With the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC now close to or over $100,000, are you better off looking at the Volvo XC60? Paul Maric gets behind the wheel of the 2023 Volvo XC60 B5 Plus.
Hardness tester, noise and lane keeping results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
More Volvo content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volvo
More Volvo XC60 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volvo/xc60
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior: 00:48
Front row: 03:05
Second row: 05:33
Boot space: 06:05
On the Road: 06:57
Performance: 12:23
Verdict: 14:55
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
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#volvo #xc60 #review
Hardness tester, noise and lane keeping results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
More Volvo content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volvo
More Volvo XC60 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/volvo/xc60
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior: 00:48
Front row: 03:05
Second row: 05:33
Boot space: 06:05
On the Road: 06:57
Performance: 12:23
Verdict: 14:55
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#volvo #xc60 #review
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 G'day, I'm Paul.
00:01 So, a car that is sometimes forgotten in this segment
00:04 is the Volvo XC60.
00:06 It's actually pretty cheap for what it is too.
00:08 This is the absolute base model.
00:10 It's called the B5 Plus.
00:11 It's priced at just under $73,000.
00:14 Reason I say it's quite cheap is
00:15 if you look at the rest of the cars in this segment,
00:17 they all skyrocketed in terms of price.
00:19 Some are 10, 20% higher than they were pre-COVID.
00:22 So I think this actually represents
00:24 pretty good value for money.
00:25 This competes with things like the Mercedes-Benz GLC,
00:28 the BMW X3, the Audi Q5.
00:31 Today, we're gonna do a detailed review of this car.
00:33 So if you do wanna skip ahead to other parts of this review,
00:35 you can use the time codes that are on the screen,
00:37 or if you're on YouTube,
00:38 you can scroll down and use the chapters below.
00:40 If you haven't done so already,
00:41 subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon
00:44 so you can find out every single time we drive a base model.
00:47 Now let's talk exterior designs.
00:50 You've got nine colors to pick from,
00:51 and all but black is gonna set you back
00:54 an additional 2,000 plus, a little bit, dollars.
00:56 That's a lot of money for an optional color, but anyway.
01:00 Here it is in white,
01:01 and I think this design still looks good.
01:03 If you have a look at the XC60,
01:04 it's been out for quite some time now,
01:06 but when you do spot these out on the road,
01:08 it still looks sensational.
01:09 They've done such a good job
01:10 with making this a timeless design.
01:13 And even here in the base model,
01:14 it doesn't look like it's a base model,
01:16 which is really important
01:17 when you're spending this kind of money.
01:19 You don't wanna drop 70 grand,
01:20 and then everyone looks at it and goes,
01:22 "Oh, you just got the base model."
01:23 I think they've done a really good job with that.
01:24 So, chrome highlights around the grille here,
01:26 big Volvo logo there.
01:29 You also have this black section
01:30 down the bottom for cooling.
01:31 Everything else, though, is pretty sort of straightforward
01:33 and uncluttered down here.
01:35 Headlights, full LED headlights with active bending.
01:38 You also have that LED daytime running light there
01:40 with a headlight washer as well.
01:42 Let's whip around to the side here
01:44 and check these wheels out.
01:45 So, he's sitting on a 19-inch set of wheels here.
01:48 You have a machined finish on the outside
01:50 and piano black on the inside there.
01:52 It's quite a sort of nice-looking design.
01:53 A decent profile there as well on that 55.
01:56 So, I'll be keen to see how this drives.
01:59 Typically with these, they tend to not ride that well
02:02 unless you get air suspension.
02:03 So, this one doesn't have air suspension,
02:05 and I'll be very curious to see
02:06 how that actually feels behind the wheel
02:08 when we go for a bit of a spin.
02:09 No sort of complicated wheel arch cladding here either.
02:12 Ground clearance at just over 200 mil,
02:14 and this is all-wheel drive.
02:15 In fact, all of the vehicles in the XC60 range
02:17 are all-wheel drive, so you do have that.
02:19 Little bit of extra traction there as well.
