Used 2006 Volvo S60 Consumer Reviews
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Good performance, bad steering
andy, 02/11/2018
2006 Volvo S60 2.5T 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 5cyl Turbo 5A)
8 of 13 people found this review helpful
This car looks great and performs great. The turbo gives a good boost of power for merging. The steering radius isn't awful but isn't good. You need to get used to having to turn the wheel more if you are transitioning from another car. It isn't terrible for making turns, etc., but for avoiding potholes and such you will need to jerk your wheel more. It isn't instant response like expected. The interior feels pretty high quality. It rattles a bit in my car and some carpeting on the front pillars are peeling off, but I attribute that to the age. There are strange decisions like how the back seats don't have door pockets, and the anti whiplash headrests for the front seats are too tall to give backseat passengers a good view out the front which is lame. There is little backseat legroom, but it's not absolutely awful. There are interesting features like auto folding back headrests, and an additional two cupholders if you unlatch the cupholder part of the center console (that's 2 cupholders in front + 2 extra cupholders in front + 2 in rear). There is some cheapness like if your model does not come with foglamps, the buttons are still there and there are cutouts for fog lamps on the outside which are empty. The controls could be less confusing. The radio is just unnecessarily complex and climate controls are unnecessarily complex, but once you figure them out it isn't too bad. I don't like how there is no knob to adjust radio stations, just an auto scan button. The volume knob on my vehicle is broken, but the steering wheel has them built in which is nice. Still surprising it broke. The non-premium sound system sucks. There is barely any base or clarity, and my 18 year old Buick Century's stereo was 4x better with stock stereo (until it blew). Very disappointing. The leather seats are really comfortable and you get a lot of adjustments including lumbar support for front, and they don't look too bad for the age (just a few aesthetic cracks). I don't understand how the trunk really works. Sometimes pressing on the handle to unlatch the trunk works, sometimes it doesn't. I do not like how when you unlock the car it doesn't flash the lights. The key fob will work from afar but you can never tell if it really unlocked, but it has a neat remote light activation feature. The headlights will turn off if the car is off regardless of the knob position, and can't be manually turned back on as far as I can tell. Only the high beams work when off. It isn't a big deal, but it's a strange decision. The headlights/tail lights should stay on and turn off automatically after a few minutes for safety in my opinion. The glovebox is too small, and the center console storage is deep but not long enough. The wiper controls don't make a ton of sense. You have several positions for the wiper stalk, custom speed position where you use the knob to adjust speed, low speed preset position, and high speed preset position. It appears to make sense once you learn it, but the custom speed position sets a max wiper speed and you must use the low speed or high speed preset if you need it faster than what the wiper speed is when the knob is turned as far as it can go. I don't like how the windshields are designed. They are "set into" the car. That is, they have a raised border on the left and right edges, so removing snow is a pain because the snow gets stuck on the edges. The door handles are the old design and can freeze, although the doors on this car are pretty well designed because they don't really freeze. I do not like how the access door to the trunk from the backseat is designed. The release button for the trunk access door is in the trunk, and it opens into the rear seat instead of into the trunk, covering the armrest when it is down. And if you need to close the armrest, you need to close the trunk access door too and you can't unlatch it again without going into the trunk. The trunk has pretty good space, by the way. For a car all about safety, I'm surprised foglights, tire pressure sensors, and stability control aren't standard, although there is a plethora of air bags and neat anti-whiplash front seats. By the way, the car is pretty safe, although it is not as safe in side impacts as some other non-safety-centric cars of the same era ironically. Repairs are probably expensive, but this car seems to have an okay if not good reputation for reliability.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Expensive to run but mediocre
Driver, 12/30/2018
2006 Volvo S60 2.5T 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 5cyl Turbo 5A)
9 of 15 people found this review helpful
I don't recommend this car because while it is good in some aspects, it's bad in others such as reliability of some components and very expensive to maintain and insure. Unless you are a Volvo fan and want a second car just for fun, I do not recommend these cars for main drivers, first time drivers, or college students just because of the cost and the uncertainty of what you might have to fix. The AWD is excellent as far as I can tell, and the safety tech of side airbags and anti whiplash seats and head restraints and the emergency brake assist are neat, though not as impressive anymore in 2006. The turbo does add some discernible torque. The front seats are super comfortable, but the back seats are OK. I like the smart design where the center console lid opens into small tables/extra cupholders. Some interior materials feel nice and interior controls have some smart designs. Downsides are pretty bad