2003 Volvo S60 Review and Specs

Summary

What Edmunds.com says

Is it an elegant luxury sedan or a sleek sport sedan? Surprise, it can be both.

Pros

Long list of standard safety features, luxurious interior, powerful turbocharged engine in top-line T5 model, deceptively quick 2.4T power plant, available all-wheel drive.

Cons

Handling lacks true sport-sedan precision, expensive optional equipment, torque steer in the T5 model.

What's New for 2003

A new high-performance model, the S60 R, will become available later in the year. Otherwise, minor changes are in store for Volvo's sport sedan for 2003. A leather-wrapped steering wheel, along with a stereo with a CD and a cassette deck, now grace the interior of the 2.4 and the 2.4T. The latter also gets foglights and wood dash trim in its standard equipment list. For the all-wheel-drive version, the 2.4 turbocharged engine receives a small bump in displacement and horsepower. Rain-sensing wipers and OnCall Plus (the telematics system) are available, and two new colors, Titanium Grey and Ruby Red, brighten the exterior.

Consumer Ratings & Reviews

2003 S60 AWD

Written by: ed on 01/24/2009

Detailed Ratings

Overall Rating


Performance:	10	Fun-to-Drive:	8	Build Quality:	10
Comfort:	10	Interior Design:	9	Reliability:	10
Fuel Economy:	5	Exterior Design:	10

Vehicle

2003 Volvo S60 2.5T AWD 4dr Sedan (2.5L 5cyl Turbo 5A)

Review

Bought mine used. Put 60k on it in not quite 4 years. Nothing major has ever gone wrong with this car. I love the car. The interior is downright swank. Heated seats are the bomb, Acceleration is surprisingly powerful, mileage is average or a hair less than I would have expected (26 mpg). Yes, it's noisy. If that bugs you, it'll be too much for you. If not, the car is awesome. And if you have kids, you'll feel very responsible while still having a sporty, fun, and good looking car.

Favorite Features

Transmission, heated seats, leather seats, wood grain, handling in snow, acceleration, dependability, great looking exterior, easy access controls, and safety.

Suggested Improvements

Rear view visibility, noise.

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One of the best cars I have ever had

Written by: L.A. Philip on 01/13/2009


Performance:	8	Fun-to-Drive:	8	Build Quality:	10
Comfort:	10	Interior Design:	9	Reliability:	10
Fuel Economy:	10	Exterior Design:	9

2003 Volvo S60 2.4 Fwd 4dr Sedan (2.4L 5cyl 5M)

Of all the cars I have ever owned this is one of my favorites. This is a solid built very comfortable car. I would suggest the power seat package. The interior can look kind of drab, I have the extra wood kit and it makes a 100% difference in the look of the dash and interior I typically only keep a car 3 to 4 years I have had this one going on 6 years and still enjoy driving it. The car is great in bad weather, you hit the W mode and the car grips the road in heavy rain. The rear fog light gets people to back off tailgating in the heavy fog. On the freeway for road trips I get about 30 MPG, in town I average about 19 MPG. The 60/40 split folding back seat is nice to have.

The driver's seat is the best I have ever sat in, more comfortable then Lexus, BMW and MBZ seats. I would suggest the power seat package. This car is very sure footed in the rain.

Rear seat leg room, the trunk is large but a small trunk lid so not the best access to the trunk space. The gas door hinge is plastic and breaks at about 5 ½ years old.

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

Buyer Beware

Written by: NH WInter on 01/02/2009


Performance:	7	Fun-to-Drive:	5	Build Quality:	4
Comfort:	5	Interior Design:	4	Reliability:	5
Fuel Economy:	5	Exterior Design:	7

When I purchased my S60 AWD I thought it was going to be a great vehicle. I was wrong. Looks great, but many, many nickel & dime mechanical problems, which are both time consuming and expensive if you take it to the dealer each time. Traded an Acura CL for the Volvo, never again

nice paint and lines

less plastic.

Nice car, horrible reliability

Written by: D on 12/18/2008


Performance:	8	Fun-to-Drive:	9	Build Quality:	9
Comfort:	9	Interior Design:	9	Reliability:	2
Fuel Economy:	5	Exterior Design:	10

The S60 has a solid, safe feel, which is ironic as it rattles constantly due to the harsh ride. The design inside and out is fantastic and timeless. Interior quality and ease of controls are excellent, but lacks storage space. Comfort is great, but legroom is tight in back. Visibility is horrendous, as is low speed maneuvering. The car is fun to drive when its pushed hard. Reliability is unacceptable. I've replaced the starter motor, sensors, seat memory, and a bunch of other computer related things I don't know how to explain. The transmission is dying. The auto wipers have a mind of its own, as do the interior lights and the fuel gauge. The car makes lots of weird noises.

Solid feel, great safety features, slick awd, amazing seats and seat heaters, great heat and a/c, great looks inside and out, lots of useful convenience features, easy to use controls

Horrendous reliability, visibility, enormous turning circle, heavy steering at low speeds, lousy gas mileage, short on rear legroom, not enough small object storage, rattles, rough ride, often unresponsive key fob, slow to react at low speeds, horrendous reliability, horrendous reliability

Reliable, Safe, Fast, great MPG

Written by: Lois on 08/02/2008


Performance:	10	Fun-to-Drive:	10	Build Quality:	10
Comfort:	10	Interior Design:	10	Reliability:	10
Fuel Economy:	10	Exterior Design:	10

2003 Volvo S60 2.4T Fwd 4dr Sedan (2.4L 5cyl Turbo 5A)

Best vehicle I have ever owned. Ultra-reliable! Have 100K miles and have put nothing but brakes, tires, filters, bulbs and one O2 sensor in the car. Find me a toyota or honda that is that reliable, I dare you! Still as fast as the day I bought it. Gets 33 MPG on the highway at 75 mph. Still looks like new, leather looks perfect, everything works. Why they do not hold their value, no idea. Easily will get 250K miles and still be beautiful doing it. Highly recommend as a used gem of a car. Why buy a used camry or accord for more money, when you can get a loaded Volvo that gets better mpgs!

Reliable, great mpg, fast, interior comfort, exterior styling, paint, sound system, heated seats, build quality, highway handling is incredible, winter mode and spin control make winter driving more enjoyable

Front mud flaps make weird noises on very sharp turns. Turning radius is not the best.

2003 Volvo S60 Consumer Ratings & Reviews