2010 Volvo XC60: What's It Like to Live With?
Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD as our editors live with this car for a year.
What do you want to know about?
- Introduction
- Victory Affirmed
- Torquey, But What's That Sound?
- The Car Seat Diaries
- Where's Mah Button?
- Video Walkaround Night and Day
- I'm a Fan
- Cool Gauges
- Still Digging the Dash
- Road Trip Ready
- Yea or Nay?
- Control Freak
- Mode Man
- City Safety Demo
- Rear-View Mirror
- You Ask, We Answer
- Chock Full O' Nuts
- Horse Power
- Comfortable Rear Seat
- Disappointing iPod Interface
- On the Flight Deck
- The New Volvo Wagon?
- Scuffed Interior Trim
- Annoying Backup Camera Warning
- Recall
- Adaptive Cruise Control
- Collision Warning Freak Out
- Tight
- Euro Smarts for Rainy Day Safety
- I Like This Shape
- What Does Brown Do For You?
- Seat Heater Review
- Soft Pedal But Good Brakes
- See You Ladder Alligator
- Track Tested
- Built-In Booster Seat Review
- Fits All Sizes
- Navigation System Spelling Bee
- 7,500-Mile Service
- Wet Weather and '70's Television
- Auto HVAC Adjustment Pitch
- Now That's a Wiper
- Family Duty
- Dash Design Without Nav
- I Like This
- Suspension Walkaround
- Rear Passenger Space
- What's Up With This Grille?
- Controls are Great for Blind People
- Burgers at Bob's Broiler
- A Good Vehicle for Goodwill Runs
- My, What a Colorful Cabin
- Narrow Alleys are Not Your Friend
- Popped a Panel
- Aw, C'mon!
- Trip to Sequoia National Park
- Rear Booster Seat Video
- Just Say "No" To Adaptive Cruise
- Cheap Part That Works Just Fine
- Perfect 99.9% of the Time
- Smooth
- Window Washer Needed
- How the Ski Pass-Through Worked for Snowboards
- You Have a Very Important Message...
- Gauging Success
- Nice Dipstick
- Panel Mystery Solved?
- Lots of Telescope
- Are the headlights on? Always.
- Rear Fog Lamp
- I Have 15, Do I Hear 20?
- Navigation System vs. Blackberry
- Flip Happy Seats
- Gas Cap Control The Right Way
- Headlight Sprayers are Cool
- Cracked Windshield
- 15,000-mile Service
- Kicks Crack
- Hey, Good Lookin'
- Partner in Crime
- Road Trip (part I)
- Road Trip (part II): Mendocino, CA
- Road Trip (part III)
- Road Trip (part IV)
- Road Trip (Wrap-up)
- Sitting in Someone's Living Room
- The Forgotten Straight Six
- The Seats Remember
- A Sincere Idiot
- Seems to be OK
- The Cost of an Idiot
- Tan Wheel Dirty Hands
- You Can Feel the Grain
- Ergonomically Designed Turn Stalk
- Interior Animation
- Seatbelt Nanny Busts Unbuckled Fifth Grader
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System
- Hey! I Just Filled That Up.
- Excuse me Volvo, do you have the time?
- Bulletin From Sweden
- Dude's Weekend
- Found the Clock
- Splurge on the Power Lift Gate
- Bringing Along an iPad
- Respectable Handling
- Leaking Tire Fixed
- Meeting Another XC60 Owner
- Do Dangling Keys Damage Dash?
- Kenmorecool!
- Let It Rain
- 10-Digit Keypad, Have You Ever?
- Liberal Range Prediction
- Obvious Reminder
- The Horbury Shoulder
- Hot Buttons
- The 22,500-mile Service
- Cool Gauges
- Console at 25,000 Miles
- Audio Review
- Driver Alert Control
- No Noticeable Difference
- Know What These Buttons Do?
- The Fog's Getting Thicker
- Feels Good at 100 MPH
- Roadtrip in the Rain(bow)
- Good Steering and Brakes?
- Answering Your Questions
- Crash Test Videos
- Fear No Lane Change
- Bad Weather Brand
- Environmentally Friendly
- What Does That Mean?
- Pedestrian Detect with Full Auto Brake
- Twin Scroll, No Waiting — A Turbo Walkaround
- Pleasantville, Population Me
- Style With Substance
- Wrap-Up
Introduction
All of 17 miles into the photo shoot for this 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD, a new addition to our long-term fleet, our photographer sighs and gives up. "Does this silly crossover even have navigation, or is Volvo just trying to screw with me?" he says. But it turns out that Kurt Niebuhr's sense of self importance is as misplaced as the control knob for the navigation system.
Reaching behind the steering wheel, we click one of three hidden buttons twice and the 6.5-inch color screen flickers into life, a small arrow indicating the Volvo XC60's exact location as we're tearing north on the PCH. "I already knew that," he says as we prod the turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 to deliver further speed. "At least it's got motor," he acknowledges.
The 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD certainly does have motor. It also has all-wheel drive, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, collision warning with auto brake and a host of other safety-conscious achievements Volvo is known for.
Impressive in theory, but the real-world benefits of these devices are what's on the table now. In order to give our readers what they ask for, we've broken with our usual policy and accepted an offer from Volvo to drive this XC60 for three months. So we're hammering up the road as fast as we can toward a photo location. We have such a short time with the XC60, so we've got to hit the ground running.
What We Got
A little behind the scenes first, if you'll permit it. Things basically work like this. Car manufacturers give us cars that are meant for long-term tests. They are special-ordered by us for us to our specifications, and we get them with minimal miles on the odometer. There are also regular manufacturer vehicles from the fleet made available to members of the media. These are optioned from the manufacturer in a way that it feels is either representative of the market or representative of its finest work. They tend to be heavily equipped with expensive options and trimmed in colors that add drama to photography, and they're driven by lots of different publications.
When we noted that readers were asking for a few more utility-oriented vehicles in our long-term test fleet and specifically mentioned the 2010 Volvo XC60 over and over again, we put in the call to Volvo for a long-term test vehicle.
Unfortunately Volvo let us know that it has no ability at this time to give us a car built to our specs for an entire year. But Volvo also said it really wanted to be a part of our long-term program and, if we'd take it, had a regular press car coming out of circulation, although it would only be available to us until January 1.
So there were three strikes against this XC60 from Day One: We didn't spec it out, it had been tested before (at least once by us for an Edmunds.com comparison, which it won), and it was arriving with some 4,000 miles on the clock.
At least the XC60 lined up for us was the good one, a well-appointed T6 AWD. The T6 translates to a 3.0-liter inline-6 producing 281 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 295 pound-feet of torque at a surprisingly low 1,500 rpm. Combined with a six-speed automatic transmission and Haldex-engineered AWD system, this XC60 is good for an EPA fuel economy rating of 16 mpg city/22 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined.
The meat of the Volvo XC60's window sticker is occupied with, as you'd expect, safety features. Stability and traction control are standard, as are roll stability control, a tire-pressure monitoring system (which is mandated by the NHTSA), side curtain airbags, front dual-chamber airbags, a Volvo whiplash protection system for the front seats, two LATCH points, five three-point seatbelts with height adjustment, and integrated foglamps front and rear. Also standard is Volvo's City Safe feature — at less than 19 mph, if the system detects an imminent collision, it applies the brakes automatically.
But that's not the end of the safety talk. Add $2,695 for the Climate & Child Seat & Technology package, like our tester has, and you'll get overwhelmed with electronic nannies. There's adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, collision warning with auto brake, distance alert and driver alert control. These cover the basics we all learned in driver's ed but have since forgotten. Or they're for the Cyclops in the family with limited depth perception. One or the other.
The Child Seat and Technology bits of that package also got us heated front seats, heated windshield-washer nozzles, an interior-air quality system, power-operated child locks, and some really neat booster seats integrated into the rear seats.
Other options we were surprised to see on our new long-termer were the Multimedia package consisting of a Dynaudio stereo, rearview camera and the aforementioned navigation system with hidden controls and a remote for passenger use.
Terra Bronze Metallic paint adds $525 and the laminated panoramic sunroof, a $1,200 value, is included with this no-charge introductory offer! (No, we're not kidding. That's what it says.)
Add it all up — don't forget the $825 destination charge — and you're looking at a $44,240 Volvo XC60 crossover. We're glad they're loaning it to us.
Why We Got It
It's not that we didn't like the Volvo XC60 when we had it in for our Full Test, because we did. It was the fastest crossover we've ever thrown through our slalom and left us all with a new take on Volvo's mission. Safety plus driver control? That's rare.
But this selection for our long-term test fleet can really be chalked up to reader comments and e-mails. You told us you wanted a new crossover utility vehicle (CUV). You told us you wanted us to add a Volvo to the long-term fleet — something we haven't done since 2005 when we tested a 2005 Volvo S40. It was time, you said, to give Volvo another shot and to get something family-friendly, too. The 2010 XC60 certainly hits both of those points.
3 < 12
12 months, 20,000 miles. That's the Long-Term Mantra. That's the plan. But plans are lame, and being too rigid leaves too few options, so when the Volvo people said, "Three months or nothing," we said, "24 months or no deal!" And then when they didn't respond to our e-mails, we broke.
So three months won't get us to 20,000 miles, but it should be enough to get a taste of daily life with the 2010 Volvo XC60 and put a good deal of real-world mileage on our newest real-world long-term car.
We hope you don't think us weak for allowing this, but we did it for you.
Current Odometer: 5,168
Best Fuel Economy: 19.0 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 12.7 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 16.6 mpg
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Back in August, our long-term Volvo XC60 came out on top in the Edmunds comparison test of compact luxury crossovers, edging out the Mercedes-Benz GLK, Audi Q5 and Cadillac SRX. We praised the Volvo for its family-friendly features and space, well-balanced nature, and appealing styling inside and out. I mean, just look at that interior. Ain't it cool? After a weekend spent in the XC60, those thoughts and its victory were easily affirmed in my mind. In fact, I'm thinking even more highly of Volvo's new crossover.
Though we dinged the Volvo's steering, that was when driven aggressively on a winding road while being compared back-to-back with the others. In the real world, it feels responsive and linear enough and I'd happily live with it on a daily basis.
I'd be more than happy to live with the T6 engine, which is tremendously eager, torquey and smooth. Turbo lag isn't really a concern. I just love this engine and I really like this car.
The next however many months should be interesting with the XC60. There's an awful lot to discuss, especially considering the fact that the last Volvo long-termer we had, an '05 S40, departed our fleet in 2006 before the blog (or myself) even existed. I'm particularly interested to see how that light interior (especially the wheel) holds up given our track record.
Lag? What lag? Our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 packs a turbocharged I6, but you'd never know it from the way it delivers torque from a standstill. It's a robust and hearty (yes, I just ate some chili) mill that simply drives like a large-displacement engine. Just a nice, linear pull, even at part-throttle. A tip of the hat to modern twin-scroll turbos like the one tucked away behind that black slab pictured above.
During steady part-throttle acceleration, its turbocharged nature is revealed — this engine makes a hollow sucking sound that, once noticed, is difficult to miss. Dip the throttle more aggressively or chop it completely and the sound goes away. Based on the driving circumstances that produce the sound, I'm almost certain that the turbo's compressor bypass valve is responsible.
Aside from that, it's a smooth operator that falls nearly silent at a constant cruise. This is a solid engine.
A bit more time in the long-term fleet than initially reported. Time to see how this new Volvo performs when hauling a kid in a car seat.
I climbed into the back seat to install our forward-facing Recaro Como child safety seat. There wasn't a lot of space to maneuver back there, but I'd expect that from a small crossover. And with the front passenger seat adjusted for the relative comfort of a 5'8" passenger, the legroom for the kid once she was in the seat was limited. In the photo above, the distance between the edge of the kid seat and the back of the front passenger seat is about 10 inches, roughly the length of a preschooler's lower leg — thankfully, our kid's not a kicker.
Other than limited maneuvering room, installing the seat was average on the kid seat-installation scale, though it took me a couple tries to get it really tight. The top tether anchor is in the middle of the second-row seatback, which is easy to access, though requires doing so through the rear hatch.
Someone else on staff with the right size kid will have to comment on the integrated booster seats that come with our car's Climate & Child Seat & Technology Package.
The answer is after the jump...
It's hidden behind the steering wheel like in a Dodge. I eventually found it without looking in the manual. It seems other staffers were baffled by this as well, except for Mike Magrath who found it right away.
I'm at the tail end of a long-weekend with our new long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD and my complaints are trivial at best.
1) While the driver's seat is comfortable, I'd like the seat bottom cushion to be a little longer for a bit more thigh support.
2) For the Volvo's sticker price I think it should have a power liftgate. It does not.
Otherwise, I'm a fan of our new chocolate brown, people hauler from the land of tiny meatballs. I've even made peace with its odd navigation controls with are mounted on the back of the steering wheel. Give them a chance and they are quite intuitive.
I'm also a big fan of its styling and its turbocharged powertrain. This is without question one of the most attractive, best performing new luxury crossovers out there and I'll never hesitate to grab its key.
Yesterday I posted about my enjoyable weekend in our new long-term 2010 Volvo XC60. Well, now I'd like to point out one of my favorite details on the Volvo.
Notice how its gauges, which are simplistically beautiful in their own right, are front lit. This is unusual. Only the hash marks around the dials are back lit. The rest of the illumination is being thown from the front.
Benz used to do this in the late eighties and early nineties on all of its cars including the W124 E-Class (the 1992-1994 500E/E500 is an all-time favorite of mine). And as far as I know, Volvo is the only car company to be doing it now.
I like it. Good for you Volvo. Dare to be different.
Volvo first introduced the flat panel dash several years ago in the S40 as I recall. I thought it looked cool then and I still do. It reduces the bulk of the dash area and opens up a little extra storage space at the same time.
I was unsure whether or not it would catch on, but here we are years later and it's still there. Maybe Volvo is stuck with it, or customers actually like it, I'm not sure. But I say, good for them. Like the lighting Oldham was referring to, it's different in a good way and that's always a good place to be. Can't say the same about the ventilation controls, but that's another post entirely.
I did not drive our new long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD to San Francisco this past weekend as this photo might suggest. But I would without hesitation given the opportunity and the gasoline.
When I stumbled upon this fantastic image of the XC60 sitting under the Golden Gate Bridge I found myself asking a question nobody has asked me about Volvo's new crossover, "Would you want to drive it to San Francisco and back?"
For those of you that don't live in the west, San Francisco is a six-to-seven-hour drive north of our office in Santa Monica if you take the freeways and interstates. Take the coast and the trip will require a toothbrush and fresh pair of undies.
It's the kind of all day run that requires a comfortable vehicle with above average fuel range (to get you through those "middle of nowhere" stretches) and plenty of passing power (to get around all those 18-wheelers).
Anyway, the answer is yes. Absolutely yes I would gladly take our Volvo XC60 to San Francisco and back. Such road trips are partly what family trucksters like this are all about and the Volvo hits the mark.
What about your ride? Is it road trip friendly?
Two-tone leather seats with contrast stitching. Two-tone interior door panels.
Do you like it or not? I offer no opinion. I want to hear yours.
Yea or Nay?
I may be over-reacting to one issue, but my enthusiasm for the XC60 is tempered some by the electronic displays and the controls that manage them.
There's a setup screen high in the center dash controlled by center-stack buttons, a vehicle-info readout in the tach center with a wheel and button on the left stalk, and of course, the Nav screen whose joystick and buttons are cleverly hidden on the far side of the steering wheel (or in a remote control that got stashed where, exactly?). We've already commented on the hidden Nav controls. Really fried me at first. But even getting past that, this feels like too many separate committees and not enough integration in the planning of the electronics.
