V60 Cross Country

[Duder]

Picked up a sharp lookin' strong runner today. A new 2015.5 V60 Cross Country that has been on the lot for about a year, and was thus marked down significantly. Almost 20% off MSRP!

This thing is sweet. It's a white pearl color with the "beechwood" leather interior, has the technology package, last of the 5-cylinder T5s, BLIS, adaptive cruise control, electronics ad nauseam. There are so many features and settings on this thing; I don't know what to do with myself.

However I'm about pure driving enjoyment as much as anyone, and this thing doesn't disappoint. If you can get past the 6-speed auto, of course. It's a fantastic cruiser. Great sound system, incredible seats, quiet, torquey, powerful. I'm stoked! Taking it from LA up to Eureka this weekend and back, so we'll break it in with a good 1300 mile road trip.

This is replacing our 2010 VW JSW TDI. I'll miss the 6-speed manual and fuel economy, but the V60 is superior by any other metric. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with info on my previous thread!










This was a poster in the dealership:

[gsellstr]

You shoulda made it mandatory as part of the sale that they give you that poster as well!

Nice ride for sure Chris!

[240keith]

interesting choice, good looking wagon man!

whens the turbo getting upgraded?

[GTJordan]

Looks good!

[PeaceEngineered]

Congrats. We were at our dealer this past week and got to get cozy with one. Excellent ride. Enjoy.

[+Kardboard+]

I want that poster. Bad.

The V60 CC looks awesome. Enjoy!

[Duder]

The poster made me nerd out for a second, but no one explained why the middle aged white loafer wearing dad and his teenage moccasin wearing son were standing in a reflecting pool whilst the key hand-off was performed. Truly one of the great mysteries of our age.

I'll report back here with a debrief of our 1300 mile road trip next week. Looking forward to getting to know this thing better. Driving it from Orange County to LA in traffic was extremely pleasant so I can't imagine how nice it will be on open highway.

[kampman]

Nice score. I love that interior color.

[Duder]

Trip report time!

We packed up the 3-year-old, mother-in-law, and assorted snacks and beverages into the V60 and drove from LA to Eureka last Thursday. I drove the entire route myself, starting in Torrance at 6AM and arriving in Eureka (Humboldt County) almost exactly 12 hours later. This was for a cousin's wedding, and turned out to be a very cool Samoan reception with all the dances and BBQ and so forth. The V60 enabled me to do the whole drive up and most of the drive back, without getting tired until about 30 minutes from the end, in part because of...

-The seats which are still amazing; these are "sport" versions so bolsters are a bit deep for a cruiser, but no complaints and no soreness.

-Adaptive cruise control takes the edge off of long distances on the highway. I'd say it's about 3/8ths of the way towards a fully autonomous car. You still have to steer and set your desired top speed with Volvo's system, but nearly everything else is monitored and controlled by the system. It will maintain following distance for slowing traffic ahead - I knew that - but wasn't expecting the fact that you can use this system in stop & go traffic.

It will brake all the way down to a complete stop, then re-start once the car ahead pulls far enough away. It's not as smooth as an experienced driver in traffic - it accelerates and decelerates hard enough that passengers take notice - but completely safe and will navigate rush hour for you. Several times I had to turn to my wife and say "by the way, I'm really not doing anything right now" as the car slowed for a jam or accelerated away. It won't stop at red lights if there's no car in front, and it can get confused during lane changes, but otherwise it's an awesome system.

-With the BLIS, pedestrian avoidance, lane keeping assistant (an audible chime warning), adaptive cruise, and auto braking, I would still say I felt I was completely in control of the car at any time. It's nice to always have "another set of eyes" watching out for any hazards you might miss, even if you're not actively using cruise.






First fill-up; averaged about 26 mpg over the weekend including city traffic and twisty redwood highway. It runs fine on regular gas.












Hitting 1000 miles on the return trip:




Angry red performance mode. Following my wife's uncle in his 3800SC swapped Fiero to Marin County Cars & Coffee.




Now the car has about 1600 miles on the odo and I'm looking forward to the next long road trip in it. The TPMS light seems to be stuck on regardless of tire pressure, the driver's seatbelt reel is a bit too sensitive, and there's some weird rattle from under the dash. Those are the only negatives so far, and should be fixed under warranty if they persist.

I won't go full Swedespeed and convert to FWD only, but for a daily or family truckster, I would recommend the V60 without any hesitation.

[Harlard]

GG, Chris. Enjoy the cushiness!

[DanMarino]

Sounds great. That engine has nice power and the V60 cross country seems like a great car.
When you get a chance, can you send some photos of the back cargo area?

[Duder]

Thanks - I wouldn't mind at all. I'll snap some photos of the cargo area.

On paper the cargo volume is smaller than the Jetta Sportwagen, but in practice I think it turns out to be about the same amount of usable space. The cargo floor is wider and deeper (lengthwise), but not as tall. The seats fold in 40 / 20 / 40 segments which is pretty cool for flexibility. Back seat is noticeably wider than the VW, and there's a luxuriant center armrest back there too.

[Duder]

Originally Posted by DanMarino

Sounds great. That engine has nice power and the V60 cross country seems like a great car.
When you get a chance, can you send some photos of the back cargo area?

Here you go!

Giant zucchini for reference.







Fullsize spare with tools, jack, Volvo white gloves




Handy cargo hooks




Blowy vent for quarter window defrogging




The zucchini is 17 inches long.

(I know, we all hear that every day)

[Harlard]

Ugh, must be so nice to not have strut towers in the way. The ones in my TSX interfere a great deal.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Nice trip report...really cool about the adaptive cruise. I don't usually pay much attention to new cars, but that seems like a nice feature to have.

