The July/August BASC Magazine - Volvo XC60 D5

EMcC

Well-Known Member
Has anybody read the write up in the latest edition of the BASC magazine about the Volvo XC60 D5 ?
I bought the exact same model after listening to BASCs recommendation, and to be fair it did sound good and was a very comfortable, quiet and fast vehicle.
But the write up didn't tell you that, as standard, it comes with a small compressor and a tube of goo instead of a spare wheel.
At the ordering stage there is the option, at extra cost, of ordering a spare wheel but it is a 'Space Saver' wheel and if later you do manage to buy a proper spare wheel there isn't the space to stow it as a full size wheel is too big to go where the space saver wheel is usually kept.
The mpg is way way out, mine did, under test conditions by the Volvo garage, with me present, 30.7mpg and was then told not to expect any more until I've clocked up at least 20 K and then it will improve slightly !
I was also told that the D5 has been phased out as the five cylinder engine was not viable any more !
Not exactly such a good vehicle for 'Country Folk' as the advert seems to imply.
I kept mine for just over three months and then had a problem shifting it, did eventually, but lost an arm and a leg in doing so.
It has all the bells and whistles and goes like the proverbial Sh++ off a shovel so would be ideal for anybody with a baseball cap on back to front, large sunglasses and heavy metal turned up to full blast with all the windows down.
Speed wise, it has been compared to the BMW X5 and I don't disbelieve it.
 
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I may have missed the point - but what's it like off-road? Given my RRV TDV8 does almost 30 mpg, I'm not sensing an overwhelming urge to swap.....
 
I'm trying to figure out if your complaining about the car or promoting it...
i have had cars with space saver wheels, don't see the problem as I almost never have a puncture. The last puncture was me kerbing it. Bit of goo and a compressor wouldn't have helped there. Lol
as soon as you take a new car out of a showroom you will lose an arm and a leg and as far as I am aware that covers most cars.
so what did you not like? Was it the speed or the fuel economy?
i haven't read the basic review, is it in this months?
 
This is far away from your Volvo, I'm sure, but an executive-type friend of mine leased (with the intention of buying) a Volvo 60 last fall and drove it to Florida. I don't know how closely this car compares to yours. Anyhow, he drove the 1000 miles to Florida and the "Add a quart of oil" light came on. He went to check the levels and learned there was no dip-stick to do so. So he added a quart. He left the car parked for the majority of the vacation. Upon the return to his home the "Add Oil" light again came on. He added the oil and went to the dealer who said it was simply a software glitch and offered to do nothing about the additional 2 quarts of oil living in his engine; "Don't worry about it." was his comment. His wife likes the car but I told him I'd give it back at the end of the lease. That would make me crazy.~Muir
 
Compressor and goo, or at best a space saver are common with most modern cars very few new cars these days have a normal wheel as a spare.

Never take manufacturers mpg figures as gospel, how they arrive at that figure is impossible to replicate
in real driving conditions.

An mpg figure of just over 30 is fairly normal for any vehicle with off road capability and you can't expect very much more.
 
Pretty much all cars come with the goo or a space saver wheel, why would you want to lug around a heavy full size wheel just in case? That would have an impact on your mpg just as if you carried around a full size ceramic butler sink "just in case".

You our can usually subtract 20-30% from the quoted mpg to arrive at what you will experience in the real world, especially something that's heavy and has 4wd.
 
It not high enough off the ground to go anywhere except a golf course, my average mpg was between 27 and 29mpg and without a proper spare wheel I'd not like to go anywere remote or far from home.
I bought the vehicle based on the exceptional quoted mpg and still allowed for exageration so was looking for at least 40mpg against their 60.
My intention was, now I am in my seventies, to do more travelling but I'm afraid, to wait until it has done 20k before seeing any real saving on mpg, wasn't an option.
I was under the impression that all modern cars were not like the cars of my younger years that had to do so many miles at up to 30mph then so many miles at up to 50mph and so on until the engine was run in.
This vehicle is probably a super car for 'normal' people but it certainly wasn't for me.
Oh I nearly forgot to mention, having done a google search for that particular model I have since found out that everybody has the same disappointment as myself and had I read them before buying would probably have gone for the 2litre model or a Kia Sorrento or even considered a Hyundai Santa Fe.
 
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We looked seriously at the XC60 when we replaced our last car ( C70) for a more versatile and practical vehicle ( SWMBO has an MG TF). Over a period of time I accosted several XC60 owners in car parks when the opportunity occurred ( new hobby??!). The overwhelming response was that of disappointment.
Poor mileage, chews through front tyres, luggage space small for four adults, not good offroad, etc..
The most perceptive comments were from an owner sporting a BASC sticker in the car's rear window.
He basically bought the "car" (his emphasis) as a compromise as his other half did not want an overtly off-road vehicle, but he needed something to suit his shooting needs. He was also not impressed with actual fuel consumption compared to Volvo's claims. The load space size meant that in order to accommodate guns in slips he was limited to two passengers. Also, there was insufficient space for all the other kit that three shooters take with them. As he said, it was a compromise but a greater one than that he imagined. He was about to upgrade and was adamant that he would not have another XC60.
We eventually bought a V50. So far I have not seen any of the shortcomings identified by the XC60 owners. It has done everything that I have asked of it and still given 40+ mpg.
 
Manufacturers achieve their mpg figures by removing everything possible weight wise e.g.all interior trim all seats apart from drivers,all exterior features that can cause drag e.g mirrors etc and tape up all body seams to aid air flow.

Hardly realistic when it comes to everyday driving.
 
Manufacturers shouldn't be allowed to quote unrealistic figures like that .
Should be realistic
I have the Kia sorrento a 2011 model as wife n kids car ... It's fantastic an we get realistically 35mpg

Paul
 
I've recently changed my Freelander 2 after having the marque since introduction in 2006 (2 vehicles for 170,000 miles and no real issues), its successor the Discovery Sport was looked at closely but with 7 seats, no spare wheel and little boot space and an issue with towbars (very stalker unfriendly) I plumped for the new Subaru Forester diesel auto and have been really pleased and suprised by the whole package and the savings over the DS, a little lower than the FL2 so more care off road needed but MPG is a very respectable 40 with the best recorded at 50.4 on a motorway run at 65mph. Got all the bells and whistles fitted and I haven't found a problem yet - well worth a look if you are thinking of changing - deal made at just under £30k.
 
I have had the Discovery Sport for a month now. Averaging 36mpg, could be better, I am guessing 40, if I drove more economically. Have not used the 2 'child' seats in the back, apparently there will be a new model without having these in future. Loads of space in the back seats for passengers. I drove the xc60 first but it is definitely a 'car' as said already.

by the way, what's wrong with the DS tow bar? Mine works fine.
 
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The test they take has to be the same for all manufacturers so it's done on a rolling road indoors and set by a computer to simulate road conditions. Because it is done this way it is fair for all but it means the ECU is set to perform best on this test, not in the real world. This is why small turbo charged petrol engines cars perform well with a very high MPG yet in the real world where you drive with a bit of a heavy right foot the MPG drops like a stone.
 
Try a Kia Sorento little bit low but has full size spare etc can carry 5 fallow in the back and do 100 all the way to Scotland or plug through mud if req.
 
Four months into the Mazda BT50 Auto, 5 cyl turbo diesel, 4 door with a steel tray on the back instead of the tub and I'm clocking 31.25 mpg.
Talk about towing a boat or camper trailer then it's completely different, too frightened to check.
Grant.
 
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