02:21 Up the top here, body colour on the wing mirror
02:23 with an indicator there.
02:24 360 camera on the side there as well.
02:27 Uncomplicated down the side here too.
02:29 You get a bit more of that chrome finish.
02:31 No privacy glass, although it is an option,
02:33 and a moonroof there as well, which is an option as well.
02:35 Come around to the back with me.
02:37 So again, pretty straightforward design at the back.
02:38 Volvo there.
02:39 You've got B5 here, all-wheel drive badge,
02:42 and then over on this side, XC60.
02:44 And then the traditional sort of
02:45 Volvo taillight strategy there.
02:47 So, LED taillights.
02:49 I think this looks really cool.
02:50 Stands out quite nice at nighttime.
02:52 Chuck Finn aerial at the top there as well,
02:54 and then a brake light integrated into there.
02:56 So, let me know what you reckon
02:57 in the comments section below.
02:58 Do you think this has stood the test of time?
03:01 You think it's still a good-looking SUV?
03:03 Let me know what you reckon in the comments section below.
03:05 Okay, so we are inside the XC60.
03:08 We're gonna do this review just a little bit differently
03:10 because we've reviewed the XC60 already
03:13 with this latest update.
03:14 So I'm just gonna touch on some stuff here.
03:15 If you do wanna see more detail
03:17 about the infotainment system
03:18 and all the changes they've made,
03:19 have a look at our last XC60 review.
03:22 You can watch that by clicking up here.
03:23 So I'll run you through the basics.
03:24 This is what the key looks like.
03:25 You've got the Volvo logo.
03:27 You've got lock, unlock, boot,
03:29 and it's a proximity sensing key.
03:31 So you can leave that in your pocket.
03:32 And then you have this little doodad here to start the car.
03:35 Look, I think this is really nicely presented.
03:38 And when you look at this price point
03:39 and how expensive all of the competitors have become,
03:42 I actually think that this is probably one of the standouts
03:44 in this segment when it comes to just appearance
03:46 and what you're getting for your money.
03:48 This unfortunately does have a few options fitted to it.
03:51 So some of the stuff that we're talking about today
03:52 may not be standard.
03:53 So it is worth just triple checking what is standard
03:56 and what isn't standard when you are watching this.
03:58 So things like Harman Kardon, the heated seats,
04:00 I know they're optional,
04:01 even though you get full zone climate control
04:03 and a heated steering wheel is standard
04:05 even on the base model.
04:06 But anyway, so you do get this infotainment screen
04:09 in the center here.
04:10 That's a touchscreen with a home button just beneath it.
04:12 Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well.
04:15 Both of those are wired.
04:17 Ahead of the driver,
04:17 you have a full digital display there as well.
04:20 And outside of that,
04:20 all of your touch points are really nice and soft.
04:23 Nothing sort of too crazy here.
04:25 I do love the seats though.
04:26 The seats are fantastic.
04:28 They hug you in beautifully.
04:29 And Volvo's always had just these really high quality seats
04:32 that just make driving a relaxing task.
04:35 So a big fan of that.
04:36 And also a big fan of the minimalism here
04:38 on the steering wheel.
04:39 Now, one thing we did notice,
04:40 or that Igor pointed out to me
04:42 'cause he drove this car in,
04:43 was just this panel up the top here.
04:45 I haven't seen this before
04:46 and it's actually pretty cool to play with.
04:47 So your lights are capacitive touch,
04:49 which we've seen before on other cars.
04:51 Nothing sort of too crazy there.
04:53 But if you wanna control your sun visor and the sunroof,
04:56 you actually use a capacitive touch section here.
04:59 So to close that visor,
05:00 you swipe down on that.
05:02 And then if you do wanna just open the sunroof section,
05:04 you just go to this front part and then it opens up.
05:07 So it's a pretty cool setup
05:08 and just something a little bit different
05:10 to what we're sort of typically used to.
05:12 Then on the storage front,
05:14 you've got cup holders here,
05:15 wireless phone charger here,
05:17 12-volt outlet under there.