In other news, the little XC looks good, I think, it drives nicely and I'm comfortable inside. So I wouldn't hesitate to hop in and put 500 miles on it. But its approach to driver-information readouts and controls put me off initially and I haven't entirely gotten over that.
Wow. There are plenty of switches on our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60's center stack. There's enough material there for several blogs.
But today we focus on that guy in the center of it all: Mode Man.
For manual HVAC, like on our long-term 2009 Honda Fit (pic right), we can adjust which registers — choose the mode — we would prefer for airflow: upper (defrost), face (dash), or floor. If you enlarge the Fit pic you can see the dotted squiggle line that is the Mode Man. He helps you understand where that airflow is going to go.
For an auto adjust HVAC, a car's multiple processors figure out where the flow goes to best keep the auto temp setting.
But some people think they're smarter than the car or like to mess with everything, so Mode Man is also available for auto HVAC.
Alas, Mode Man is going away on some newer cars, replaced with text or other icons.
But not on our XC60: Volvo went full-on wacky with this Mode Man...
In most other vehicles with Mode Man, the switches are all the same size and shape. Look at the close-up of the XC60 HVAC and you can see that for the three airflow zones, there are three distinct sections of Mode Man's body. If you want the upper airflow, press on Mode Man's head, which is a separate switch.
But if you actually want air blowing on your face you would use the dash vents, which correspond to this Mode Man's body. It's only confusing if you think about it...look at the arrows instead.
Unlike many of the XC60's controls, it works fine.
But just like several of those same controls and switches, it is straight-up weird.
Disclaimer in advance: The "test" you are about to see was not done on our Long Term 2010 Volvo XC60, but rather on a short-term car which we covered in a Full Test
Further disclaimer: It's not a very valid test of Volvo's City Safety collision warning system that applies the brakes — outranking your throttle inputs, you can stay on the gas and it still works — when it senses a frontal collision. We didn't have a spare car to potentially crash a Volvo into, the Camaro wasn't here yet, so we just set up a few boxes, sometimes a trash can, lined them with reflective tape and tried to knock them over!
Oh, and we videoed it.
Attempt 1: 15 mph.
Well done, Volvo. Well done.
Attept 2 (or 3...or 4...we were nothing if not scientific here.): 15 mph
...not so good.
Volvo says this system is not designed to protect against small things flying in front of the car (kids on bikes, deer) nor is it designed to deal with off-center collisions.
So here's a small thing flying in front of the car AND an off-center collision!
Just like Volvo said, that doesn't work!
I'll just use Josh's City Safety conclusion from the full test here, as he took this more seriously than we did here in the blog, "... the technology clearly works and it does so without intervening in normal driving, since its activation is triggered far later than when any alert driver would apply the brakes in such a situation."
City Safety and other imagery equipment live in the console surrounding the rear-view mirror.
I've gotten used to it, but the first couple of times I drove the Volvo XC60 I thought this module takes up too much space on the windshield.
I took this photo slightly underneath so you could see it better.
What do you think, does it take up too much forward viewing space?
Here is the mirror from a regular viewing position, taken on a different day.
Each week, we ask you what you'd like to know about our COTW. Thought I'd answer a couple of the questions you asked.
phybenz says, "How is the rear visibility?"
Frankly, not great when you're looking over your shoulder, but the backup camera can help bridge the visibility gap. In the above photo, there is a parking meter that I cannot see by just looking over my shoulder. Let's pretend it's a toddler (fun, right?).
But that toddler is visible if I take a look in my backup camera. This isn't a big surprise in a modern crossover. Most of them are designed like this these days. Distinctive rear styling, a high beltline, dreadful rear visibility. These make camera technology all the more necessary (and in my opinion, when a vehicle is designed so you can't see out the back, the backup camera should be standard). I definitely suggest springing for the optional Multimedia Package, which includes a backup camera (with a pricetag of $2,700, ouch) or having an aftermarket camera installed.
altimadude00 says, "Is the rear hatch split like on the XC90 or is it one piece?"
The rear hatch is indeed one piece. I didn't get a pic, but you can see it in action (and in black and white) in Scott Oldham's post.
Canned nuts are the annual fall fundraiser for Girl Scouts in Southern California, and once again, I'm wearing the Nut Mom hat.
Sales were slow for Troop 4723 this year, and with only 18 cases to pick up, I wasn't overly concerned about my choice of nut haulin' vehicle.
But "always being prepared," I drove our 2009 Volvo XC60 to the warehouse, just to make sure no cans of cashews were crushed in the load process. With 30.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear bench, there was plenty of room for the nuts, plus my nine-year-old labor force could still take her second-row middle seat.
This weekend I drove the gals to visit our friend's horse at the local ranch where she keeps him. His name is Caro. Isn't he the cutest?
I asked our fleet manager, Mike, for any car with navigation because once I leave the city streets I am totally lost. There is no cell service at the ranch so if I took a wrong turn, I wouldn't be able to call for directions.
Plugging the address into the Volvo XC60's navigation system was tedious. You can only use it when you are stopped, so my passengers couldn't enter the info while I was driving. Using the remote to dial in every letter and number was time consuming but no worse, I suppose, than other nav systems where you have to dial around for each digit.
The system gave me directions that were very precise, considering I was out in the middle of nowhere. The ranch has a somewhat blind driveway that I easily could have missed. But the Volvo's system knew where it was going.
When I pulled into the parking area it was pretty empty, but when I passed by the car later, it was sitting in a lineup of Volvos. I guess Volvos are the car of choice for horse lovers.
My friends were impressed by the luxury interior of the XC60. I haven't made up my mind whether I like the light wood trim, but everyone else thought it looked very fine. And they were comfortable with plenty of room in the back seat.
Here's a picture of my friends's Mercedes filled with hay and carrots. I thought that was funny.
I took the XC60 for a much-needed bath today after a long day at the ranch. We had done some hiking in the hills and the car smelled a little of horse poop after I got it back home.
Hopefully, the car wash took care of it.
While our 2010 Volvo XC60's rear seat doesn't slide or recline, it's still quite comfortable by small luxury crossover standards. An elevated seat cushion height, decent legroom, ample headroom and a softly padded door armrest all combine to make this a vehicle I wouldn't mind riding in back of for short- or medium-length trips.
As iPod interfaces go, the one in our 2010 Volvo XC60 is a little disappointing considering the car's luxury badge. We covered the interface as part of a whole XC60 technology review on Edmunds Daily, but I felt it was worth calling out specifically here.
To control an iPod, the XC60 offers up its center stack's four-way rocker pad and the "Enter" and "Exit" buttons. Hitting Enter brings up the iPod's main menu (songs, artists and so forth). From here you use the controller to scroll down or move left or right to navigate. You can also use the tuning knob to move up or down. However, there's no quick scrolling function like you'll find on some other cars (like our Camaro's, for instance). To move through a list, you just have to hold down the up or down button on the pad. After a few seconds of holding, the scroll speed does increase, but it's still annoying if you have a long list of things to go through.
My other complaint is that there's no one-step back button once you're playing a song. Hitting the Enter button just takes you straight back to the main menu. So if you want to go back to whatever folder you happened to be in, you need to go through the whole process again.
I do like the top-mounted audio display screen. It isn't all that pretty, but it is closer to your field of vision, which I appreciate from a safety standpoint. And really, all the XC60 needs is a couple software updates: make the tuning knob work like the Camaro's and allow one-step-back functionality during audio playback. Then you'd have an interface that's on par with the best.
Once you shut off the engine on a warm day, the fan kicks in to cool the radiator with an enthusiasm I haven't heard since the last century. It sounds like you're standing next to a Grumman F6F Hellcat winding up for a takeoff from an aircraft carrier, like some kind of ultimate hi-def promo for the Military Channel.
I imagine most of us either had a Volvo wagon in our family growing up or knew of somebody who did. But then people's tastes changed in the 1990s and Volvo slowly lost its wagon-making mojo. There's still a wagon — the V70 — but there's not a whole lot about it to recommend.
In my mind, the XC60 has taken the place of the Volvo family wagon. It's less expensive than the XC90 yet is nearly as roomy. There's respectable power from our T6's turbocharged inline-6. And so far we've been able to use our long-termer just like somebody might have used a 240 or 740 wagon back in the day, such as when Kelly used it to shuttle 13 flats of Girl Scout snack nuts earlier this month.
Curiously, though, American's haven't warmed up to the XC60 yet as much as I would have thought. Of the three new European small luxury crossovers — the other two being the Audi Q5 and the MB GLK-Class — the XC60 is posting the smallest year-to-date sales so far. But hey, the Twilight Saga: New Moon movie opens tomorrow, and here the XC60 gets some vampire product placement. Will that correlate to more awareness of this modern Volvo family vehicle? It certainly won't hurt.
I like our 2010 Volvo XC60's classy-looking interior. But I was disappointed today to see that we've picked up some scuff marks on the metallic trim near the shifter. As is the case with pretty much any car's metallic trim in the Volvo's price range, it's not actually metal but rather painted plastic. No big deal — normally, it looks fine. But Volvo runs the trim along the center stack's edges all the way down to where the shifter and cupholders are. And in this high-traffic area, there's a good chance that the trim's paint is going to get scratched if something hard drags or rubs against it.
Annoying Backup Camera Warning
Most vehicles fitted with navigation systems have some sort of disclaimer about how one shouldn't use the navigation system while driving. A smaller percentage of cars also have warnings about their backup cameras. OK, sure, I understand that we live in a litigious society and there is a subsequent need for such things. But the warning that pops up for our 2010 Volvo XC60's review camera display is particularly annoying.
Put the XC60 into reverse and the camera's view pops up on the navigation screen. But the top one-fourth of the display is taken up by a legal disclaimer. This text blocks the camera's view of what's about to come into to the Volvo's path. You can still see what's directly behind you, so it's not all bad. But for parking-lot situations where you are wondering if a car is coming down a lane, it's just about worthless.
The warning goes away after about 5 seconds, and it only comes up the first time you put the Volvo in reverse. But the first 5 seconds is exactly when most people are actually planning on backing up, and typically you're only putting a car in reverse one time for any given trip. The solution to all this is to just wait for the warning to go away or just not bother using the camera at all. But overall I've found this issue to be the most annoying on a day-to-day basis for our long-term XC60.
Volvo is recalling 2010 XC60 vehicles because the driver's seatbelt could become detached from the seat frame in some side impact crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
We will schedule our appointment soon.
I was in our Volvo XC60 a couple days ago for an early morning drive and found it to be an effective highway cruiser. The cabin is pretty quiet at speed, the driver seat is comfortable (though not as those in other Volvos) and the turbocharged inline-6 provides plenty of grunt for passes or when going up steep grades.
I also took the opportunity to fiddle around with the adaptive cruise control. Adaptive cruise control works by monitoring the distance of vehicles ahead of you. You just set your speed and the minimum distance gap. When the XC60's radar sensor detects a slower vehicle within that preset range, the XC60 automatically applies its brakes to adapt to that vehicle's speed.
Our Volvo is the only long-term car in recent memory to have this feature; it's part of the $1,700 Technology Package. Overall, the XC60's adaptive cruise control worked well for the two hours of driving on straight highway that I used it on. It's not a must-have feature by any means, but it is nice in that it eliminates the traditional need to cancel and reset your cruise speed every time a slower vehicle gets in your way.
You can also just use regular cruise control if you want
.
The only thing I noticed was that the XC60's cruise-speed adjustment buttons seem to bump you up or down in 5-mph increments, which is excessive. Presumably, there's a way to switch this back to the more normal 1-mph increment, but I didn't have the opportunity to RTFM.
Our XC60 is fitted with Volvo's Collision Warning system which flashes a visual alert on the windshield, triggers an audio alarm and will apply the brakes at up to 50 percent of maximum braking power. I had a few false alarms from this system when driving the XC60 over the weekend. One is excusable, the other might not be.
The above photo shows the visual alert which is a line of LEDs built into the dashboard that reflect off the windshield when illuminated. They're much brighter and more obvious than this photo illustrates.
Here are the two scenarios:
The first false happened leaving our office's underground parking garage last week. When approaching the ramp, the system activated in all it's beeping, flashing glory. The ramp to street level is steeply raked enough that it's likely the rear-view-mirror-mounted laser sensor saw the it as an obstacle directly in the line of travel. Because there was no risk, I kept my foot in the throttle and the brakes were never applied — but the warnings were distracting.
The second situation is less easily forgiven. The system was triggered when driving down a narrow, curving two-lane street at 25 or 30 mph in moderate rain. My guess is that the sensor probably picked up one of the cars parked on the side of this very narrow street and assumed (because the street curves heavily) that it was a car in my lane. In some places on this street parked vehicles actually align directly with the front of cars driving in the lanes. Again, the audible and visual warnings only last a few seconds and the brakes were never applied.
Systems like Collision Warning and City Safety (which can completely halt the XC60 at maximum brake force) are substantial pieces of technology which utilize expensive hardware and demand extensive tuning. Having the sensor range necessary to make them effective probably requires compromises like these in certain situations. Whether those compromises are worth it or not is up to you.
If I had to choose one word to describe our 2010 Volvo XC60 is would be "tight."
I don't mean that it's not spacious. I mean the way it is put together. Everything feels tight and solid. There are no loosey goosey bits.
The seats are firm, the steering wheel feels appropriately weighted, the buttons and dials all feel sturdy.
I remember getting this same impression in our long-term 2005 Volvo S40.
You can feel that everything fits snugly and securely. And it's not bad looking either. Nice.
P.S. The Volvo still smells a little from my trip to the horse ranch. Sorry, fellow editors.
Last Saturday, it was raining cats and Chihuahuas here in Los Angeles. And I was glad to have the XC 60 while driving through it all, surprisingly thanks to the more lower-tech of its long list of safety features. In addition to the quick-acting rear defogger and side-view mirror heaters, the XC 60 also has something European cars are more likely to have than American cars are — a rear fog light. In addition to the expected fronts, the latter (seen here in the lower left corner of the XC60's rear bumper) provides a little more peace of mind when you're driving in low-visibility conditions.
Here in L.A., some drivers don't bother using their headlights (even though it's a law here) while driving in the rain. Then again, hardly anyone in L.A. ever uses their turn signals, either. These fools seem to think that headlights are only for nighttime use, not realizing that they allow other drivers to better see them coming during low visibility weather, such as when sheets of rain reduce said visibility to less than thirty yards or so. And that's the purpose of the rear fog light too, as it is much brighter than the standard running lights to give those following you more advance notice that there is indeed another car in front of them.
Last night I took my first drive in our 2010 Volvo XC60 T6. After 60 miles, I can say that it drives fine. Acceleration is just fine, with more than enough torque for passing (peak is 295 lb-ft at 1,500 rpm). The ride is just fine, with about the right blend of compliance and control. Handling is fine, with a nice flat cornering attitude around cloverleaf ramps.
But this is the attribute of the XC60 I'm fixated on: this taillight. I saw it reflected in my neighbor's window and it reminded me how much I like the design of current Volvos. In almost every case, I find their styling more interesting and memorable than how they actually drive.
While, like Erin, I do like the styling of the XC60, I have to say that I miss the old boxy Volvos of my youth. There was a 1970 Volvo coupe in my family (purchased by my then-single mom when she lived in Germany and brought to the States after she married my dad. It stayed in the family until 1990.) that pretty much sealed my boxy-Volvo-loving fate.
But I do have to say I love the warm, rich color of our Terra Bronze Metallic paint. It's subtle and attractive. Not too flashy, but worlds better than silver or charcoal or black would be. If I were going to buy an XC60, this would be the color I'd choose. What do you think of our brown crossover's color?
I'm not sure why, but when I think of Volvos I think of winter, snow, cold. I guess it's because they're from Sweden (well, now China) and when I think of Sweden I don't really think about beaches and convertibles regardless of that whole bikini team thing.
