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Post by Martin on Dec 14, 2018 21:17:29 GMT
So, two week update. In short, I'm really enjoying it. It's frugal, pleasantly pokey and handles rather nicely. It's now on 4 new Michelin Crossclimate+ tyres and although they initially felt a little vague at just off steering centre, they seem to have settled a bit and/or I have got used to them. I've also discovered, having failed to RTFM that the Lane Assist actively steers very slightly. The V60 used to sound a warning but had no steering intervention but the VRS gently nudges the steering if you get near a lane marking. I reckon that probably accounted for at least some of what I thought was odd feedback from the tyres - needless to say it is now turned off! I've also found that at the recommended tyre pressures the ride on our increasingly pock marked and corrugated road surfaces can be a bit on the firm side, but dropping the pressures just slightly makes a noticeable improvement in ride quality. I'm mulling over the idea of a remap but for now there's no spare funds anyway, so that will wait. Plus there are warranty considerations in that respect as well. Do you think the initial vagueness could have been just because they were new? I’ve always taken it easy for the first 500 or so miles on new tyres until they bed in (something to do with the release agent wearing off?) |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Dec 17, 2018 19:14:09 GMT
I think there was maybe a bit of that, Martin. Plus the tyre place didn't bother to set the pressures and each tyre was a different pressure until I corrected them all. The biggest issue was me not reading up about the lane assist! The tyres feel fine now. Perhaps slightly softer than full summer tyres but they do feel pretty good now.
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Post by Martin on Dec 17, 2018 21:37:19 GMT
I think there was maybe a bit of that, Martin. Plus the tyre place didn't bother to set the pressures and each tyre was a different pressure until I corrected them all. The biggest issue was me not reading up about the lane assist! The tyres feel fine now. Perhaps slightly softer than full summer tyres but they do feel pretty good now. That’s good to know, I’m getting a set fitted on Saturday. Should have been last Saturday, but Blackcircles called to say the garage couldn’t actually fit me in. |
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Post by Andy C on Dec 17, 2018 23:18:31 GMT
So, two week update. In short, I'm really enjoying it. It's frugal, pleasantly pokey and handles rather nicely. It's now on 4 new Michelin Crossclimate+ tyres and although they initially felt a little vague at just off steering centre, they seem to have settled a bit and/or I have got used to them. I've also discovered, having failed to RTFM that the Lane Assist actively steers very slightly. The V60 used to sound a warning but had no steering intervention but the VRS gently nudges the steering if you get near a lane marking. I reckon that probably accounted for at least some of what I thought was odd feedback from the tyres - needless to say it is now turned off! I've also found that at the recommended tyre pressures the ride on our increasingly pock marked and corrugated road surfaces can be a bit on the firm side, but dropping the pressures just slightly makes a noticeable improvement in ride quality. I'm mulling over the idea of a remap but for now there's no spare funds anyway, so that will wait. Plus there are warranty considerations in that respect as well. Do you think the initial vagueness could have been just because they were new? I’ve always taken it easy for the first 500 or so miles on new tyres until they bed in (something to do with the release agent wearing off?) I asked Dan this when mine Were fitted and he said 200 miles Was the point they start performing at 100% |
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Post by Martin on Dec 18, 2018 7:53:38 GMT
Good to know, thanks
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Post by Roadsterstu on Dec 19, 2018 18:44:18 GMT
Hopefully your garage will set the pressures properly, Martin. Does the TPMS on the Golf simply require a reset through the menu once the pressures are set, to store that value? Or is it a more complex system than mine, monitoring actual pressures rather than a change in rotational circumference to deduce a loss of pressure?