05:19 If you go inside the glove box,
05:20 which is only fairly small,
05:21 you've got two USB-C outlets there.
05:24 Steering offers both tilt and reach adjustment.
05:29 And on our reach test,
05:30 all of this stuff is easier to reach while you're driving.
05:34 Second row of the XC60.
05:36 Look at how much room I have here.
05:37 So my seat's pretty much all the way back
05:38 and I have stacks of knee room.
05:40 Toe room is excellent.
05:41 Headroom is pretty good as well.
05:43 Just a great place to be seated.
05:45 You've got map pockets,
05:46 third and fourth side of climate controls here.
05:48 Couple of USB-C ports as well.
05:50 And then of course it's kind of a Volvo trademark,
05:53 but you have your integrated booster seat in here as well,
05:57 which I think is a fantastic innovation.
05:59 So it is definitely built for families.
06:01 ISOFIX points on the two outboard seats
06:03 and three top tether points as well.
06:05 Okay, cargo space.
06:06 Let's have a little look.
06:08 So just in its standard trim,
06:09 you have a little over 480 litres of cargo space available.
06:14 Not a bad space.
06:15 Sort of load height is pretty good as well.
06:17 And if you have a look at some of the creature comforts,
06:19 you've got lights in here,
06:20 you've got net on the side there,
06:21 12 volt outlet, cargo blind,
06:24 and then beneath the cargo floor,
06:25 you're gonna find a space saver spare tyre.
06:28 And that's also the 48 volt mild hybrid system over there.
06:31 That's where they tuck that in.
06:32 Now, if you do want to expand the space,
06:34 you can drop the second row.
06:35 I'll show you what that looks like in a second.
06:37 Bags in here first.
06:39 Fits our suitcase okay.
06:42 You can see how much space you've got there.
06:44 There is no release for the second row from here.
06:46 So you do have to kind of lean in
06:48 and then push that forwards like that.
06:51 Once you do that,
06:53 that expands the space to a little over 1400 litres.
06:57 Okay, so we've just hit the road in the XC60.
07:01 So immediately I can actually feel the ride is very soft
07:05 and it is worth keeping in mind the last XC60 we drove
07:07 was the full fat go fast version,
07:10 but it's actually feeling good so far.
07:12 So engine under the bonnet here,
07:14 two litre turbo charged four cylinder petrol engine.
07:17 It's also made it to a 48 volt mild hybrid system.
07:20 And it is such a smooth system.
07:21 I'm going to come to a full stop here
07:23 just to give you an idea what I mean.
07:25 It is, you can watch this,
07:26 you can see when it's going to switch off.
07:27 It switches off while you're moving
07:29 and then you roll out of the throttle
07:31 and it is genuinely imperceptible.
07:33 You don't even notice the engine kicking on.
07:36 It is such an impressive setup.
07:37 So a big fan of that.
07:39 So the whole package produces
07:40 just under 200 kilowatts of power
07:43 and 350 newton metres of torque.
07:45 So sort of huge amount of power and torque,
07:48 but when you consider that it is the entry level
07:51 and if you're not sort of too fussed
07:53 about driving super fast,
07:54 it is going to meet your needs.
07:56 And that's all made it to an eight speed
07:58 automatic transmission.
07:59 What does all that feel like behind the wheel?
08:01 Let's give this a little stab here.
08:03 Makes a fair bit of noise, which is cool.
08:07 And it's not really, look,
08:10 it lightly pushes you in the back.
08:11 It really isn't going to set your world on fire.
08:14 But again, if that's not important to you,
08:16 this is really everything you need
08:17 from an engine like this.
08:19 Now Volvo claims an economy of 7.6 litres per 100 Ks.
08:23 We are currently sitting on 11 litres per 100 Ks.
08:28 I think it is probably worth noting
08:30 that most of that has been highway driving
08:33 and then driving here at the proving ground.
08:35 So it is higher than I thought it was going to be,
08:37 but yeah, ultimately I think that'll come down
08:40 if you aren't going to be logging a few more highway Ks.
08:42 Okay, let's talk about the ride.