And that is why I expect Volvos to have the greatest seat heaters. But they don't.
Case in point: The seats heaters in our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 suck. Even on the highest of their three levels you won't break a sweat on a 75 degree day. And they heat up unevenly, with too much of the sparsely supplied warmth on your butt and thighs and too little on your back.
Disappointing. Maybe the Chinese can fix them.
When we tested our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 at our test track (full test numbers will hit this blog next week) it stopped from 60 mph in just 119 ft. Which is excellent. And its four-wheel disc brakes resist heat well and don't fade after repeated hard use.
While the 119 ft. stop was on the first try and the second run was longer at 123 ft., the third and fourth runs were both 124 ft. long, with is still quite respectable.
The problem is the spongy, soft feel of the Volvo's brake pedal. Feels like you're pushing the pedal into a vat of marshmellows and the first inch or so of pedal travel doesn't really do much.
I hate that. And it's a very big scare on an otherwise dynamically competent and likable vehicle.
Maybe the Chinese can fix it.
That is a six-foot ladder. It fit in our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 very easily thanks to the SUVs unique flat-folding rear seat center section. With one hand it drops flat and allows you to carry long stuff and still seat four comfortably.
Very cool. More SUVs should have this feature instead of the more common 50/50 or 60/40 rear seat designs. This Volvo is really starting to win me over.
Like every car in our Long Term fleet, our 2010 Volvo XC60 paid its dues upon entry with a trip to the track and a hearty flogging at the hands of our trained professional test drivers.
They chucked this 4,000+lb SUV through the slalom, around the skidpad and down the skidpad.
Follow the jump for the full results!
Vehicle: 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD
Driver: Josh Jacquot
Price: $44,240
Specifications:
Drive Type: All-wheel drive
Transmission Type: Six-speed automatic
Engine Type: Inline-6
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 2,953/180
Redline (rpm): 6,500
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 281 @ 5,600
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 295 @ 1,500
Brake Type (front): Ventilated disc
Brake Type (rear): Ventilated disc
Steering System: Power Steering
Suspension Type (front): MacPherson struts
Suspension Type (rear): Multi-link
Tire Size (front): 235/60R18 103H
Tire Size (rear): 235/60R18 103H
Tire Brand: Pirelli
Tire Model: Scorpion Zero
Tire Type: All-season
Wheel Size: 18 inches
Wheel Material (front/rear): Alloy
As tested Curb Weight (lb): 4,275
Test Results:
0 - 30 (sec): 2.9
0 - 45 (sec): 4.9
0 - 60 (sec): 7.3
0 - 75 (sec): 10.8
1/4 Mile (sec @ mph): 15.4 @ 92.3
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 6.9
30 - 0 (ft): 30
60 - 0 (ft): 119
Braking Rating: Very Good
Slalom (mph): 65
Skid Pad Lateral acceleration (g): 0.79
Handling Rating: Very Good
Db @ Idle: 43.9
Db @ Full Throttle: 76
Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 67.7
Acceleration Comments: No wheelspin. Makes best run first which likely means intercooler suffers heatsoak in these temps. Best run w/trac on, not that it matters.
Braking Comments: Softest brake pedal of the group, but still an excellent number.
Handling Comments: Skid pad: Non-defeat stability control. Heavy understeer. Stability control handles throttle admirably and instantly rather than exceeding tires' limits then heavily intervening. Slalom: Remarkably absent stability control intervention and, even when stab does step in, it corrects rather than punishes. Volvo is softest in this group but yields the best slalom number.
Our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 is equiped with a $2,700 Climate & Child Seat & Technology Package and part of that package are two built-in child booster seats which I used with great success this weekend. What a great and unique feature that could not be easier to use. They just flip up and easily press down back into place for the adults in your life (see photo below).
Rear adaptive seatbelts (that self adjust when the booster seat is in use) with load limiters and power child locks on the rear doors are also part of the package.
Plus, you can adjust the height (there are two levels) to get the right seat belt position on kids ranging from 37-47 inches in height and weighing between 33-55 pounds and children 45-55 inches in height weighing between 48-80 pounds.
And when they are not in use, you'd never know they're there. In fact, I kept forgetting about them and finally remembered to give them a try this weekend. My kids thought they were to coolest thing they had ever seen and gave them an A+ for comfort.
Because of holiday travel, I haven't been in one of our long-term cars in a while. It was a pleasure to slip into the Volvo XC60 last night.
Scott had been in it before me and as usual I had to move the seat forward a bunch to fit my lack of height. Then I adjusted the steering wheel for a good grip, the mirrors for a good view, the radio to my tastes.
No matter who gets into the Volvo XC60, they can find a driving position to suit them and still be able to reach all the features around them.
I can't say the same for the Ford Flex. I like the Flex and appreciate its many good points, but I can't reach anything inside its cavernous interior, no matter how I adjust my seat.
Somehow, the Volvo manages to be one size fits all.
Happy 10k XC60. I enjoyed your comfortable ride, heated seats, satellite radio and adaptive cruise control (ACC) this weekend. But it appears that one of your talents is not spelling. Or more accurately, not one of the talents of whomever or whatever is responsible for entering POI data into the navigation system. Seriously, "Geetty" for L.A.'s beloved Getty Museum?
Last week our 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 headed over to Volvo of Santa Monica for its 7,500-mile service. Trouble is, the Volvo had nearly 9,000 on the clock.
We can jump up and down all day and scream that there was no warning light to tell us it needed service and no window sticker reminding us day-in and day-out of impending service; the car just crested 7,500 and kept on going without a peep. It wasn't until leafing through the maintenance folder we noticed our mistake and brought it over to the dealership post-haste. We got the car with 3,000-miles, we just weren't expecting this yet....
The service advisor winced when he saw the mileage. Not because we were over, but because had we brought it in within the grace period, Volvo covers the first 4-services, if, apparently, you get it within the appropriate window. As it was, though, we paid $90.76 for an oil change, tire rotation (and balance!) as well as fluid top-off and visual inspections. We would have preferred to pay nothing, but so it goes.
While we were there we had a recall completed which replaced a cover for the driver side seat belt and they also un-stuck the center console which had lodged itself open.
The car was in-and-out within 3 hours, we told them we'd pick it up in the afternoon but could've waited and had it back in less time, and the cost was pretty much what we'd expect from a Santa Monica dealership.
Hey, it's Friday afternoon. Lets have some fun.
But first lets get a little business out of the way. As you can see in this photo, I recently drove our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD in the rain. As expected, it performed wonderfully in the slick conditions.
Okay, now the fun part. What car related '70's TV show did this small Venice, California building appear in regularly as the place of residence of one of the show's main characters?
I'll post the answer in a few hours.
Our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 has a fine-working dual-zone auto HVAC that keeps the cabin comfortable. Our tester also has the optional Interior Air Quality System with a carbon monoxide air quality sensor that helps filter out dust, pollen, and exhaust particles.
However, our XC60's auto HVAC has a 2 degree F temp adjustment pitch (interval). Most of the vehicles I have seen have a 1 deg temp pitch.
To me it makes no difference at all since I adjust the temperature to what's comfortable, as the temp setting can vary from vehicle to vehicle. And one degree doesn't mean anything to me.
But some people are quite particular about their HVAC setting, even bypassing the Auto function altogether. Others want 75F — exactly.
How about you? Does your car have 2 deg temp pitch? Would this matter to you?
Our 2010 Volvo XC60 has a big rear wiper that does a full sweep of the back window. A+
Here it is in action:
I'm no vampire, but I do like the XC60 a lot and would consider it if I were in the market for a luxury compact family vehicle.
I love the styling. I really love our car's Terra Bronze Metallic paint. The visibility is very good, and safety equipment is off the charts.
I installed my gigantic Recaro Como car seat in the rear passenger side position so I could shuttle my almost-4-year-old around this weekend. Cinching it down was a bit of a squeeze in the compact rear quarters, but that's not unusual for crossovers of this size.
I love the fact that the Volvo has integrated booster seats, but my daughter isn't heavy enough yet to take advantage of them. Editor in Chief Oldham says they're quite easy to use, too. That would definitely be a selling point for me.
The cargo area is plenty spacious, but I could have really used a cargo net or other divider of some sort to prevent unruly groceries from rolling about back there this weekend. That's one of just a couple of minor complaints I have about this very capable family crossover.
I snapped this picture at the Phoenix Auto Show of a Volvo XC60 without the navigation system found in our long-termer. As you can see, the screen gives way to a shallow bin while the stereo and HVAC read-out survives above. This seems like a terrible waste of space.
Why not keep the bigger screen, but remove its (terrible) navigation functionality like Volkswagen does with its touchscreens? And while they're at it, why not add an expanded audio information function to the navigation system for those times when you know where you're going? See, Volvo is seemingly the only car company that has a navigation screen solely used for navigation. Actually, there is another, but guess where Aston Martin sources its navigation system from? I'll give you a hint, it's from Sweden.
I like this little storage compartment behind the waterfall center stack. It offers additional space for small items like my trusty Flip video camera or sunglass case.
This design also helps the cabin feel light and airy.
Just don't forget you left your items there.
Another Car of the Week, another Suspension Walkaround — that's how it's supposed to go, anyway. But I've caught up to a point where many of the recent CoTW selectees have already undergone the procedure. Not so the 2010 Volvo XC60. Let's see what's going on under there.
Looks like your basic coil-over strut suspension. But the fuzzy inner fender liner is screening a lot of the parts from view. Time to break out some tools.
That's better. But it's still a simple coil-over MacPherson strut (yellow) and a simple L-shaped lower control arm (white).
Here's a close-up of that lower control arm and its pivot axis. The ball joint is riveted-on in three places (yellow), a design that's serviced by drilling out the rivets and replacing them with three bolts that'll be packaged with the new ball joint. It can actually be a DIY project if your garage includes a drill press.
Like we've seen on plenty of other AWD and FWD vehicles, the Volvo's steering rack (yellow) acts behind the rear axle centerline. The stabilizer bar loops overtop and connects to a long slender link (white) that connects directly to the strut housing; pretty standard stuff.
Front braking duties are carried out by sliding calipers and ventilated rotors. So far we've not seen anything unique. Let's move to the rear.
Now we're getting somewhere. Volvo's Ford past connection can be seen in the form of a control blade rear suspension. The tall-but-skinny blade (yellow) is a trailing link that defines the longitudinal position of the wheel but tries not to interfere with the work of the three lateral links by being slightly bendy in the lateral direction.
There's that blade again (black), but the pivot is obscured behind another fuzzy fender liner that I decided not to remove this time. But we can also see two of the three links: the upper camber link (white) and the shadowy toe link (yellow).
Here's a better view of the toe link (yellow). And we get our first glimpse of the main lower link (black), the one that carries the bulk of the lateral loads and shoulders the weight of the body via the coil spring that sprouts from it.
The angle of the toe link suggests that it might toe the rear wheel out when compressed, an undesirable trait in a family car because it amounts to roll oversteer. But the suspension is at full "droop" here. With the tire back on and the car on the ground, these links will get much closer to parallel, and then the shorter length of the toe link will begin to pull the outside tire in at the front as this link goes past center as the wheel compresses further, creating roll understeer. Still, the geometry looks like it might produce less of that trait than some other cars we've seen. Hard to know without blueprints and 3D models.
Meanwhile, the smaller turquoise arrows show us just how thin the control blade really is.
Here the main lower link (black) reveals itself to be a lightweight aluminum casting. We can also see the rear stabilizer bar (yellow) and the direct-acting lower mount of the shock absorber (white). No arrow points to the large urethane bump stopper that resides inside the coils of the spring.
Finally we come to the XC60's ventilated rear brake rotors, as evidenced by all of those cooling fins. They're hydraulically pinched by single-piston sliding calipers (black) in the usual way when you step on the pedal, but an electric actuator (yellow) does this job when you press a button inside to set the parking brake.
You asked about rear passenger space in the 2010 Volvo XC60 as compared to other popular models. Here is a chart with rear leg room and rear head room. Data is from the Edmunds.com Web site.
|
|
Rear Leg Room (inches) |
Read Head Room (inches) |
| 2010 Volvo XC60 |
36.4 |
39.5 |
| 2010 Audi Q5 |
37.4 |
39.0 |
| 2010 Cadillac SRX |
36.3 |
38.4 |
| 2010 Lexus RX 350 |
36.8 |
37.7 |
I like the styling of our XC60 for the most part. Not boxy, not too big, not a lot of chrome.
But there's one thing that annoys me every time I look at it. I'm referring not only to the oddly massive Volvo badge, but also the large cruise control radar stuck in the grille.
Was that really the best job of concealment they could do? I've seen similar systems on other cars that were integrated in a way that made them far less obvious. It's especially odd given how detailed the rest of the car's exterior styling was done. Oh well, I guess it was an option so maybe it didn't get the same level of scrutiny as the lovely headlights.
Earlier this week I complained about the silly display screen set-up of our Volvo XC60. Today, I will compliment the button lay-out. While complex tasks like controlling an iPod or programming the navigation system are not even close to being this car's forte, most-common tasks are.
For one, common controls literally fall right at hand. I reach my right arm out and the number pad is right there. Second, since it's a telephone-style number pad with the little nub on the 5, you've already been programmed to know which button you're pressing without looking. These Chiclet-like buttons are also separated from each other and raised from the surrounding backing. The volume button and the driver-side climate control knob are close to you and well-separated, while the little fan knob is not only placed by itself, but a unique size. Again, you know what they are without looking.
Directional man is another such control. Want air blowing at your head, press that round thing at top. Want it on your middle, press the middle. There was clearly a lot of thought put into this lay-out.
One of my good friends is blind, and I know he'd appreciate riding shotgun in the XC60. Nothing drives him crazy like an iDrive-like system or a touchscreen where he has no idea how to change a radio channel. He'll often just stab at something, calling up random commands just to piss me off. Come to think of it, maybe the XC60 isn't so great.
I dig the pop culture.
In 1958 Harvey Ortner and his wife Minnie built The Broiler restaurant on Firestone Blvd. on the site of an old chicken farm in Downey, California. Their architect was Paul B. Clayton who penned a classic example of what would become know as "Googie" style architecture. In Googie, according to www.bobsbigboybroiler.com, elements of space age are melded with neon, river rock and large panels of glass to create buildings that were visual works of art-vertising that so overwhelmed the view, they couldn't help but explore further.
Harvey's was topped by a 60 foot bent arrow shaped sign with 6 foot tall neon letters that could be seen from a mile away.
The place was a hit. And not just for it burgers, fries and shakes, it was a hangout for car clubs through the 1960's and 1970's. And it became a pop culture and car culture landmark. Harvey changed the name to Johnie's in the late 1970's, but he owned the Broiler into the 1980's. The next owner kept the doors open until New Year's Eve 2001.
Soon after that it was a used car dealership and movie filming location rented for such films as Pulp Fiction and Heat. But the building fell into decline and on January 7th, 2007 an illegal demolition of Johnie's. It was soon stopped by the city and concerned citizens, but not before most of Paul B. Clayton's creation lay in ruins.
The people organized. Committees like Friends of Johnie's Broiler and the Coalition to Save and Rebuild Harvey's Broiler were formed. The goal was clear: Save this icon. And they did. The city placed a moratorium on further destruction and in 2008 it was bought be the folks at Bob's Big Boy (another drive in icon) and was reborn as the Bob's Big Boy Broiler, which opened a couple of months ago. They even followed Paul Clayton's original 1958 buleprints.
Last week I took my kids there in our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60. We ate burgers, fries and shakes. You should go.