[oldduttyvolvo]

Originally Posted by Duder

Trip report time!

We packed up the 3-year-old, mother-in-law, and assorted snacks and beverages into the V60 and drove from LA to Eureka last Thursday. I drove the entire route myself, starting in Torrance at 6AM and arriving in Eureka (Humboldt County) almost exactly 12 hours later. This was for a cousin's wedding, and turned out to be a very cool Samoan reception with all the dances and BBQ and so forth. The V60 enabled me to do the whole drive up and most of the drive back, without getting tired until about 30 minutes from the end, in part because of...

-The seats which are still amazing; these are "sport" versions so bolsters are a bit deep for a cruiser, but no complaints and no soreness.

-Adaptive cruise control takes the edge off of long distances on the highway. I'd say it's about 3/8ths of the way towards a fully autonomous car. You still have to steer and set your desired top speed with Volvo's system, but nearly everything else is monitored and controlled by the system. It will maintain following distance for slowing traffic ahead - I knew that - but wasn't expecting the fact that you can use this system in stop & go traffic.

It will brake all the way down to a complete stop, then re-start once the car ahead pulls far enough away. It's not as smooth as an experienced driver in traffic - it accelerates and decelerates hard enough that passengers take notice - but completely safe and will navigate rush hour for you. Several times I had to turn to my wife and say "by the way, I'm really not doing anything right now" as the car slowed for a jam or accelerated away. It won't stop at red lights if there's no car in front, and it can get confused during lane changes, but otherwise it's an awesome system.

-With the BLIS, pedestrian avoidance, lane keeping assistant (an audible chime warning), adaptive cruise, and auto braking, I would still say I felt I was completely in control of the car at any time. It's nice to always have "another set of eyes" watching out for any hazards you might miss, even if you're not actively using cruise.






First fill-up; averaged about 26 mpg over the weekend including city traffic and twisty redwood highway. It runs fine on regular gas.












Hitting 1000 miles on the return trip:




Angry red performance mode. Following my wife's uncle in his 3800SC swapped Fiero to Marin County Cars & Coffee.




Now the car has about 1600 miles on the odo and I'm looking forward to the next long road trip in it. The TPMS light seems to be stuck on regardless of tire pressure, the driver's seatbelt reel is a bit too sensitive, and there's some weird rattle from under the dash. Those are the only negatives so far, and should be fixed under warranty if they persist.

I won't go full Swedespeed and convert to FWD only, but for a daily or family truckster, I would recommend the V60 without any hesitation.

As far a s the TPMS light being on, you have to calibrate it, or the low tire pressure warning will stay on even with the tires at the correct pressure. Just hit the my car button on the center console and that will bring up the TPMS calibration screen. Volvo switched to an Intelligent TPMS that doesn't have an actual TPMS sensor on each wheel. Low tire pressures are calculated by monitoring individual wheel rotation speeds.

[Hank Scorpio]

Nice!! How's the rear seat room?

Gorgeous interior on that one. Good job!

[Duder]

Originally Posted by oldduttyvolvo

As far a s the TPMS light being on, you have to calibrate it, or the low tire pressure warning will stay on even with the tires at the correct pressure. Just hit the my car button on the center console and that will bring up the TPMS calibration screen. Volvo switched to an Intelligent TPMS that doesn't have an actual TPMS sensor on each wheel. Low tire pressures are calculated by monitoring individual wheel rotation speeds.

Ah! Thank you sir! I will try that out. It's been bugging me all week. Tires are properly inflated so I was suspecting a bad sensor, but that's not going to be the issue if it doesn't have any sensors...

Originally Posted by Hank Scorpio

Nice!! How's the rear seat room?

Gorgeous interior on that one. Good job!

Thanks man. The back seat is pretty spacious for a midsize car; bigger than the Jetta wagon for sure. Would be tight with three adults but with car seat on one side and an adult on the other side, there's plenty of room to have the wide middle armrest down.

The interior is nicer than anything we've ever had, that's for sure!

[DMFWallace]

Sharp car, congrats!

[GTJordan]

Pilot assist in the SPA cars is more autonomous. It will do much more driving for you. I keep meaning to take a new 90 out for a good drive to test it's limits.

Jorsan

[Duder]

Originally Posted by oldduttyvolvo

As far a s the TPMS light being on, you have to calibrate it, or the low tire pressure warning will stay on even with the tires at the correct pressure. Just hit the my car button on the center console and that will bring up the TPMS calibration screen. Volvo switched to an Intelligent TPMS that doesn't have an actual TPMS sensor on each wheel. Low tire pressures are calculated by monitoring individual wheel rotation speeds.

Much obliged - this worked and solved the TPMS warning problem.

Originally Posted by DMFWallace

Sharp car, congrats!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by GTJordan

Pilot assist in the SPA cars is more autonomous. It will do much more driving for you. I keep meaning to take a new 90 out for a good drive to test it's limits.

Jorsan

Yeah the S90 and V90 are gorgeous cars and it would be awesome to consider one of those someday. At likely over $50k for the V90 though it's not gonna happen for us any time soon. Maybe used once they have been around for a while...

I'm hoping they will be at the LA Auto Show this year so I can give them a good once-over.

[GTJordan]

Your local dealer probably has one now. We received two this week- one for the show room and one for the demo. I haven't driven either, but I drove the V90 over in Sweden a month ago. VERY impressive cars. One of my other friends first comment was that the front has a cigarette lighter, and the rear has an ashtray..... They got their demo cars before us.

And of course, wait a year or two before you buy. Lol. My plan is to buy a 2018 xc90 when they start coming in used- so about 2022.

Jordan