Volvo V60 (2010 - 2018) D3 (163bhp) R DESIGN 5d Owner Review

A difficult review to write, so first, some context.

Bought this with the arrival of my first child; i needed a 5 door car with Isofix and have always loved estates. I came from a 210bhp french hot hatch which was utterly brilliant but also terribly unreliable and cost me thousands in maintenance. Doing approximately 14k miles a year, economy was relatively high on the list of priorities as was reliability coming from the previous vehicle.

With a shortlist of options i specifically chose the V60 D3 R Design for a few reasons.
1. It looks brilliant. Much more Fastback than Fast Brick as is typical of volvo estates.
2. The 2 litre 5 cylinder engine is a detuned, single turbo version of the D5 renowned for its reliability. My logic being that a destressed, detuned version of a highly reliable and unique 5 cylinder would be even more reliable.
3. performance & economy. I wanted something that didn't lose much power vs my previous vehicle and provided easy overtakes whilst not ruining me on MPG.

Ultimately, it's a brilliantly competent & practical family car with plenty of space, equipment and spec for the money. The R Design Nav provides heated seats, auto-wipers, auto-braking, cruise, ISOFIX etc & a large, easily loaded boot with dividers aplenty.

I love the 5 cylinder engine which is noticeably smoother than 4-pots and makes a nice noise (for a diesel). It has achieved 44mpg average over the ~16k miles i've owned it. You can get up to 57mpg if hypermiling or it will drop to high 20s if your pinning it everywhere.

There are however, some bad points. Some are small simple annoyances, some are less excusable.

Annoyances;
1. Central locking. When you get out of the car, it unlocks the drivers door but none of the others. This means without fail you will get out, go to remove your offspring and can't open the door.
2. Comfort. Volvos have always had a reputation for supreme comfort but this is not my experience. The centre console armrest is set so far back that you have to be 7 foot tall for it to be somewhere you would naturally rest your arm/elbow. The seat bases are not that supportive.
3. Cupholders. The cupholders are behind the gearstick, EXACTLY where your arm wants/needs to be. Completely useless for anything other than small cans.

Perhaps most importantly, it's miserably boring. I know this is a reflection of buying the wrong car for my wants/needs but it's heavy, with heavy (and yet vague?) steering, a crashy ride & has a very strange throttle response which is echoed by other owners. For a large Diesel engine it lacks low end torque and will not pull in any gear or really do much until 2k+ rpm. This means you can't make progress at all unless the car is already up to speed and in the most appropriate gear. This is completely at odds with buying a torquey diesel and made worse by my decision to go for a manual (for better economy & reliability). It almost bogs down until you get to 2.5k, then pulls well for a few seconds, then hits the redline. Fine for a 5th gear overtake on the motorway & little else.

If your not interested in driving dynamics & happy to tolerate the small oddities, then its a great reliable family car.