I was glad I had the XC60 this weekend. Though I wouldn't require something with so much cargo capacity, it was appreciated. A trip to Goodwill was a breeze as I just tossed (well, not literally) everything through the wide opening, as opposed to having to wrestle it into a trunk or into a smaller hatchback. As we noted in our crossover comparison test where the XC60 was crowned the winner, it boasts a generous cargo capacity — 67 cubic feet with the seats down. Flipping one of the split seats down was easy — no need to remove the headrests, just pull the release and it flops down — and helped make short work of transporting four large bags of clothes (a few were offloaded before the photo was taken) as well as an old commercial grade Hoover canister vac that's the diesel engine of appliances — I swear that thing will run forever.
I've only driven our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 a handful of times, and everytime I climb in the cabin, I'm still overwhelmed by the variety of materials used to create this polychromatic experience.
This morning I counted six different materials. And not just in a variety of colors, but all different textures as well.
I don't hate the unusual combination, but there's something to be said about classic black-on-black as well.
Searching for an ATM this morning in an unfamiliar neighborhood led me into a long, narrow alley. Worse yet, the alley ended in a "T" at a massive chainlink fence. Both the right and left turns were so tight, I immediately started to back up to better position myself for a multiple-point turn.
After several attempts and numerous warnings from the Volvo XC60's parking sensors, I gave up on the right-turn option. The left turn proved to be easier, with less protruding obstacles in the way.
At 38.4 feet, the XC60's turning radius is on par with the Acura RDX, Audi Q5 and Lexus RX 350. But really I wouldn't want to be blundering through that graffiti-covered alley in any of those midsize crossovers.
Next time I'm silly enough to dive down a blind alley, I'd prefer to do it in our agile Honda Fit.
I noticed a few weeks ago that a small panel underneath the gauges in our XC60 had come loose. I tried my best to snap the three prongs that hold it to the dash back in place, but while my skinny fingers were able to fit into the awkward space to push it up, my hand strength just wasn't enough to get the job done. I did manage to get one of the prongs back in place, which just made it look worse. Then I promptly forgot to mention it to anyone.
When I got in the Volvo this weekend, I noticed that the panel was off again. I didn't even try to push it back into place. If none of my strong-handed colleagues can pop it back into place, I guess we'll have to mention it at our next service visit.
Seriously? Never mind the obtuse steering-wheel interface (or hand-held remote that isn't much better) for the navigation system, but this photo clearly shows a FAIL in terms of scaling the real-time traffic info to the map size. To my eye, the red arrows would seem to point to areas where the real-time traffic display is worthless: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, oh, and over there.
I bought some nifty SCC Super Z6 chains for a Presidents' Day get-away to the Sequoia National Park because we heard it dumped over 8-feet of snow, but when we arrived, we found the roads had been plowed and we didn't need them once. Follow the jump to see more photos of really big trees and the Volvo XC60 in its natural habitat. Even the boring-brown metallic paint job looks right in this place.
The XC60 was on home turf in the snotty, slushy, sometimes-icy conditions. Let's hear it for heated seats, although I would've appreciated a heated steering wheel as well.
The Volvo proved sure-footed and never once balked at the changing road conditions. The CitySafe System, however, did freak out a couple of times, not knowing what to do with the changing light and perceived obstacles. Luckily, the system never dynamited the brakes and only flashed the dashboard lights and sounded the (false) alarm.
Here's some evidence of the snow report.
Obilgatory tail lamp and badge shots...
While there were no trees we could drive through, there is this fallen giant you can walk through.
And what trip to Sequoia would be complete without a photo in front of the largest (by volume) tree in the world, the General Sherman tree.
We rented some snow shoes so we could get away from the crowds.
And this is where the snow shoes took us. Talk about feeling insignificant.
Making our way back to the parking lot, I spotted the Volvo.
"Honey, what are you doing with my camera?" Actually, because the outside temperature was in the low 50s, opening the Volvo's power moonroof made the view even better.
The 600-mile round trip from Los Angeles produced an above average 20.6-mpg fuel economy with a car-load of gear and 3 passengers. I hope you enjoyed the photos.
Rear Booster Seat Video
It was so beautiful this morning, it made me want to make you a video. So, I'm going to show you how easy it is to work the booster seats in the Volvo XC60. Scott already wrote a review of these seats, but here they are in action.
Sorry, I had to shoot in direct sunlight. I tried to do this in the garage but it was too dark.
Our longterm 2010 Volvo XC60's optional adaptive cruise control is far too conservative. And this makes it frustrating.
Even at the minimum of the five folllowing distance/times from which it allows you to select, the system leaves too much of a space cushion. This means the system is constantly chicken-little-ing, hauling the speed down WAY before it's really necessary, which forces unusually early lane changes and/or allows other drivers to change lanes in front of you... which triggers further chicken little action, and so on.
As a result of this behavior I found myself cancelling the system when I spotted another car in my lane way up ahead. A few instances of this and I just gave up on cruise control entirely.
But here's what I view as the biggest shortcoming of the Volvo's optional adaptive cruise — there is no way to simply revert to conventional "dumb" cruise control. Now that's dumb.
I should note that my esteemed colleague Brent Romans rather liked the system. Also, I'm not saying that all adaptive cruise control systems are worthless. Mercedes-Benz' system, for instance, is quite effective at not being flummoxed by moderate (or even heavy) freeway traffic.
When I first saw this little hook slung under the cover for the cargo bay of our Volvo I was not impressed. I mean, look at it, it's just a cheap piece of plastic held on by a little strap and some Velcro.
Then I took the bold move of actually using it. Turns out, all you really to hold up a cargo cover is a cheap plastic hook, a little strap and some Velcro.
It doesn't even fit particularly well, but it doesn't have to. Clearly, it was made to work simply, not perfectly. Whether it stays in place over time might be a different story, but for now I stand corrected. It works just fine.
The supermarket. The drugstore. The ATM. It took the kids to a birthday party. It took the kids and the dog to the dog park. It made a secret late night run to Toy R Us. It took the family to dinner, the kids for haircuts and hauled home a new carbon monoxide detector from The Home Depot.
This weekend I used our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 as it was intended to be used 99.9% of the time; as the quintessential family-mobile. I didn't drive it like a sportscar. I didn't take it into the mountains for any twisty road adventures. I didn't slap its shifter into "Manual". I never even folded its rear seats.
Fact is, I drove it over 150 miles, yet it was never more than 10 miles from my driveway. Short trips. Lots of them. Each one with a purpose.
I have no complaints.
This sport ute is comfortable, entertaining, spacious, easy to park, plenty powerful and it never feels cheap or uninteresting. Perfect. I think I'll sign it out again next weekend.
Part of the pleasure of driving the 2010 Volvo XC60 is its smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission. When you're cruising around, it climbs through gears almost imperceptibly with no bother to the driver.
And when you want to kick it on the freeway or up a hill, it's always eager to comply with a smooth and quick downshift.
Have any of you driven a Volvo XC60?
Our 2010 Volvo XC60 might not be dirt-proof, but with its Terra Bronze Metallic paint, you hardly notice a speck of road grime.
The dark windows, however, are another matter. Every dried drip shows on the outside of the glass. An especially stark contrast against the ever-clean body.
For my trip to Mammoth this weekend, I had put in a request weeks ago with key keeper, Mike Schmidt, for our 2010 Volvo XC60. With four people and all our gear and the car's all-wheel drive, it was the perfect vehicle for a snowboarding trip.
Fortunately only two of the four people had their own snowboards. Any more and it would have been difficult to fit through the ski pass-through in addition to all our luggage and bags of booze and food. Three boards in normal conditions (no foodie passengers) would have been fine and I'm sure skiers won't have the same concern.
As it was, our backseat passengers said they were very comfortable and didn't feel crowded in at all. "It's so luxurious!" they exclaimed, pointing out the interior materials and the cushy padding on the sides of the seats.
First off, our 2010 Volvo XC60 proved itself the perfect road trip vehicle for a short vacay in the mountains. Not only was it comfy inside for four passengers and all their gear but that turbo really helped us take mountain passes and slow drivers with ease, even with a packed car. Fun stuff.
In any case, on the way back to L.A. after a fuel stop we noticed the above message on the dash. It worried us. Not knowing off-hand how to retrieve the message we RTFM and saw that there was a handy "Read" button on the left steering wheel stalk.
Read what the car wanted to tell us after the jump...
Wuuut? You don't say? I have no idea why the Volvo chose to point this out to us, considering that the left and rear belts have been in use since the beginning of the weekend. (See here for demo.) We didn't do anything at the fuel stop except gas up, stretch our legs and get back in the car. Any guesses why it would do this?
I recently spent some time in the C30, and that cool little hatch reminded me that Volvo does a great job of creating vehicles that feel special and non-generic. The cabin of our XC60 offers further proof.
We've already spotlighted the neat waterfall design of its center console. I also dig the gauges. They're straightforward yet elegant, with a design that's simple without being boring. Love the generous metallic accents, and the clean black, silver and red color scheme.
The other day I decided to check the oil level within the engine of our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60. I expected the car to have a digital oil level readout as part of its driver information menu, but it doesn't. Turns out Volvo makes you check the oil the old fashion way, and that's just fine with me.
So I popped the hood, and was pleasantly surprised to find a well marked easy to find and easy to reach dipstick within the XC60's congested engine bay. It's right up front where it should be and is easily used without touching other dirty or hot bits.
Way to go Volvo. By the way, the oil level was fine.
Back in February, I posted about the panel behind our XC60's steering column being popped out of place. I think I've figured out why it happened. The above photo is of the same panel with the telescoping steering wheel is telescoped all the way out. That panel goes right where it's supposed to be. When you telescope the steering wheel all the way in, the panel pops out.
Do any XC60 owners out there notice the same thing?
The telescoping steering wheel is a magical invention if you have long legs, and I particularly like the one in our 2010 Volvo XC60. It has a wide range of adjustment. I can bring the steering wheel close enough to hold it at 9-and-3 with my elbows lightly bent while still having the seat scooted back for my legs. This adjustability contributes to the XC60's excellent driving position — not something to take for granted in a crossover SUV.
I took a couple quick photos this morning to show you where the steering wheel is when it's fully extended (left) and fully retracted (right). (The seat is in the same position on its track.)
Our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 has no Auto switch for the headlamps.
This is a bit unusual, as vehicles in this segment usually have an Auto switch.
But what's really strange is that there is almost no difference between the On or Off position.
I took a picture of both lamp conditions to verify and couldn't find a difference.
They seem to always be on.
The only difference I noticed is that you can't operate the highbeams with the lamps switched Off.
Kind of a waste, don't you think?
Our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 has a rear fog lamp. What's different about the Volvo's is that it is in the bumper, where other SUV's have passive reflectors, instead of in the tail lamp.
I don't know how visible it would be when it's that low.
We've been driving our Volvo XC60 for over 8 months now. As you can see in the photo above, we missed its 15,000-mile birthday by a few hundred.
We only have it until June when it will turn into a pumpkin and go back to the Volvo-godmother. Can we make 20,000 miles by then? Probably not.
I'll miss the Volvo. It may have had its faults, like a frustrating navigation system. But it has a nice torquey engine, responsive automatic transmission, comfortable seats, a built-in rear booster seat, a pleasing audio system and the light colored interior still looks fresh as a daisy — even after I took it to horse-poop ranch.
Today I was riding shotgun in our 2010 Volvo XC60 while Executive Editor Michael Jordan drove. We'd neglected to program our destination into the XC60's navigation system before setting out, so I figured I'd use the car's TV-style auxiliary remote to do it en route.
Of course, it didn't work. Turns out you can't use the steering wheel or the remote to program the nav while the car is moving. It's unfortunate Volvo's legal team couldn't allow just the remote to remain active in these situations.
So I pulled out my dinosaur BlackBerry, which has the Google Maps app. The BlackBerry is slower to process commands, but being able to use it while the XC60 was moving was a big advantage. It also has better maps than the Volvo, whose software inexplicably leaves most major streets unlabeled.
On the other hand, the BlackBerry doesn't automatically recalculate (you have to tell it do that if you suspect you've veered off course), so eventually, after a series of layovers at stoplights, I did go ahead and program the XC60's system.
In this instance, neither device was an ideal solution — and it's easy to see why there's a big opportunity here for Sync and other such apps to move in and organize our lives (or at least bring the semblance of organization).
Our long-term Volvo XC60 pulled yeoman's duty this weekend, hauling a ton of boxed discount audio gear around L.A. The XC60's rear seat does not slide fore-aft, but it does make itself quite useful with a split folding setup and slick headrests that duck out of the way with the flick of a lever.
When loading gear from the hatch, even those of average height can reach the latches on the top of the seat backs. The XC60's seats fold down in three sections (40/20/40), and a quick lift of the seatback latch lets you easily tumble the sections forward. For the outboard seats, a small adjacent lever flops the headrests down, letting the seatbacks fall flat even when the front seats are set back quite a bit.
The sizable flat load floor (Volvo claims 17 square feet) feels as solid and drum tight as a Swedish fishing boat, and the short-pile carpet is a boon for sliding cardboard boxes. The squared off lower section of the XC60 hatch lets items about a foot tall rest all the way back against the tailgate, increasing the load length.
Returning the seatbacks upright takes a little effort due to their secure-feeling heft, and you can lock them in place when upright. For as curvy as it is, the XC60's flat and solid load floor was a bit of a surprise, reeks of quality, and notches it up a bit on the truly useful SUV scale.
Recently there has been a fair bit of debate about the goods and bads of certain gas cap holding systems fueled by Brent Romans' recent post on our long-term VW GTI. Forget the fact that people are obviously just too stupid to put the cap atop the gas pump and remember to reinstall it on the car before they drive away. Instead, every car company has highly paid engineers wasting time on gas cap storage systems, which at best drives up the cost of our cars and at worst takes resources away from developing the vehicle's other systems and improving things like fuel mileage and safety.
Oh well, it's the modern world we live in.
Having said that, I think Volvo has the whole gas cap thing figured out. The gas cap tether system on our long-term VC60 is simple and affective. And unlike some other tether systems, it keeps the cap off the SUV's paint. Notice how it is hanging straight down from the gas door and is not in contact with the Volvo's chocolate brown finish.
Headlight sprayers are cool. Pointless, but cool. Also, very messy.
A big rock came off the back of a Ford F-150 on the freeway this morning, making contact with the Volvo XC60's windshield right along the driver's side A-pillar.
The truck was at least three car-lengths ahead of me, and I totally saw it coming. Still, the loud smack and crack made me jump.
Initial star and crack measured approximately three inches. Was five by the time I arrived at the office.
How much and how long will it take are questions we'll answer later this week.
This one was really easy. We called Volvo of Santa Monica and scheduled an appointment for a 15,000-mile service on our 2010 Volvo XC60. "We have an opening tomorrow at 9am," the operator said. We took it.
At 9am we dropped off the XC60. By 11am our phone rang. The Volvo was ready for pick up. This service covered an oil and filter change, cabin air filter replacement and the usual assortment of visual inspections. And it cost us nothing.
Complimentary Factory Scheduled Maintenance paid the bill. We get 3 years or 36,000 miles on Volvo's tab. Cool. One less expense report for me.
Above is the scenic view from the driver's seat of our XC60 as seen this past weekend. You'll notice that the crossover's crack problem has been dealt with; we picked it up with its new windshield in place at the Volvo dealership on Friday, with the bill totaling $1032.89 ($741.81 for parts, $218.25 for labor and $72.33 for tax).
"There's gonna be some tape on the windshield — don't mess with it," warned fleet daddy Magrath. "And don't wash it — we need to give the glue a chance to set. Oh, and you might get some glue fumes in the cabin, so you might want to keep the windows down."
Thankfully, there were no fumes, and the blue tape was a lot less distracting than the crack had been. It was a good weekend.