gas mileage especially in the city, 18 MPH, which a minivan can beat. Also, the interior tends to develop rattles and squeaks and wears out despite it's high quality appearance. Technology is nowhere to be seen, especially for a "luxury" vehicle. There is no aux jack, only one 12v power socket in the front and none in the center console, the automatic climate control system feels dated, and so on. The design didn't change much from the first model years so it's disappointing in 2006 when many other vehicles have this technology. The turning radius is pretty bad, and the steering wheel needs much more input to avoid potholes for example. The car is missing some safety tech for the year especially because it is supposed to be a Volvo. For example, electronic stability control and tire pressure monitoring is not standard. Neither is an autodimming mirror. And the design of the car means the back window and side mirrors aren't as big as they could be, and the anti whiplash head restraints block a lot of the rear window. The back seats don't have a lot of legroom at all. The drivers seat can be adjusted far enough backwards so a child's leg can't fit in the space behind it. It seems that the backseat was an afterthought, but basically the car is not big enough for a family to comfortably travel in. The car has a few reliability issues of note. I heard T5 models have unreliable transmissions. However, I have the 2.5t AWD. Common problems are suspension issues with fragile struts, and my car occasionally does creak. Also, the engine is a 5 cylinder and I read that by design they will vibrate more and require a complex motor mount system to absorb vibrations from the cabin. Well, on most of these cars the motor mounts will be shot and a good amount of vibration can be felt in the cabin which is really uncomfortable and gets old. It feels like you're riding in a Model T! And there is a design flaw I've heard of but I haven't experienced it where there is a PVC system in the car that is designed weirdly by Volvo which can get clogged up and cause engine problems. This might matter only to those on a tight budget, but from an extended outlook point of view, this car has a turbo and they do go bad after a while. Other cars might just be more reliable. I am not a mechanic but just wanted to mention it, but my point is that despite the age of the design of this car, it is not a tried and true design and there is not a whole lot of info on the internet to truly decide it's reliability. However you can say that certain GM models for example are reliable because they are such an old design but they are known to have this or that problem because so many people owned one. So other cars are much easier to research and decide about their reliability. Also chances are that they will be cheaper to fix. The Volvo S60 however works in weird ways and you should find a good Volvo mechanic as not all mechanics are as versed in these cars. Plus it is expensive to fix and insure, more so than a BMW of the same age. I really like the AWD and some of the safety tech, but the handling isn't great and neither is the spaciousness, MPG, tech, reliability, cost of repairs, insurance, and "certainty" which a lot of cheaper domestic cars bring you. What I mean by certainty is that they are good, old designs for the most part and if something fails the neighborhood mechanic won't charge an arm and a leg for repairs, and insurance won't be exorbitant. If you are a Volvo fan and this is your second or third car, perhaps it will be OK and the problems I mentioned don't matter to you I'm sure, but if you depend on your single car and you don't have much money, I'm not sure if I would recommend these even if the value is dirt cheap for a seemingly fancy European car.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
2006 Volvo S60 for sale near you
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- 2.5T SedanMSRP: $2,950115 mi away
- R SedanMSRP: $7,999275 mi away
- 2.5T SedanMSRP: $6,250455 mi away
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Almost Superb!
Brnintx, 02/03/2008
2006 Volvo S60 R 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 5cyl Turbo 6M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I couldn't ask for a better everyday driving car. It fast, comfortable, and safe.
sport tires to week
ben, 06/15/2006
2006 Volvo S60 2.5T 4dr Sedan (2.5L 5cyl Turbo 5A)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
The wife and I love the S60. It makes her feal special when she visits patients. We love the quality and the safety for us and our daughter. The sage green is a pretty color, not to flashy, but elegant. Car is comfortable for the three of us and can hold all of my wifes nursing supplies in the trunk. It is a rolling ambulance. The dash is clean and simple. The radio can blast METALICA very well. The sport tires are very week and are not worth the money. The seats are the most comfortable I have seet yet and I have driven Lexas, MB, BMW, and others. I am kind of round and they support me very well. Being Sweedish drew me to the car, but the comfort is what sold me.
A Truly Great Car
Morris, 12/26/2008
2006 Volvo S60 T5 4dr Sedan (2.4L 5cyl Turbo 6M)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I bought car new in June of 07. I am in the insurance business and us the car for work and pleasure. It gets great gas mileage as I get 31 MPG consistently at 70 MPH and combined city and highway mileage is 23 mph. It is the smoothest riding car I have owned, and that includes two Audis. All my friends love the ride and my wife drives it every chance she gets. We were so impressed with it we bought the Volvo SUV for our family car. I bought this car to last me a long time and it appears it will do so with style and economy.