08:44 So yeah, I mentioned earlier,
08:45 this is, it feels fairly soft on the outset,
08:49 but it is just so comfortable.
08:50 And I don't know, Volvo, it's just a funny company.
08:53 If in some specs, if you don't get the air suspension,
08:56 the ride is terrible,
08:57 but here they've actually just dialed it all the way back
09:00 and just given it this nice, soft and cushy feel.
09:04 It means that in and around the city,
09:05 it's going to be comfortable.
09:06 Speed humps, potholes, that kind of thing,
09:08 you're really not going to notice them
09:10 and if you load the family into the car,
09:11 they're not going to be jarring about
09:13 all over the place as you hit bumps.
09:15 Okay, here comes our sine wave.
09:18 So we'll jack the speed up to 130 Ks an hour.
09:21 Just in case you don't know,
09:22 our sine wave is representative of
09:25 just a set of bumps on a country road.
09:28 And as you approach them at speed,
09:30 if you're overtaking or something like that,
09:33 you really just want to get an idea
09:34 of what the body control is like at that top end.
09:37 So here we go.
09:38 (car engine roaring)
09:40 Yeah, look, it is pretty soft.
09:42 Like we are really at the full extension there
09:45 of the suspension,
09:46 but it's definitely not bottoming out
09:48 or sort of leaving the ground.
09:49 So it is definitely on the softer side,
09:51 but that's not an issue for you.
09:53 That is going to be far better than the alternative,
09:55 which is just an overly firm ride.
09:57 Okay, worst road in Australia.
09:59 We do this at 90 Ks an hour.
10:01 It's representative of just a shocking bit of tarmac.
10:04 And then we've got a little condensed sine wave
10:06 here as well.
10:07 Sorry, the sun's blinding me at the moment.
10:09 This is really good.
10:11 So again, that soft ride is making this
10:14 quite sort of cushy.
10:16 See what it's like here across the sine waves.
10:18 And it's nice and controlled there.
10:20 Yeah, so look, I think this is really shaping up
10:23 to be one of the more comfortable vehicles
10:25 in this segment where BMW sort of airs
10:27 on the side of firmness.
10:30 These guys really dialed it back
10:31 to give you quite a comfortable and cushy ride.
10:35 Okay, so there is no sport mode here.
10:38 Unfortunately, you can pop it down
10:39 into like a manual shifting mode,
10:42 but I'll leave it in drive for the moment.
10:43 We'll go for a spin around our track.
10:46 Let's see what this feels like
10:48 when it's driven a little more aggressively.
10:50 So this is all wheel drive, which is great.
10:55 Comes standard with all wheel drive
10:56 and it's actually not too bad.
10:58 So it has a fair bit of body roll there
11:00 'cause the ride is pretty soft,
11:01 but it reaches that body roll limit
11:04 and then it holds it there.
11:05 So it's not really surprising you with anything.
11:08 You do notice on some of these mid-corner bumps
11:10 that it does float around a little bit,
11:12 but I think this is kind of what I expected from this car.
11:15 And it really is just the comfort package they've dialed in.
11:19 Let's see what it's like across this faster section
11:21 up the back here.
11:23 Yeah, it is really missing a sport mode
11:25 because it keeps shifting up a gear.
11:27 And every time you go for the gear,
11:28 it has to dive back through a couple of gears.
11:30 It's not really ready for anything
11:32 that you're throwing at it.
11:34 All right, here's our back straight.
11:36 It's actually really nice here, mid-corner.
11:38 Steering feels great.
11:39 You can also adjust steering feel
11:40 through the screen there as well.
11:42 Okay, here's the back straight, roll onto that.
11:45 Yeah, nice, it's picking up speed well.
11:47 So yeah, look, it is nice.
11:49 It's nothing sort of too crazy in terms of cornering,
11:51 but it is sort of fairly fun to drive.
11:53 Let's talk about road noise.
11:55 It's actually quite nice and pleasant in here.
11:57 On coarser chip sections of road,
11:59 will be a little noisier,
12:00 but to me, it's actually quite nice here.