Cars like the C30 and the smoking-hot new S60 make it clear that Volvo is perfectly capable of sexing up the joint if it so chooses. Still, I'd never really seen the XC60 in the same, or even in a similar, light; it had always struck me as just a decent-looking mom-mobile with great ergonomics and lots of cool safety tech.
But there's at least one person out there who sees things differently. As I was taking these shots of the crossover outside one of my favorite health-food stores, a woman rushed up to me to compliment me on its looks, and to tell me that she was considering getting one. She didn't seem to fall within the typical Volvo demographic — she was in her 20s, and bore no obvious signs of being a soccer mom. Anyway, after speaking with her, I took a second look at the XC60, and concluded that her enthusiasm had some merit — it's not a bad-looking ride.
What do you think of this Volvo's sheet metal?
Saturday.
Okay, so this isn't the most entertaining or informative entry for the road trip, but stopping here in Arroyo Grande was just an overnight pitstop and refueling opportunity. We drove 220.4 miles from home and earned 21 mpg — the self-reported average was a little off. Remember we've got about 300 pounds of luggage, two adults, and a child on board. I promise, the forthcoming entries will be far more photogenic because the next stop is Mendocino. Oh, and on the anniversary of Michael Jackson's untimely passing, we spotted him driving an M-B S-Class with all sorts of face-obscuring paraphernalia (click the photo below).
Made it to Mendocino. It's true what I've heard: "Too cute," and picturesque beyond words. I've avoided it for all these years because of that reputation, but I must admit there's something magical and genuine about it, as well. See for yourself, and after the jump, you'll see what Abalone looks like after a serious pounding and prior to frying (plus some too-cute and picturesque photos).
And right after the county line and before you reach the sea side town of Mendocino, there are Redwood forests.
Nice parking lot, eh?
And below is where my brave brother-in-law and his friends dove for Abalone.
Actually, you can see some other divers in that shot above, but those aren't ours.
These are our divers:
Here's a shot of the B&B where we stayed. Yes, too cute, with a history as long as the coastline is craggy.
..and the kids loved playing in the yard.
We were the only ones who stayed "in town." The rest of our family stayed at the Van Damme campground. No, the Volvo didn't actually tow anything; that was the only parking space available. Interesting side note: you can actually have these trailers delivered to the camp (meaning no towing necessary), enjoy your camping trip, then drive away. They'll come pick it up for you. Sounds like a good option for those people or vehicles that are not tow rated.
Okay, so here's what Abalone looks like after it has been removed from its shell, sliced into steaks, and pounded.
I know, it doesn't look very appetizing, but after the pounding, breading, and frying, it is delicious. Somebody else at the camp made Abalone Chouder instead, and it too was delicious.
Kids love this part
More Volvo XC60 Road Trip photos to come. Next stop, Crater Lake, OR...
Made it! But only after a nauseating, easterly romp from Mendocino on otherwise gorgeous Highway 20. It was a long haul day (about 450 miles), but if you've never seen Crater Lake in Southern Oregon, it truly is a sight to behold.
Unfortunately, my daughter thought she'd start to pass the time (over 8 hours) by reading a book in the back seat on this road. Bad idea, we know, and the reason for this amazingly crisp photo is that I'm in the Volvo while my wife is holding my daughter's hair back on the side of the road. Nice.
But once we reached Interstate-5, all was good and it was essentially a straight shot to the border.
Once we arrived at Crater Lake, the reports that there was snow on the ground in the summer held true. We overheard a local say that there are only two seasons in Crater Lake: Winter and August. The area gets over 500 inches of snow each year and some of the roads around the Rim drive were still closed.
Once the snow removal begins in earnest in May/June, the crews are happy if they can clear a quarter-mile of road with a 30-foot snow drift each day. A 30-foot wide x 30-foot tall x 1,320-foot long section of road amounts to almost 1.2 million cubic feet of snow.
But here's the reason Crater Lake is so special...(click on the image to expand)
The lake is the deepest in No. America at almost 2,000-feet deep, and so blue you'd swear your eyes are playing tricks on you. At 6-miles across, the lake was formed after the volcano that once was Mount Mazama fell in on itself (into its depleted magma pool that could no longer support the mountain) hundreds of thousands of years ago. What once was a 14,000-foot peak was swallowed up by the earth and now the highest point on the steep-sided rim is only 8,159 feet, or about a mile below the original height of the peak. I know, hard to imagine.
The small island in Crater Lake (Wizard Island) continued to erupt for some time, literally coating the basin of Mt. Mazama's caldera with lava that is believed to have sealed bottom, allowing it to be more water tight. With so much snow fall, it was only a matter of time (okay, a long time) before the caldera filled with water. There's no inlet nor outlet, so what water is in the lake is just snow melt and rain water. Supposedly, it's the cleanest water in North America, which is why you can't put a personal boat in it — that and there's really no safe place to enter the lake with the sides so steep. You can hike down to the water, though.
There's really only one place to stay at the Lake, but the recently refirbished, historic Lodge is exactly what you'd expect: cozy, friendly, the rooms are a little tight, but the view is spectacular.
The last fuel log showed a 546-mile run at 21.2 mpg, which seems to be pretty consistent. I will say that the advantages of the turbo in this altitude are obvious. Other vehicles struggle to get up the hills and the Volvo XC60 T6 doesn't care one bit.
Next stop, Sun River, OR.
Sunriver, Oregon — the furthest point from home on our summer Part III was Crater Lake, and now we can unpack and stop living out of suit cases for a while.
We rented this house in the Sunriver Resort community with friends and are using it as base camp for a number of outings, starting with a downhill mountain bike ride to several (water) falls. If you've liked my vacation photos so far, there are more after the jump...
Like I said, we can finally unpack. Although our 2010 Volvo XC60 offers 30.8 cu-ft of luggage capacity, and I have a reputation for my mad 3D Tetris skillz, I had to resort to stowing some items beneath the floor to get (almost) everything in. My daughter's bicycle didn't make it.
No worries, because the well equipped house had pink one just like hers in the garage and for those occasions when we actually had to get someplace on bikes, I've grown used to the ubiquitous "tag-along" arrangement that is so prevelent here.
We also signed ourselves up for a day-long ride down the Paulina (that's Paul-eye-nah) Plunge trail.
The company has what it says is the largest bike hauler in the world, and from the looks of it (and this is just the front third), I'd say they're pretty safe with that boast. There must've been 200 bikes on the trailer. After being bussed to the top of the hill, it's (mostly) downhill from there. We stopped several times to hike to nearby creeks and pools and falls for more fun.
Ready for fun!
Our guides were well versed in the lore of Chief Paulina as well as the delicate ecology of the forest where he lived. They also led us to beautiful falls and pools (and natural water slides) where it is believed the Chief entertained his family.
Pretty, huh?
Yes, that's me, but I'm not jumping because it's too shallow — and cold. My buddy Ray, however, was braver than I was.
Hard to imagine a more picturesque place.
He said his legs began to go numb by the time he waded out. You go, Ray.
Further down the trail, our guides had a surprise or two for the gullible tourists...
That's Ray's son "Sitting-Iron-Butt" Nico taking a ride on the supposedly smooth rocks. He said it didn't hurt THAT much. And do you see all that soot on his face? They made all of us put cinders on our faces to keep the spirit of Chief Paulina at bay.
Kids, of course, were more than happy to comply with the coal-miner look. The adults were less enthusiastic — and concerned with their complexions.
Back at the resort, we did the usual bike trail rides, watched a guy fly fish, and went to a giant cookout on the Fourth.
There are miles and miles of bike trails in Sunriver.
And this guy doing his best to look like an ad for Sunriver.
Don't worry, nobody was airlifted to safety. The local first-responders simply had a better way to arrive at the annual July 4th cookout. The concessioners and their lightly tethered tents weren't as happy with the airborne arrival, however.
But at least they allowed folks to climb aboard.
And there was cotton candy to match at least one outfit that day.
This concludes your peek into my family vacation. I need to get back to it while there's still time.
The long haul home will leave no time for more blogs. I'll do a wrap-up fuel tally once I return to the office, but thus far, we've traveled about 1,100 miles and are averaging just over 20 mpg.
After 2,490 miles, 120.9 gallons of fuel, and an average of 21 mpg, the Road Trip is done. That fuel economy is pretty remarkable considering the EPA's Hwy mpg figure is exactly the same at 21 mpg, but we managed it with a few hundred pounds of family and stuff.
Follow the jump to see my final impressions and a few more snap shots from the road.
The best fuel economy we earned was on the 428-mile run (a record number of miles from one tank in the XC60, by the way) from Sunriver, OR to Sacramento, CA where, for reasons I cannot comprehend, we earned 25 mpg. I had hoped the next tank would take me the rest of the way home from Sacramento to Fullerton (the navi said it was just 417 miles — see below), but again, for reasons I cannot surmise, that tank took me just 371 miles to Castaic.
Perhaps the infamous Grapevine section of I-5 (below) took its toll, but I barely made it to the other side where I managed to cram 18.8 gallons of fuel in what Volvo claims is an 18.5 gallon fuel tank.
But I'm getting ahead of myself a bit.
The worst fuel economy was endured in the Sunriver complex itself where the posted speed limit is 25 mpg. With so many people walking and bicycling, the limit is strictly enforced. Good thing the Volvo's adaptive cruise control can be set as low as 20 mph — see below.
I've never seen a cruise control that was able to be set at such a low speed. Additionally, the adaptive part still worked, applying brakes gently to keep a safe distance from those who felt that even 20 mph was too darned fast — we were in Oregon after all.
I came to terms with adaptive cruise on this trip, which I have previously criticized because there's no standard (non-adaptive) setting for a selected speed. Typically, there's too much traffic in and around LA for it to work. If you set a speed, the minimum space buffer is large enough for other drivers to jump in front of the Volvo, and the system automatically jumps on the brakes to maintain a safe distance. But on the open road the system works like magic. I see why other people (who don't live in crowded metro areas) love it.
I made my peace with the Volvo's navigation system which often looks like this in Los Angeles...
We used the system with reasonable success finding hotels, gas stations, and to estimate how long each stint would take in hours/minutes. I still don't like that address input (or even city input) is blocked if the car is in motion (and my able-bodied wife is sitting next to me).
But when I least expected it, the navigation system came to the rescue just as I encountered unexpected Sunday afternoon traffic — see below.
Welcome home well-rested, sun-kissed traveler. Woof. The sky went all grayish-blue, the navi screen went all red, and suddenly, a message popped up, telling me that traffic conditions had changed and asking if I'd like to be rerouted. Sure, I'll give it a try... anything to avoid this mess.
The system told me to get off the I-5, take side streets around the snarl, and re-enter on the other side of sanity — and it worked. So, rather than taking 5 hours, 51 minutes (which was forecast by the system, it actually took 7 hours, 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, I missed the exact moment the odometer clicked off exactly 20,000-miles. Close enough for an official Milestone, I say.
So, that's the whole enchilada. Great trip, good fun, great sights, and a gentle reminder for those of us on our staff who sometimes transport family dogs to do a better job vacuuming the hair/dander out of the interior. My daughter has asthma and was sniffling/wheezing in the backseat until I discovered a generous layer of Golden Retriever left on the carpeted portion of the rear hatch. I can see how the car wash missed it because they wouldn't necessarily look up when vacuuming the cargo area with the hatch open. Just sayin.
If you're interested in the rest of the trip, here are links to my previous 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD posts:
Part I (Arroyo Grande)
Part II (Mendocino)
Part III (Crater Lake — should be called "Caldera Lake" by the way)
Part IV (Sunriver)
And below are a few more shots from the road for no particular reason.
If you're ever in Bend, Oregon, this is a terrific new hotel; spacious, inexpensive, and thoroughly modern.
Mount Shasta looked like it was erupting, but it was just making a cloud or two from the moist air.
It did look pretty convincing, however.
Miles and miles and miles of agriculture between Sacramento and Los Angeles on I-5.
Just another opportunistic silhouette shot.
What's so damne mezmerizing about perfectly aligned rows of saplings? Must resist looking, must drive, must not zone out.... Good thing I had the Volvo's lane-departure warning system activated.
Thanks for coming along,
Sitting in Someone's Living Room
I really like the different textures in our 2010 Volvo XC60's cabin. With blonde wood on the center console and the graininess of the chocolate brown leather on the seats, etc., I feel like I'm in someone's living room, specifically someone who shops at one of those West Elm/Pottery Barn-type stores.
The blonde wood on the center console reminds me of this mango wood vase.
The chocolate brown leather of this headrest is reminiscent of this Pottery Barn club armchair, no?
And check out these other textures after the jump.
Reptilian texture on the dash.
Cream leather of the seats.
Chocolate leather on the door panel.
As straight-six engines go, Volvo's turbocharged 3.0-liter doesn't get much respect. This despite nearly matching the output numbers of the world's most famous force-fed six, the BMW 3.0-liter.
I suppose there are reasons why. The Volvo's wheezy exhaust note is one issue. I suppose the fact that it's mounted sideways doesn't help its street cred either.
These things aside, however, the Volvo's engine isn't bad at all. It moves the XC60 quickly off the line and it's no lightweight. The power delivery is smooth too. A little bit of a peak is detectable, but nothing that makes it feel ill-suited to an SUV. Maybe it needs better marketing.
Much has been said about the seat heaters in our 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 — specifically that they don't get very hot— but what hasn't been mentioned is this car's memory feature. Say it's cold at night and you've got the seat heaters on, well, chances are good that in the morning it's also going to be cold and you'll want the seat heaters on. Most cars require you to, gasp, re-push that button to get your butt warm again. But not our Volvo, it remembers what you like and how not-exactly-hot-but-still-warm-enough you like your seats. It's a nice feature and the best thing I've found short of a rigid toggle switch.
Have you ever wondered what it's like to do my job? Some days are great. Other days start off with a Post-It note like this on my keyboard. Have you also wondered why our 2010 Volvo XC60 is missing from the blog lately? Take the jump.
Imagine the damage if the concrete parking structure post had been moving when we struck it. Our preliminary damage estimate is over $4,000. We'll keep you posted on its progress.
Last night and today I drove our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60, the first staffer to drive it any significant distance after a load-bearing concrete pillar hit it.
And I'm happy to report that I found no evidence of the damage from driving it (although I did not closely inspect body panels for fit and finish.)
There were no rattles or crunching noises, and the car tracked straight on the highway.
I didn't toss it around, but I don't think handling was affected either.
Our 2010 Volvo XC60 is back. A sincere idiot took it from us almost 5 weeks ago but now all is forgiven. Almost. What once was bare metal is again covered with shiny new paint. Every one of the dents, dings, fractures, scratches, scrapes, scuffs, gouges, creases, contusions, lacerations, and swirlies are gone. Those too are now hidden beneath shiny new paint. But it did cost more than expected.
Total Days out of Service: 12 days
Total Cost: $4,904.45
This blog was going to be written thusly:
"Volvo has been doing these light-colored wheel rims since at least the 1990s, and while they look great when new, they also look like horrid crap once a few years go by. When we got our long-term Volvo XC60 with this light-colored wheel I wondered how long it would take to starting looking like horrid crap. Well, I'm not sure the exact moment it made the turn, but as I drove into work this morning I looked down and was appalled by its grossness. Just look at that picture. Yuck. As such, buying the light-colored wheel is a terrible idea."
But then I realized that wouldn't be very constructive. Instead, I thought "how easy is it to clean the wheel in order to prevent it from looking like horrid crap?
So I sauntered (yes sauntered) over to my Z3's trunk and grabbed my Armor All cleaner wipes. With a little bit of elbow grease I got to work and the below picture shows what came off. Double yuck.
Three wipes later, the wheel looks pretty damn good and actually almost completely tan again. The wheel also no longer feels grimy. This definitely goes to show how much a black steering wheel hides how filthy it is over time — so perhaps buying the light-colored wheel is in fact a wonderful idea.
