

The S60 is unlikely to challenge its ubiquitous rival when it comes to driving fun, being front- or all-wheel drive, unlike the rear-drive BMW. But the top spec versions can be specced in ‘Polestar Engineered’ trim, promising a little more sportiness via posh brakes and dampers, if not the full leftfield-M3 experience offered by the old S60 and V60 Polestars.

Mind, bothering to drive cars ourselves is dating quickly if we believe what we hear. Thus all the seeds of self-driving have been sewn in the S60 via copious cameras and radars, which for now provide ‘Pilot Assist’, essentially an autonomous cruise control system that steers, accelerates and brakes for you in traffic and motorway conditions.

Just like its rivals’ systems, you still need to touch the steering wheel, but we might see more advanced systems within this S60’s lifetime. You’d certainly bet on safety-loving Volvo being one of the first carmakers to offer a properly reputable self-driving car.

Driving
What is it like on the road?

The Joy Of Driving

Volvo’s very proud of the way the S60 drives, and says it’s the closest its latest generation of models gets to a drivers’ car. And it certainly builds on their pleasing dynamics with the inherent benefits of being a bit smaller and lighter than the various SUVs and estates that have gone before it. It turns in pretty keenly, grips very tenaciously, and feels tautly controlled in corners.

It’s the most fun car Volvo currently makes, but it still lags behind the best driving cars in the class – that 3 Series as well as the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Jaguar XE. Those are all rear-driven, and a car that’s predominantly front-driven – even the AWD S60s don’t send much power rearwards – would have to do something very special to beat them. This still feels like a car that favours being comfy and easy going over setting your hair on fire, and with extremely comfy seats and next to no engine noise at a sensible cruise, it’s largely very good at that. It’s just still a bit too firm to fully pull off being a shrunken limo – a problem that’s afflicted all of Volvo’s new generation cars.

There’ll be a mixture of petrol and petrol-electric versions, all using a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine for most of their power. A T4 version with around 190bhp will kick off the range in the UK, with a 250bhp T5 above it; both front-wheel drive, and both automatic, we suspect. Above those there’ll be an all-wheel-drive T6 with 306bhp, and a pair of plug-in hybrids topped by a T8, with around 400bhp when the engine and motor are in full effect.

This is the car that comes (optionally) in ‘Polestar Engineered’ form, which brings Brembo brakes and Ohlins dampers, the latter adjustable through 22 levels. Volvo’s own engineers admit you won’t want to ratchet them up too much for road use (the car’s already firm) and that few people will take a posh hybrid saloon on a trackday, so we suspect their inclusion is more of a statement of intent in a segment of the market boasting some very good-to-drive cars.

Now, this particular tester loves Ohlins dampers and the focus they bring to a car. I want to encourage Volvo to implement such focus on its cars. But they feel a little superfluous on a plug-in hybrid that weighs around two tonnes, while the Brembos are a little wasted when the brake regeneration is overbearing enough to rob you of proper brake feel.

The T8’s a pretty tidy – and surprisingly entertaining – car to hustle around, and blooming quick when you’re full of charge. But we’d love to try a simpler, lighter spec of S60 with the fancy suspension and brakes. That AWD T6 feels just as brisk without all the hybrid gubbins on board.

The T8 does lots of other stuff well, though. You can do around 20 miles of emissions-free driving if you’ve plugged it in, while if you leave the car to juggle the petrol and electric power itself, you’ll up your fuel economy by about 50 per cent compared to a petrol-only S60.

On the inside
Layout, finish and space

Luxurious Interior

Keeping with the ‘modern-thinking saloon’ idea, it’s all about connectivity in here. Much like the exterior, it’ll all be familiar if you’ve experienced any other post-2014 Volvo. There’s a large portrait touchscreen that’s a bit fiddly and feature-packed on first acquaintance, but which you’ll warm to reasonably quickly.

That screen houses just about every smartphone or app related buzzword you care to mention – Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Spotify, Yelp, we could go on – all embedded and able to play through an optional (and mega) Bowers & Wilkins stereo that mimics the audio character of Gothenburg Concert Hall. Um, yeah.

In truth, those additional apps aren’t as integrated as cleanly as in rivals, while the climate control system is also adjusted via the screen, so you can find yourself tripping over functions a bit if you’re trying to do several things in quick succession.

The traditional stuff is handled with more aplomb. Nobody does seats or comfort quite like Volvo (south of Rolls and Bentley, anyway) and the S60 is a very placid place to be. But that doesn’t mean dull; much like the outside, Volvo’s managed to style everything minimally without it boring you to death.

It’s big, too: much more space in the back than the 3 Series, Giulia and XE, while its 442-litre boot is around the same size. The rear seats are as comfy as the fronts too, something not every carmaker focuses on as much as it should.

Owning
Running costs and reliability

The Joy Of Driving

Yep, there really are no diesels. So if such things as company car tax concern you, it’ll be the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrid versions that are likely to appeal most in the S60 range. Prices haven’t yet been confirmed for the new S60, which goes on sale in early 2019 (ignore the automated pricing for the old model under the title of this review). But Volvo suggests it’ll be competitive with its German foes. So that means a starting point of £30,000, with the top-spec T8 in the mid 50s.

There’s a chance you won’t own your S60, mind. Volvo is trying to pioneer a whole new car ownership model, one which started with the new XC40. Called ‘Care by Volvo’, the idea is that one monthly payment covers the car loan, servicing, insurance, and various add-ons, including the loan of any different Volvo for a week a year (in case that SUV itch really needs scratching perhaps).

Because the insurance is built into this flat fee, you can lend the car to anyone with a licence (via an app actually, so they don’t even need the key). If you currently pay a high premium this might look like good value, but if your premium is low, perhaps not so much. Once Volvo properly confirms pricing, we’ll know better.

Verdict
Final thoughts and pick of the range

"Everything we've come to love about new-age Volvos in a smaller size"

It’s a cracking looking car, the S60, and it does everything pretty well: it drives sharply given its FWD core, it’s comfy and cosseting inside, and there’s a shedload of tech on board.

Ultimately, there’s no area (outside of styling, perhaps) where it betters its rivals – BMW makes a sharper driving saloon, Audi a quieter and comfier one, and Merc has similar self-driving ambitions to Volvo.

The S60 is a pleasant middle ground of all three, though. If you love driving you’re best sticking with more established rivals, but if that’s not a priority – as it isn’t, for most buyers – this should be a very satisfying car to own overall. We’d have it over a more fashionable SUV, too.