12:02 There's very little wind noise
12:04 coming into the cabin as well, which is great.
12:06 Now, in terms of your turning circle, 11.4 metres,
12:08 which is not too bad.
12:10 Towing capacity of 2,400 kilos with a brake trailer.
12:14 And just on the visibility front,
12:15 I can see pretty clearly down the front of the car there,
12:17 decent size wing mirrors with a blind spot monitor built in,
12:21 and visibility at the back is pretty good as well.
12:23 Okay, it is time to do some performance testing.
12:26 And actually, just before we start doing performance testing,
12:28 I wanted to tell you about Help Me Car Expert.
12:31 Car Expert is actually a massive website.
12:33 We have like just under 50 full-time employees,
12:36 and we work with a network of dealers here in Australia
12:38 to help you get the best deal on a new car.
12:41 There are stacks of new cars in stock today,
12:43 including vehicles like this XC60.
12:45 So all you have to do is go to Google,
12:46 type in Help Me Car Expert,
12:48 and that page that you get to
12:50 will explain where you need to go from there.
12:52 Okie dokie, so there is an official zero to 100 time
12:55 of just under seven seconds.
12:57 There is no sport mode, so we'll see how we go,
12:59 but we'll go all the way through to 120 k's an hour,
13:02 and then we'll come back and do some braking.
13:04 So here we go, load up the throttle.
13:06 (engine revving)
13:09 All right.
13:15 60, 80, and 100.
13:21 And there's 120.
13:24 It actually feels nice and strong once it's up and moving.
13:27 It's a really nice little engine,
13:29 and I love the note as well.
13:30 It sort of sings out nicely.
13:31 So let's have a little sticky beak here at our time.
13:34 So zero to 100 took 8.03 seconds,
13:38 so quite a lot off the official time of 6.9 seconds,
13:41 so a little bit disappointing there,
13:43 and then 80 to 120 took 5.45 seconds, which is not too bad.
13:47 Let's head back and do a stop from 100 k's an hour
13:50 to see what these brakes are like.
13:52 Okay, we'll dial up 100 k's an hour
13:55 and see how quickly we stop.
13:56 There it is there.
13:58 (engine revving)
14:00 Oh, the seatbelt is...
14:02 (laughing)
14:04 Choking the crap out of me.
14:06 That was hilarious.
14:07 Okay, let's have a look here.
14:09 2.84 seconds and 36.36 meters.
14:13 That is bloody impressive.
14:16 I'm just sort of thinking back when we tested the Lambo,
14:19 the Huracan STI, that stopped at a similar time.
14:22 So that is an awesome job there by Volvo
14:24 on the stopping distance, which is fantastic.
14:27 So if you do wanna see how the XC60 compares
14:30 to other cars that we've tested before,
14:32 there's a link in the description below.
14:34 And hey, if you do want some more details
14:35 on the app that we use to do all this performance testing,
14:38 I'll leave a link in the comments below as well.
14:41 And now our reverse acceleration test.
14:44 So I'll pop that into reverse, hit the throttle.
14:46 (engine revving)
14:49 Oh, it's flying.
14:52 66 k's an hour, not bad.
14:55 (laughing)
14:57 So I think Volvo has shown us with the XC60
15:01 that even though the trend has been to jack prices up,
15:04 there is still a lot of value at that entry level.
15:06 And I think that it comes with all the features
15:08 and room that you need for a family
15:09 that wants to get into one of these sort of European SUVs.
15:13 So really impressed with it.
15:14 I think the engine is punchy enough for what it is.
15:16 If you do want a little bit more punch,
15:17 you're gonna have to go up the range,
15:18 but you're getting the benefit of fuel economy here.
15:20 So let me know what you reckon in the comments section below.
15:23 You're gonna go buy one of these?
15:24 What did you buy instead?
15:26 I'm very keen to hear what your purchase journey has been.
15:29 And if you did enjoy this video,
15:30 please make sure you like it
15:32 and you share it with your mates.
15:33 And if you haven't done so already,
15:34 subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon.
15:36 But until next time, drive safely.