Many staffers here have complimented the blonde wood center stack on our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6. I was admiring it myself this weekend and noticed something.
When I ran my fingers along the surface of the center stack, I noticed that the wood seemed unfinished — not covered with polyurethane or lacquer. It's pretty nice, and adds to the Ikea-like ambience.
It's difficult to convey this tactile sensation by description so I'll try using Caroline's macro technique in the photo below.
I'm not sure if this unfinished wood will hold up over time, but it certainly looks good today.
Just prior to Riswick's thorough cleaning of our Volvo's steering wheel, I snapped this shot of the turn signal stalk. Look odd to you? Well, it did to me. Can't remember seeing any kind of steering wheel stalk that wasn't dead straight, regardless of whether it was easy to reach or not.
I never really noticed it from behind the wheel. All I noticed was that the turn signal was easy to reach. And that, my friends, is a nice little piece of design work on Volvo's part. Oh, and that "read" button on the end of the stalk? That would be an example of poor design. Can't win them all.
Many of us here have admired the interior of our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6.
Let's take an animated tour of the interior, courtesy Volvo media.
Several months ago, Deputy Managing Editor Caroline Pardilla blogged about her experience with the Volvo XC60's message center and its seat belt nanny.
This morning, during our race to school for the first day of fifth grade, my daughter thought she buckled-up in the rear seat's center position, but she didn't push the buckle in all the way.
The Volvo promptly ratted her out.
This is not what you want to see while driving to a barbeque on a holiday weekend.
The Volvo XC60 has three levels of warning: Tire Pressure Low, Check Tires, and Tire Pressure Very Low. But it doesn't tell you which tire is the culprit. So, I had to stop and check all four. Luckily I hadn't been driving for very long, so the tires were still fairly cold.
The problem tire was the rear passenger side. I inflated it to the proper pressure and the warning light went out. I continued on my merry way, keeping an eye on the gauges in case I had an actual problem with the tire. The XC60 will check inflation pressure levels when the vehicle reaches a speed of 20 mph.
Fortunately, it was fine the rest of the weekend.
The combined EPA estimate for the 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD is 18 mpg. We're averaging 17.6.
Yesterday morning I filled her up around the corner from our office. Last night when I started her up, it was obvious someone had taken the Volvo to lunch. The seat was moved and there were 5.1 new miles on the odometer. The fuel gauge was already showing some black on the right side.
Shooting for a combined 18? That's not so good. Even our gihugic Ford Flex and our Chevy Camaro SS aim higher.
Of course, our Volvo outweighs the larger Flex by more than 700 pounds.
Perhaps the design of the fuel gauge makes it look worse than it is. In other cars, when you have a needle hovering over a semicircle of lines, it's not so obvious when it drops a line or two. But you'd think the Volvo gauge could hang out in the full area longer than 5 miles.
Our Volvo XC60 no longer shows a clock on the dash. I've looked through the navigation system several times over the past few days, and can't find a screen that reveals the time.
Can't find it in the small IP above the nav display either, nor in the instrument cluster shown in Donna's Wednesday blog post.
Sure, I could look in the owner's manual, but I'm kind of enjoying the challenge (so far) of finding it on my own.
Photo Editor Kurt Niebuhr just returned from Sweden, where he picked up a Volvo C30 T5 that he'd purchased through Volvo's European delivery program. He had a nice time in Gothenburg, he says.
Most of the delivery program patrons were American, he says. Most of them were picking up some version of the XC60, which has become the Volvo model that you see most often in America. Just as the Volvo station wagon used to be the default Volvo in this country a decade ago, the XC60 is now the most frequently seen signature of Gothenburg.
Funny thing, though. Niebuhr says that the only kind of vehicle he saw on the Swedish road was the station wagon. Tens of thousands of them, all brands. He says that he once spent a half hour driving south from Gothenburg and saw nothing but wagons for 30 minutes.
What is it that Swedes know about utility vehicles that we don't?
Dude's Weekend 2010: Two dudes, a mountain resort town and a brown Volvo family crossover.
It certainly gave last year's dude's weekend of Paso Robles wine country and a beige Subaru Outback a run for its hetero money. Sure, I could've taken the ever-so butch Camaro instead, but we're secure in our sexuality and also figured a trip to a brewery, mountain biking down a mountain and waking up early for NFL opening day would balance things out ... or make us look like a charming couple of football enthusiast beer connoisseurs with an active lifestyle.
Whatever, onto the Volvo.
This was the fourth trip I've taken up to Big Bear Lake, all of which were accomplished using SUVs of very differing sorts. Two were accomplishes with Ford Flexes (short term and trusty long-term), while the third was in the winter using a Mercedes-Benz G550. While the XC60 wasn't nearly as awesome as commanding a luxury-lined black battle tank up the mountain, the Volvo did prove to be far-and-away the most adept at taking the many curves up Rim of the World Highway. The XC60 may have been the least fun to drive in the Edmunds luxury compact crossover comparison test, but I still enjoyed its reasonably tactile steering and it's still far more maneuverable than most of the lumbering, family-hauling trucks that clog the road up to Big Bear.
The Volvo's best attribute, however, is the turbo-6, which is a champ when it comes to elevation. With thinner air to breath in, the Flex's naturally aspirated 262-horsepower V6 loses about 56 horses at Rim of the World's tallest point of 7,112 feet. The G550 goes from 382 hp to 301. The turbocharged Volvo, however, keeps its gusto and it certainly makes a difference. It reminded me that Subaru has made a mistake by no longer offering a turbocharged engine in the Outback, a vehicle frequently purchased by folks who live in such snowy, higher elevations.
In total, the Volvo XC60 is a great choice for a weekend trip to a mountain resort — skiing families take note. Prospective dude's weekenders? I'll let you draw your own conclusion.
At some point during dude's weekend, I was looking at the gauges (as one often does whilst driving) and wondered "what's the deal with those four lines and the colon?"
I twisted the stalk-mounted trip computer thingy, but the four lines didn't go anywhere. Then I remembered Kelly's blog post about the MIA clock. The four lines and colon were clearly the unset clock.
So finding the clock ended up taking two people, and resetting would require just as many. After failing to find the clock setting in the trip computer, I turned to the craptastic menu functions on the center stack. The clock was not within "car settings." So I gave up, content with the sundial I keep handy for such instances.
Fast forward to yesterday and I'm sitting at the gas station with Takahashi waiting to refill the XC60. While I tried futilely to find the clock reset once again, Mark RTFM'd. "Turn knob clockwise..."
That's all it took. The T1/T2 trip reset stalk-button thingy in the gauges has a little clock icon next to it (though its hidden from the driver's line of site by the T1/T2 trip reset stalk-button thingy). I turned it and sure enough, there was time.
In short, found the clock.
While I'm on a trunk release kick, I found out recently that our 2010 Volvo XC60's interior trunk button doesn't pop open the trunk. Yeah, that button doesn't do what it looks like it does.
I had to pick up a couple of cases of wine the other day and the delivery person carted the boxes to the rear of the XC60 while I was in the car. So I found the trunk release button and pressed it so that I could at least get that open before I got out there to greet them. But then the lift gate didn't seem to respond.
I then went outside to press the exterior trunk release button. It opened. Apparently the interior button only unlocks the hatch. This car isn't outfitted with a power rear lift gate, which is part of the Convenience Package ($1,000). I guess I assumed that since our XC60 felt so deluxe that it would have that.
If I was going to get this car I'd splurge for that package which also includes front and rear parking sensors, a grocery bag holder in cargo area, a 12V power outlet and a HomeLink garage door opener. OK, I don't need the garage door opener but I do like that other stuff, especially with a vehicle like this that has all that cargo room.
Over the weekend I used our XC60 for a family road trip to visit my in-laws. It ended up being about 600 miles total, during which I averaged 22.5 mpg. There weren't any surprises as I appreciated the Volvo's roomy cargo area, the strong turbo inline-6 and attractive interior. The more interesting aspect, however, was the addition of a new Apple iPad.
I bought it for my wife last week as a combined birthday/Christmas gift and she decided to bring it along on the trip. At first I wasn't sure how it would work out; unlike many of my co-workers, I don't consider myself an early adopter, and neither my wife or I own iPhones or other high-end smartphones. But the iPad ended up being a cool addition.
While I was driving, she first used it to watch a previously-downloaded episode of Mad Men (with headphones), and later, because the iPad has a 3G wireless connection, find and listen to stories on the National Public Radio (NPR) app. At one point we hooked the iPad up to the XC60's auxiliary audio jack, and it was a bit surreal to be getting NPR broadcasts from a third possible source (the others being terrestrial and satellite radio).
We also passed the iPad to our three-year-old daughter riding in back so she could play some preschooler games we downloaded for instances when she got bored/cranky. We could have also used it for GPS/navigation, but at the time we didn't know it could actually do this.
I don't see any of this as revolutionary — you could get a similar experience with an iPhone, a navigation system and a rear-entertainment system, for instance. But we don't have iPhones and the XC60 doesn't have a rear-entertainment system, so it was cool to have one portable device that could serve so many purposes.
When you hear the phrase "Volvo crossover SUV," going out on a curvy road for an enthusiastic drive is not the first thing that comes to mind. But should you find yourself driving a XC60 on a curvy road, you certainly won't complain.
There's decent grip from the Pirelli 235/60R18 tires, the steering is precise and overall the XC60's handling is pretty balanced. This isn't to say it's the athlete the small luxury crossover SUV segment; that award falls to the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. But the XC60 definitely holds its own in this segment, and that allows its other qualities (functionality, safety, styling) to shine through.
Earlier this month (September 7th) Donna posted on how the Volvo XC60 gave her a low tire pressure warning while she was driving it. At the time, she just filled the tire back to its spec pressure. We hadn't gotten another warning until today, when I was driving the XC60 this morning. The culprit no doubt was a leak, albeit a slow one. I checked the tires with a pressure gauge (the Volvo won't tell you which one is low) and sure enough it was the passenger-side rear, the same tire Donna had found to be low.
I took the Volvo over to my local tire shop. It turns out there was a nail in the tire. Repair cost: $25. I heart TPMS.
Over the weekend I happened to park next to another XC60 while running an errand. The timing was perfect as I pulled in just as the other guy did. (In fact, my three-year-old daughter, who was sitting back, noticed before I did. Out of the blue, she said" Daddy, it matches!" It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about.) I ended up talking to the owner for a few minutes. He was young (probably in his 30s) and he had just bought his new XC60 3.2 the previous day by trading in his older S40.
I told him about Edmunds/Inside Line and the XC60 being a test car (it's otherwise a challenge to explain the New Jersey plates from Volvo headquarters) and he wanted to know what I liked best about it. I had to think about it for a moment, but ultimately said I liked its classy styling, strong turbo inline-6 and reasonably roomy interior. He took a peek inside and then said, "So is the navigation system as bad as everybody says it is?" Yep, pretty much. He made the right choice by skipping it.
Overall it was pretty cool to talk to a new owner. I've only seen a handful of XC60s on the road, but for picking a small luxury crossover he made a great choice.
We've commented before about the idiocy associated with plugging a key fob into a dash and then pressing a separate button, be it a BMW or a Volvo. However, I'm wondering what this design does to the area beneath the fob hole over time? Are there wear marks and scratches? While ours looks perfect, I have to wonder if that's because we almost always plug the fob in by itself without the the accompanying keys a regular owner would have. The same goes for similar plug-in designs found in our A4 Avant and departed 135i.
Does anyone have an ignition design like this and how is it holding up over time? I figure the keys banging up against the dash would also be quite annoying as opposed to dangling freely from the steering column.
I'm moving into a house without air conditioning this weekend. In other news, it was literally the hottest day ever in Los Angeles on Monday. Well crap, better bump up my plans to buy an air conditioner for the bedroom.
After doing some online research and checking to see which units get the most little red dots, I ventured off to Sears to pick up my Kenmore 70051. It's nice; very sporty.
While I certainly didn't need a crossover like the XC60 to get the job done, I must say it was nice to have the tall load height and wide cargo bay. There was no need to kill my back (not that this small A/C unit is especially heavy) or deal with finnagling the box into the back seat or trunk. Just like so much associated with SUVs, I didn't really need one, but it was certainly nice to have.
Care to guess which long-termer I'll be using to move this weekend?
It rained in Southern California today. Yay! Well, it was more of a light spray. But as a former East Coaster I miss the rain.
It's a problem in SoCal though. As soon as a few drops come down, people start driving like kooks. And the roads get slick from the oil buildup.
But the windshield wipers in the Volvo XC60 work well. Nothing out of the ordinary. But in a car like this with a lot of buttons and gadgets, I was glad this simple task was kept simple.
The Volvo XC60 drives well in the rain, too. It holds on while turning corners and doesn't slosh around a lot. No scary moments.
Do you like driving in the rain?
Our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 has a 10-digit keypad for making calls from your Bluetooth connected phone. Some Benz models also have this, but I'm not sure if they are phasing it out. I suppose this would come in handy for calling a restaurant or something that's not in your phone's address book.
But this keypad takes up a lot of space on the center stack. Most cars don't have this.
Too me it seems an anachronism — like a cassette player.
My question is not if this necessary or even nice to have, but have you ever actually used a centerstack keypad to make a call? I never have.
My wife took the Volvo XC60 on a 44.2-mile round trip this morning. When she left the XC60's range read 70 miles. At mile 39 the range meter looked like it does in the above photo.
Fortunately, she made it, but not without learning a lesson about the Volvo's liberal range predictions.
There's no missing this maintenance reminder in our longterm 2010 Volvo XC60. Front and center as soon as I powered 'er up last night.
Near as I can tell, this is what it's asking for:
I shuffled through the sixteen individual booklets in the owner's manual case and what you see above is the closest thing I could find that might have something to do with the alert in the IP. If this is indeed what the alert is referring to, then either the alert is delayed (odo reading below) or perhaps not as obvious to other editors.
Will keep you posted.
Volvos are boxy but they're good. Everybody knows this and that's because legendary Volvo designer Jan Wilsgaard made them that way during his tenure at Volvo from 1950 to 1990. The son of a Norwegian merchant seaman, Wilsgaard was a workingman's designer, known for standing shoulder to shoulder with his studio craftsman and carving the clay from the models himself, wearing clogs while he worked as always.
Asked to comment on the success of the Volvo 240, the car that institutionalized the boxy look for Volvo, Wilsgaard said, "It might be due to the fact that the car is a little square and sluggish, just like the Swedes themselves."
It was British designer Peter Horbury who changed all that and made Volvos look cool, notably with his unique shoulder line that helps make the Volvo XC60 the best-looking of the compact SUV crossovers.
Horbury had never really worked anyplace good before he became Volvo's design director in 1991, but he revolutionized the car Swedish company's design vocabulary and managed to do it while being true to the company's design DNA - an incredible feat.
The 1992 Volvo ECC concept car, noted at the time for its use of recyclable materials, introduced the new themes, and everyone remarked on the car's unique shoulder line. Sadly, the pace of progress at Volvo was slow because of the financial constraints that eventually led to the company's takeover by Ford, so lots of other car companies adopted Horbury's design lick (notably Honda) before the cars of Gothenburg were transformed.
But now this shoulder line characterizes everything that Volvo makes, just like the Hofmeister Kink characterizes the profile of the windows in the cabin of a BMW (a styling device BMW introduced in 1961).
After a time as Ford's director of U.S. design, Horbury is back at Volvo, replacing ex-Mercedes man Steve Mattin, who did the new Volvo S60. It'll be interesting to see what direction Horbury takes the company now that it has new ownership from China.
It's interesting that such a simple design lick can have such lasting importance.
I drove our 2010 Volvo XC60 a few times this week. Now I've heard of heated seats. And I've heard of a heated steering wheel. But the XC60 has a new feature. It has heated steering wheel buttons.
By the time the car warms up in the morning, so do the buttons. We're not sure what's going on yet. I'm sure curious to find out. We'll ask the dealer to take a look at it when we take the Volvo in for service.
We drove our 2010 XC60 to Volvo of Santa Monica for the service light Jay noticed the other day. No sooner did our XC60 come to a stop in the service drive than an advisor was at our door with a clipboard, "Do you have an appointment, sir?" We didn't. "No problem," she reassured us, "this service should only take a couple of hours."
In two hours, almost to the minute, we received notice that our car was ready. Just as our advisor explained, this service was free as part of the Volvo Complimentary Factory Maintenance Program. Volvo's program is 3 years or 36,000 miles, which covers the first four recommended service intervals.
Nothing special stands out about this dealership. Not overly friendly. Not overly prompt with repairs. Just professional and consistent. I'll take that over a forced smile and complimentary caffeination anytime. I guess that is why we keep going back.
From the driver's seat, the XC60's gauge needles appear to float around the dial. It's pretty cool looking, so I took a video to show them in action as well as how Volvo created the illusion. Not only does this design look neat, it frees up space in the center of the speedo and tach for trip computer info.
Yesterday our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 covered its 25,000th mile. In that time it has proven to be one of the most dependable and reliable long-term vehicles we've ever had. It's console, however, is aging. Fast.
Notice all of the nicks, cuts, digs and scrapes on the console's edge next to the driver's seat. Imagine what it will look like at 100,000 miles.
The Volvo XC60 is a lot of what a compact luxury crossover should be, and little of what it shouldn't. (For proof beyond the mostly positive posts here, check out the Edmunds.com comparo that the XC60 handily won, spanking contenders from Audi, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz.) The turbocharged in-line 6-cylinder engine in our 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 gets this family and gear hauler going in a hurry. The XC60 also offers ample interior room for the comfort of your bros and all their cargo, and it's stocked with some of the most advanced safety technology available to protect not only occupants, but now pedestrians in the vehicle's path.
Our XC60 has the $2,700 Multimedia Package option, which includes a premium sound system from Volvo's fellow Scandinavians Dynaudio, a Danish company known for their excellent loudspeakers and no-nonsense designs. But most compact luxury crossovers offer some form of premium sound. So is the Dynaudio system another thing that separates the XC60 from its competitors? We ran our beloved XC60 through a battery of audio tests to find out.
The Setup
The Dynaudio system in our 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 consists of 12 speakers powered by a robust 650 watts. The speaker setup is straightforward: a 6.5-inch woofer and a 1-inch tweeter in each of the four doors, and an additional 2.5-inch midrange in each front door, with a 4-inch mid and another 1-inch tweet in the center of the dash. The five-channel amplifier sends 130 watts to each set of speakers in the doors and dash.
The Sound
As with every system I test, I listened to the same dozen or so musical tracks in the Volvo that I've heard in literally hundreds of vehicles in order to check clarity/lack of distortion, tonal balance, timbre, tonal accuracy, soundstaging, imaging and dynamics. I also used non-musical tracks to further gauge soundstaging and imaging and to test for linearity and absence of noise. For more details on our audio-system testing process and the tracks used, click on the Edmunds.com article Sound Advice.
The XC60's Dynaudio system is unusual in that it has extensive EQ capabilities — for both the front and rear. Per usual, I listened with all tone controls set to flat, with the "Sound stage" setting on "Driver's seat" and with the "3 Channel" mode engaged to take advantage of the center channel. I also evaluated the system in two-channel stereo mode, but much preferred the 3-channel sound.
While the XC60 stands out in the compact lux crossover segment, the Dynaudio system did little to distinguish itself from other premium audio offerings in this class. That's not to say that the system performed poorly. But it's merely par for what I expect from a middle-of-the-road premium audio offering: noticeable weakness on the extreme ends of the frequency spectrum, relative smoothness through the middle and generally good soundstaging and imaging.
Bass response ranged from just a bit of boom with the jazz jams of Bluesiana Triangle to being severely distorted on bottom-heavy tracks like Joan Armatrading's "In Your Eyes" and Outkast's "Ain't No Thang." And the lowest notes also caused annoying panel rattle in the driver's door. Although the 6.5-inch woofers in each door did a decent job of producing midbass, there's no substitute for the larger cone area of, say, a 10-inch sub to push more air and go low.
The system also had the characteristic high-end sizzle of run-of-the-mill premium OEM, particularly with percussion such as cymbals and snare drums and with trebly acoustic guitar. These deficiencies skewed the tonal balance, timbre and tonal accuracy of the system and dulled dynamics. But the XC60's system is one of the few factory systems that still has a multiband equalizer onboard (in this case five bands, for front and rear) so owners should be able to tweak the sound to their liking. Although some audiophiles, myself included, view EQ as more of a band-aid than a cure — and unnecessary if the system is solidly designed in the first place.
The Dynaudio system shined when it came to soundstaging and imaging, with staging wider than the vehicle itself. And while imaging wasn't spot on, it was close enough that it came down to splitting hairs over whether, say, an image was dead-center or just a little to the left or right. And listening to the non-musical test tracks didn't help determine whether the imaging was off by a hair or two. Dolby Pro Logic II Surround processing further expands the soundstage, but at the expense of introducing an artificial quality to the sound. On the low- and mid-level linearity test, the system scored only poor and fair, respectively, but it passed the zero-bit/absence of noise test.
The Sources
The XC60's system includes a single-disc CD/MP3/WMA player with AM/FM and HD and Sirius satellite radio. It also has a USB port and aux-in jack tucked in the center console, and you can use the computer-sync cable that comes with an iPod to connect the device. From there the "Tuning Sound" knob in the center stack and the adjacent Enter and Exit buttons and the four-way rocker controls are used to navigate through an iPod's menu.
The setup takes a little getting used to and isn't the most intuitive interface. The Enter and Exit buttons, for example, seem like unnecessary steps to quickly get to your tunes — and cause more time looking away from the road. And information is displayed in the small monochromatic screen on the top of the dash instead of the larger, color nav screen lower down. iPod menu items include the typical playlists, artists, albums and songs as well as the atypical podcasts, genres, composers and audiobooks. If you plug in a USB driver with music files loaded on it, you get the same functionality. And while the XC60 has Bluetooth hands-free for phoning, it doesn't offer Bluetooth for wireless music streaming.
What We Say
The 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 is clearly tops in the compact luxury crossover category. We know that from our test against leading competitors and from our past year with the vehicle. And that it has innovative features like City Safety puts it even further ahead of the rest of the field.
From past experiences, the Dynaudio premium system surpasses the likes of Bose in the Cadillac SRX and Harman/Kardon in the Mercedes-Benz GLK350 in my opinion. But up against the Bang & Olufsen system in the Audi Q5 and ELS Surround in the Acura RDX, it would likely fall short. And while $2,700 for the Multimedia Package seems steep, it also includes a navigation system and Rear Park Assist Camera system, taking some of the sting out of the high price tag. Until, that is, you tire of the lame nav system.
The Scores
Sound: C+
Source Selection: B
iPod Integration: B-
Cost: B-
Photo courtesy of Volvo.
Came across an interesting statistic recently: A study released by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety reveals that 41 percent of the respondents admit to having fallen asleep behind the wheel at some point. Driving while drowsy appears to be pretty widespread. As such, it's little wonder that car manufacturers have come up with technology to address it.
Volvo's version is called Driver Alert Control, and it uses a camera on the windshield to detect when the car is moving in a way that suggests driver drowsiness. If the system concludes that you're sleepy or distracted, a warning beep is issued and the message shown above appears on the dash.
This feature is offered as part of the $1,700 Technology package on the 2010 XC60; this package also includes features like adaptive cruise control, a lane departure warning system and Volvo's collision warning system.
Is Driver Alert Control a safety feature you'd invest in?
Over the holiday weekend I asked our Facebook Likers what they wanted me to test on our Volvo. One person asked if we notice a lack of engine power when the XC60 is full of people and their luggage.
The answer is no. I don't notice a real difference. When you drive the Volvo XC60, its torquey turbocharged six-cylinder engine provides lots of power at the get-go, 295 lb-ft at a low 1,500 rpm. When the car is full, it still gets moving right away. And its 281 horsepower is no slouch on the highway. Good engine.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
See those buttons? The ones with the arrows? Care to guess what they're for?
They're for adjusting the following distance on the dynamic cruise control system. I figured that out after RTFM as it's not very obvious at first glance.
Given the limited amount of real estate on a steering wheel, this seems like a fair amount of space for a couple of buttons (why are there two?) that probably aren't used all that often. Anyway, the system itself works as advertised. Keeps you off the car ahead of you without being overly intrusive. Haven't found much use for it, though, just don't feel the need when I'm in traffic. And when I'm out on the open road, there are usually too many speed fluctuations to just let it take control. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet, not sure if I'll ever be.
I rolled my tired bones out of bed at 4:00 am to make down to our Cars and Coffee event on Saturday. There's an eerie stillness about Los Angeles that early in the morning. Adding to that feeling was a thick blanket of fog — an uncommon occurrence, at least as far inland as I live. It got so thick, that I deemed it necessary to make use of out XC60's foglights. But what's this? Two foglights?
Rear foglights aren't required in the U.S., so those who don't regularly drive a European car may not be familiar with this. Basically, it's a bright taillamp that makes the car more conspicuous in poor visibility conditions. In most cases, it's a single light on the driver's side of the car. In the case of the XC60, it's a second lamp mounted in the bumper.
I first discovered rear foglights in an older Audi A4. The rear foglights were automatically engaged when the front fogs were turned on. In our Volvo, you can select them independently. I'm not convinced that rear foglights are all that necessary, though, since the standard taillights seem bright enough as they are. What do you think?
Oh, and before I forget..."And Leon's getting laaaaaarger."
According to our death defying professional driver on a closed course our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 feels great at 100 mph. Smooth. Steady. Stable. Effortless.
On Saturday I had the fun of loading the family (wife, two kids and doggy) into our long-term 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD and driving the 150 miles to grandma's house and back in the worst torrential rain Los Angeles has seen in 65 years (I'm not sure that's true, but it was, and still is, raining hard.)
All I can say is: I'm glad we were in the Volvo.
The XC60 felt secure and safe. Even on PZeros approaching 25,000 miles old, it tracked true and would only dance a bit in severe standing water. I also appreciated the Volvo's turbocharged power. I always had plenty in reserve to blast around those that were obviously fearful of the weather.
Hey, you in the Buick and/or Prius. If you're afraid to drive in the rain, don't. Going 35 mph on the freeway is going to cause an accident. Not to mention make traffic.
The rain also revealed that our XC60 may be in need of new wiper blades. And I guess I should mention the picture perfect rainbow we spotted out past Cabazon. Hey kids, look at that.
We only have a few weeks left with this brown crossover. The schedule is to return it to Volvo after the first of the year. Is there anything specific you want us to post about before we give it back?
01:50 PM, 12/20/10
My Volvo story and then question: I always loved old Volvos for the well balanced (read heavy) steering and brakes. They were frankly always more similar to a BMW than anything else on the road and according to Volvo were that way because of "safety".
Do they new Volvos like your XC60 still have the good steering and brakes or did they Toyota-ize them?
And the answer is yes and no. The XC60's steering and brakes are responsive, but its steering is closer to that BMW-ness grfa mentions in his question. One of our editors Josh Jacquot explains what I mean perfectly in his well written full test of another 2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD, which we published in May 2009.
Josh writes, "Steering feel lacks the precise feedback of a BMW, but at the limit it offers ample information. Overall, there's still a marginal bit of refinement missing from the driving experience that can be found in this SUV's German competitors, but the difference isn't so great that it would keep us from giving the Volvo a solid look if we were shopping in this segment."
"Softer pedal than some competitors like BMW X3, but still a very good number."
Any other questions about our Volvo?
carlisimo says:
04:05 PM, 12/22/10
kevm14, I had the same experience with a 2002 Camry. The current generation is significantly better (I'd call it "not bad").
How tippy does the XC60 feel? Is it sedan-like at all?
Carlisimo, one of the reasons I like driving the XC60 so much is that is doesn't feel tippy. The Volvo feels very sedan-like, from its seating position (you feel like you sit in it, not on it) to its solid road manners, it's easy to forget you're not in a traditional car.
05:21 PM, 12/22/10
Editor in Chief Oldham:
But is the steering heavy like an old Volvo's?
I think that's what the guy was asking.
-Rod
Heavy? Well, that's hard to define exactly. Heavy or light is a very personal judgement. But I will say that I'm a huge fan of the Volvo's steering. I like the weight of the assist (not too heavy and not too light for my taste) and I find its ratio to be just quick enough. I also appreciate how natural it feels. Remember its good old fashioned hydraulic power steering (no electric) and its feels good as a result.
05:19 PM, 12/22/10
"Softer pedal than some competitors like BMW X3"
That is a great thing. I leased an X3 when I lived in Denver for a few years as a 2007 model, it being equipped with the sport package. Other than a back-breaking ride, both the accelerator, and the brake were far too touchy to live with every day. After 36 Months/30,000 Miles, I still didn't feel completely used to the touchiness of practically everything in that car.
Anyway, I do have a question, in regards to the XC60, as well as all the other cars in your fleet.
How's the range of the keyfob?
The Volvo's keyfob range is about 200 ft. Why did you want to know?
I love driving our 2010 Volvo XC60. Not only does it have kickass power but it has great visibility. Unlike with our Mitsubishi Outlander GT, I feel confident when having to switch into the right lane. I don't know if you could really tell by looking at the above picture, but no blind spot! Makes passing all the slowpokes out there a lot more easier.
There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes. If you're wearing the right stuff, then you can get through any kind of weather.
Driving the Volvo XC60 is like having the right kind of clothes for any weather. If you're looking out the window and seeing rain or snow right now, you'd be a lot happier if you had the key to this Volvo in your pocket.
It's more than just the Haldex all-wheel-drive system. It's the Pirelli Scorpion tires, good headlights and effective wipers, not to mention good door seals, and a full-strength defrosting and heating system. Plus seat heaters.
Even better, when you're wearing a winter coat and have got boots and gloves and all the rest of it, you can actually drive this Volvo, which is not something that might be said of a snappy little sport coupe with high-bolstered seats, little tiny pedals and toylike buttons on the dash.
It's true that there's probably only a week or two the whole year when this sort of stuff is important. The rest of the time you can make through with shorts and flip-flops. But when you need what the XC60 offers, you really need it.
More than 25,000 miles on the Volvo XC60 and we seem to like it more every day. And that's not something that happens often. The next thing you know, someone is going to turn the XC60 into ski boots.
I was browsing the online edition of the 2010 Volvo XC60's owner's manual just for fun when I came across an entry about Volvo's environmental philosophy. Now when I think about such things, I just assume they mean the car's fuel efficiency and emissions. But according to the manual, Volvo also takes into account the following:
1. Clean air in the passenger compartment which is made possible by the carbon filter which prevents sinister-sounding nitrous oxides and bydrocarbons from coming into the cabin.
2. Textile standard: Apparently the car's interior is also designed with consideration for folks with contact allergies or asthma and is made with "environmentally-compatible materials" that fulfill something called the Oeko-Tex 100 standard.
3. Reducing environmental impact by suggesting drivers do stuff like "remove unnecessary items from the car" to decrease the load and fuel consumption, "drive gently," and service their cars regularly.
4. The hard copy of the owner's manual is made of paper pulp from "FSC certified forests."
I wonder how big a part does this philosophy play in a consumer's consideration of the car.
Noticed this on our 2010 Volvo XC60's display. Any guesses what the "(74)" stands for? If you don't know, hit the jump. If you do, gold star for you.
According to the owner's manual (page 156), it refers to the resumed set speed of cruise control. And just FYI, I didn't set that.
Anyway, I thought that was pretty nifty as that's not something I see too often. BTW, Happy New Year!
Volvo has long been at the forefront of automotive safety technology — our XC60 is loaded with it, from City Safe to lane departure warning to Driver Alert Control. For 2011, the XC60 gets a new feature designed to protect pedestrians.
Called Pedestrian Detect with Full Auto Brake, this system uses radar and camera technology to keep an eye out for pedestrians in front of the car. If pedestrians are detected, the system issues a warning to the driver, and if the driver ignores that warning, the system applies the brakes.
Yeah, yeah, I know — another electronic nanny. But when you consider that 11 percent of those killed in traffic accidents in this country are pedestrians, tech like this probably isn't a bad idea.
By now you know that our longterm 2010 Volvo XC60 has a lot of motor under the hood, even if you can't really see it when you pop the clamshell. The mill is torque-rich at low engine speeds and hustles the big wagon around with surprising authority. In short? It's got sauce.
For whence the sauce came, click the jump.
Let's begin at the beginnning. The XC60 T6 has a turbocharged 3.0-liter (actually 2953 cc) inline six that bears the inelegant engine code B6304T2. A single turbo huffs 8.7 psi into the mill, which develops 282 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque at its peak, which is actually not a peak at all.
And that, friends, is the beauty of boost — the pointy heads in Goteburg can dial in with precision the amount of airflow the turbo provides at a given engine speed, and it is largely airflow through the engine that dictates torque. Provided there is adequate exhaust energy present to drive the turbine to drive the compressor, torque output can look, well, like the tabletop you see in the above dyno chart of the B6304T2. You'll never get this kind of area under the curve with a normally aspirated or even a supercharged engine.
The area of greatest focus by engineers of modern turbocharged passenger car engines is not maximum output or efficiency or emissions. It is transient response, or the amount of time after you press your Chuck Taylor down that the engine actually delivers the torque being commanded.
This is particularly difficult for turbo engines when the engine speed is low and you're pootling around at part-throttle. You give the throttle a little squeeze, expecting a little more torque, and you have to wait for that little extra fart of exhaust gas to drive the turbine to drive the compressor to pump a little extra fresh air, to which the fuel system adds a bit more fuel to make bigger farts. Producing this flatulence takes time, and the longer it takes the less happy the Converse-wearing dude is.
To help speed the process along, Volvo employs a twin-scroll turbo. That is, the housing that surrounds the turbine (exhaust side) wheel is split into two independent exhaust paths. These two paths, or volutes, dictate that the exhaust side of the engine be grouped into two bunches.
See here. Cylinders 1, 2, and 3 feed one of the volutes (the snail-looking parts of the housing), and Cyls 4, 5, and 6 exhale into the other volute. In this manner the exhaust manifold is essentially a pair of manifolds that each contains the exhaust of three cylinders.
This achieves two major objectives — it delivers more pulse energy to the turbine wheel, and it keeps cylinders from contaminating each other with exhaust gas.
Here's how. Because this is a six-cylinder engine, a cylinder fires every 120 degrees of crank rotation. This means that when, say, Cyl 1 is puking a bunch of hot, high-pressure exhaust gas into the manifold, Cyl 4 is on its intake stroke, part of which involves having its exhaust valves briefly open at the same time as its intake valves are open. This is called valve overlap.
Picture a conventional inline-six exhaust manifold. The angry exhaust pulse from Cyl 1 travels down its runner and into the common collector that joins all six exhaust runners. Here, the pulse "sees" the nice low-pressure region of Cyl 4's overlap and really, really wants to be there. So much so that part of the exhaust pulse from Cyl 1 travels backwards up the Cyl 4's exhaust runner.
Now picture the divided twin-scroll manifold. Here, Cyl 4's overlap period is completely isolated from Cyl 1's pissed-off exhaust pulse, so instead of that pulse energy being drained off into Cyl 4, it is delivered to the turbine wheel instead where it can do some useful work. And so on for the remaining pairs of cylinders. Furthermore, because the collector regions of a twin-scroll manifold are each inherently lower-volume than the big single one of a conventional manifold, less energy is wasted in an unnecessary expansion.
The exhaust pulse recovery aspect of twin-scroll turbos is the primary reason for their existence. They simply build boost in a more linear and responsive fashion than do single-scroll turbos, improving time to boost and time to torque, every time you dip the throttle.
There's an additional benefit in dividing the manifold and turbine housing, though. Remember the exhaust pulse that traveled up the Cyl 4 runner in our conventional manifold? Not only did this bleed off pulse energy but also a bit of exhaust flow that instead is now taking up space in Cyl 4 that could otherwise be filled by fresh, oxygen-rich intake air. This phenomenon has many names, among them reversion, cylinder contamination, impaired volumetric efficiency, etc. Whatever you call it, it's bad, and it also heats up that cylinder somewhat, adversely affecting its knock resistance. Double bad.
With a twin-scroll arrangement, there is more freedom for the engine designers to employ more aggressive valve overlap too, since they're not forced to mix farts into their flowers.
The Volvo's turbo setup is not unique. Inline-six diesel engines have been doing this for decades but it has taken advances in metallurgy to allow twin scrolls to be used with the high exhaust gas temperatures of a gasoline engine. Particularly one running relatively lean air-fuel ratios at full load like this Volvo. When that divider wall between the scrolls gets really hot, it wants to taco and fracture radially, which isn't the best for durability. Modern high-nickel austenitic stainless steels have made this far less of an issue.
BMW's N54 engine achieves the same goal of enhanced pulse recovery as the Volvo but does it with two conventional turbos rather than one twin-scroll unit. However, the company's recent twin-scroll N55 suggests they're getting the same job done without the complexity (and cost) of the N54's two turbos and associated plumbing, hardware and sensors.
The now-defunct Cadillac SRX Turbo uses a similar arrangement as the Volvo, only with cylinders arranged in a vee rather than in a row. That one's sort of an odd bird as it's a hassle to plumb two banks of a V6 to a single turbo. It's simpler to use two turbos here (see Ford Ecoboost V6).
Anyway, a little insight into what makes the XC60 a torquey and responsive steed.
Last night was the first time I've gotten to drive the Volvo XC60 home. It's been here a while and I don't know how many more chances I could get. I seized the opportunity.
Where I grew up in Northern California, Bricks (200 Series) were everywhere. I grew up thinking Swedish automotive design was austere and functional. In some ways it still is. But the XC60 really opened my eyes as to how nice they are now.
Our XC60 is not the Ikea of cars.
The interior of our XC60 has that nice light filled interior accented by brushed metal, muted colors and light colored wood. Yeah, maybe that's Ikea-ish/modern Swedish design, but the XC has way more substance. I know there are folks that just aren't into the aesthetic design of the XC60, and that's fine. Everyone has their own tastes. But beyond the surface, I think our Volvo is a wonderful family vehicle.
It has solid road manners. It doesn't get jittery over bumps, it doesn't feel like it leans in corners, it just feels very connected to the road. The steering is well balanced and responsive. I'd say it's far more car than SUV in feel. The engine delivers an impressive and quick responding 281 hp. Stack all the safety features you'd expect from Volvo on top of those qualities and you've got a winner. To be honest, with its hefty $44k price tag I'd expect all of those features.
I realize the XC60 isn't for everyone. If I was looking for a family vehicle (and I was of the means), this car would intrigue me. I wish I could gt into this car a little more and explore it further. But it basically comes down to this question: Would I get this vehicle over a nicely equipped Subaru Outback? That's a tough call.
What would you prefer?
The 2010 Volvo XC60 has reached the end of its term with us and we're all sad to see it go. It did so many things well - commute, trek, carry, haul, motor, and cruise. But I'll miss it especially because of its style.
There's more to the XC60's look than just its graceful combination of the usual European-style themes, though. It has style without silliness, which is more than you can say of utility vehicles executed recently by BMW (X6), Mercedes-Benz (GLK) and Porsche (Cayenne).
I'd argue that the ideal of utility helps Volvo resist the extravagance of the German brands. A vehicle is what it does as well as what it looks like, the Swedes remind us. And in a world where so much has the sickly sweet odor of marketing, such appreciation for utility is refreshingly honest.
Wrap-Up
Ford was in a fiscal crisis leading up to our test of the 2010 Volvo XC60. Blue Ovalites were knee-deep in the sale of the Premier Automotive Group, under whose umbrella were parked its high-end hood ornaments: Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. In the shuffle Aston Martin was purchased by British investors. India's Tata Motors bought Jaguar and Land Rover. And Lincoln-Mercury shifted back to direct Ford control. Only Volvo remained on the auction block.
Inside Line's test of the XC60 began with the future of its maker in question. Perhaps this was the reason Volvo initially offered us a mere three-month loan of its newest crossover utility vehicle (CUV). But Volvo liked what it saw, and just days into our test decided to extend our loan to six months. Then the auctioneer's voice called. Halfway through our test Volvo was sold to the Chinese automaker Geely and priorities shifted. Six months passed and our phone didn't ring. At 12 months there was still no word from Volvo.
Why We Got It
For starters, the 2010 Volvo XC60 was an all-new model. With the optional T6 trim we got all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6 rated at 281 horsepower. This CUV was fun to drive. During our full test the Volvo surprised us all with its dexterity through the slalom. Only one vehicle in its class was faster through the cones. Not only was this car responsive, but it was loaded with safety nannies in case you did get in over your head. In the back of our minds, we wanted the XC60 because it was entertaining to drive. Truth be told, we didn't have a choice in the matter.
Our readers had spoken and we listened. They are the real reason we added the 2010 Volvo XC60 to the long-term road tests. Comments on the blog had pleaded for another CUV in the fleet. E-mails to the editors appealed for a long-term Volvo test, noting that the last Swede to participate in the program was over five years old. We were long overdue for a family-friendly vehicle to boot. There was nothing left but to introduce the XC60.
Durability
From a mechanical standpoint we liked how the Volvo drove. We had our reservations regarding the execution of some electronic features, but we'll get back to those. In large part, the engine was our favorite element. Engineering Editor Jason Kavanagh reflected, "Lag? What lag? Our XC60 packs a turbo I-6 but you'd never know from the way it delivered torque from a standstill. It's a robust and hearty (yes, I just ate chili) mill that simply drives like a large-displacement engine. It has a nice, linear pull, even at part-throttle. A tip of the hat to modern twin-scroll turbos like the one tucked away under the Volvo's hood."
Our practical test of the electronic safety assistance gadgetry left a little to be desired. Adaptive cruise control was too conservative for our tastes. It applied the brakes so soon in reaction to approaching vehicles that it created a driving situation more awkward than beneficial. City Safety also had its moments. This attribute was at the forefront of safety technology, capable of applying the brakes up to 50 percent in the event of an unseen obstacle crossing your path. But in some situations we encountered, the system overreacted. One example occurred when it picked up parked cars on a narrow, curving road as obstacles. Once triggered, it emits an obtrusive audible warning and flashes lights on the windshield display. We found steep driveways and hills also caused false alarms. Given a choice we would probably not choose these options.
Inside the cabin, the XC60 proved quite sturdy. Light-colored seats are usually the kiss of death for durability, but not in the Volvo. Its beige-on-brown two-tone leather held up incredibly well to our abuse. Car seat installation was manageable despite the Volvo's midsize SUV stature. And the integrated child booster seats were a welcome sight for more than one parent on staff. If functional competence wasn't enough, the XC60 also satisfied our aesthetic tastes. Numerous compliments went to the easily readable and stylish gauges. And the Volvo's floating dash also received acclaim. Our main interior gripe involved the secondary controls. Their locations are counterintuitive and require too much practice for our likes. They should be more turnkey.
Volvo offers what it calls complimentary factory scheduled maintenance for the first three years or 36,000 miles on all 2010-'12 U.S-registered Volvos. Eligible vehicles receive free maintenance under the program for the first four visits. Our 2010 Volvo XC60 qualified, so we should have paid zilch for regular maintenance. At the first 7,500-mile interval we were too early and it cost us 91 bucks. From then on we learned our lesson. We stuck to the schedule, and all subsequent visits to Volvo of Santa Monica were freebies. Well, then we went and cracked the $1,000 windshield. Depth perception set us back another $5 grand when a sincere idiot tested the laws of physics in our parking lot. Inanimate objects always win. Aside from a seatbelt recall our Volvo remained mechanically sound.
Total Body Repair Costs: $4,904.45
Total Routine Maintenance Costs (over 15 months): $90.76
Additional Maintenance Costs: None
Warranty Repairs: 1 for seatbelt recall
Non-Warranty Repairs: $1,032.89 for windshield installation
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 3
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: 1
Days Out of Service: 31 in the body shop
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: None
Performance and Fuel Economy
Safety is Volvo's claim to fame. It always has been. So we were caught off-guard when the XC60 posted a 65.1-mph speed through the slalom and secured its place as the 2nd-fastest vehicle we've tested in this segment. Most buyers aren't shopping a Volvo for its handling but we found it refreshing to know it's there.
Senior Editor Josh Jacquot noted following testing, "Heavy understeer. Stability control handles the throttle admirably and instantly rather than exceeding the tires' limits, then heavily intervening. When stability control does step in, it corrects rather than punishes." Other performance tests revealed improvement with age. Around the slalom our XC60 generated 0.79g of lateral force. From a stop the Volvo reached 60 mph in 6.7 seconds (with 1 foot of rollout) and completed the quarter-mile in 15.1 seconds at 94.8 mph.
We praised the 2010 Volvo XC60 from a dynamic perspective. But something had to give. When it came to fuel economy the car was less impressive. While our best single tank of 25 mpg was evidence that the Volvo could do it, most tanks fell below 20 mpg. By the end of our test its average wasn't quite 18 mpg.
Best Fuel Economy: 25.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 11.3 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 17.8 mpg
Retained Value
Our XC60 was equipped with the optional T6 trim and plenty of extras. Its MSRP was $44,240. Add a little wear and tear, some 27,000 miles to the odometer and plug it into Edmunds' TMV® Calculator. The resulting figure is a private-party sale that still garnered $33,405 from the Volvo. That amounted to 25 percent depreciation.
Previous long-term tests of luxury CUVs position the Volvo in good company. Our 2009 Infiniti FX50 also depreciated 25 percent during its test. Meanwhile, our 2008 BMW X5 was a shade higher, at 26 percent.
True Market Value at service end: $33,405
Depreciation: $10,835 or 25% of original MSRP
Final Odometer Reading: 27,662
Summing Up
Months into our long-term test of the 2010 Volvo XC60, Ford sold Volvo to Geely and our loan shifted to the back burner. We enjoyed the truck so we didn't complain after six months passed, then 12 months without an update from Volvo. By the time we returned to the radar, our XC60 test had grown to 15 months.
Fifteen months and 27,000 miles cast the Volvo in a mostly positive light. No, the XC60 wasn't perfect. It didn't achieve the fuel economy some might expect from a CUV, but it offered unexpected sportiness in exchange. There were some optional equipment-related grumbles and the secondary controls weren't the most intuitive. But the XC60 positives far outweighed the negatives. We really liked its engine. There was more low-end torque than expected from a turbo-6. It was also remarkably nimble. And resale value ranked among the leaders in its class. This car was a hit overall.
Some long-term cars end with a collective, "I didn't even know it was gone." Others earn the preemptive, "Oh, no. It's leaving. Can I schedule it for one last road trip before it goes?" The 2010 Volvo XC60 fits into the latter group. Just as this CUV stands out from others in its segment, the car separated itself from others in our test fleet. All we can hope for now is that the Geely Volvos don't lose anything in translation.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.