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Post by Martin on Dec 19, 2018 18:49:20 GMT
Hopefully your garage will set the pressures properly, Martin. Does the TPMS on the Golf simply require a reset through the menu once the pressures are set, to store that value? Or is it a more complex system than mine, monitoring actual pressures rather than a change in rotational circumference to deduce a loss of pressure? It’s the simple system, the one in the BMW has the RDCi Valves, so you get an exact/love pressure by tyres (as did the last 5 series) I’ll check the pressures as soon as possible, always do as they rarely get it right but the place I’m going to has been excellent the last two visits. |
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Post by Martin on Dec 22, 2018 14:49:00 GMT
I think there was maybe a bit of that, Martin. Plus the tyre place didn't bother to set the pressures and each tyre was a different pressure until I corrected them all. The biggest issue was me not reading up about the lane assist! The tyres feel fine now. Perhaps slightly softer than full summer tyres but they do feel pretty good now. Had a set fitted today and the steering is noticeably lighter, but I’ll see how it goes. They are quite a bit softer, try pushing down on the tread and compare it to your summers. Quite a bit difference vs the Contis the Golf came with. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Dec 23, 2018 10:55:53 GMT
It's surprising how much "squish" there is in those big tread blocks isn't it? You'll get used to it but (as I noticed going from winters back to summers on the V60) it makes putting the summers back on even nicer in the spring.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Dec 23, 2018 11:04:25 GMT
Parked up with my dad's Superb last week. There is a fair size difference.  |
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Post by Martin on Dec 23, 2018 11:15:47 GMT
It's surprising how much "squish" there is in those big tread blocks isn't it? You'll get used to it but (as I noticed going from winters back to summers on the V60) it makes putting the summers back on even nicer in the spring. It is, they’re so soft you’d think they would wear out quickly. It’s always good putting summers back on and having warmer/dryer roads. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Jan 7, 2019 20:15:42 GMT
I've still not got around to doing a final review of the V60, my apologies. I will summarise it by 'good points' and 'not so good points', below. It has now been with it's new owner since last week, who has been in touch with me to ask a couple of things. He is, thankfully, pretty smitten with it and has some plans for tweaks to wheels and styling (not my cup of tea for the most part!) so I look forward to seeing it at a club event at some point. It already has carbon mirror covers in place of the standard aluminium...
Anyway, 'good points':
The looks. Especially in red. Cleaned and polished it looked fantastic and the V60 is a fine looking car, no doubt about it.
Performance, naturally. Especially with the Polestar tweaks. 5.3 ish to 60 isn't too shabby for a sensible family estate that weighs nearly 1800 kilos. Overtaking punch was mega and the acceleration just never let up. I'm sure, if not limited to 155 it would be capable of around 165, which is just daft for what it was.
The sound. 6 cylinder loveliness, aided by the Jetex exhaust. It sounded a little anaemic on the standard pipes but definitely had a voice on the Jetex system
Comfort. Mostly. It could be a lovely refined cruiser when it needed to be but there were issues with seat comfort.
Space. In the cabin, at least. It was wide, so felt roomy up front but rear seat legroom wasn't great and boot space was compromised by the roofline. Still, the V70 is the load lugger of the range, not so much the V60.
Handling was generally not bad, as was the steering but you felt the weight of the car.
Cracking audio system, lovely quality and ergonomically it was mostly very good. The voice control worked well.
Adaptive cruise was awesome. I miss it.
Rarity. A T6 V60 AWD is a pretty rare thing. There are more Polestars and they are hardly commonplace.
Grip from the AWD - just grips and goes.
'Not so good':
Running costs, obviously. It was thirsty. 23 to 24mpg in daily use. 34 was the best I ever saw but it took a very long motorway run at 70mph to achieve that.
Fragile differentials. I now know that this is down, mostly, to how you look after the tyres. Very slight differences in rolling circumferences can play long term havoc with the diffs with on-demand systems like the Haldex 5 in the V60. And they are expensive, ultimately being the reason I decided to get rid. These things have been known to fail as low 45k miles, though, which isn't good.
The seats! The bloody seats!! In a Volvo. I had a right job getting comfy and was hugely disappointed by the seats, after so many Volvos with amazing chairs. No idea why but I struggled constantly with the drivers seat and was never truly comfortable.
Poor brakes. It was a heavy car and the brakes were not up to the job. A twisty road would soon see brake fade if you were pushing on. The next step, after a fluid change made little difference, would have been upgraded discs and pads.
Overall, I always had a feeling this car could drop me a huge bill. And it did. I never fully settled with it, sadly, but there were fun times and I certainly don't regret owning it. However, it didn't feel to me, despite a generally very, very solid feel, like a torally bulletproof Volvo of old.
As for the Octavia VRS, so far so good. It is one of those cars that feels 'just right'. Hopefully that will continue.
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Post by Nelson on Jan 16, 2019 13:02:15 GMT
The Octavia in vRS guise is probably top of my next car list. Ticks a lot of boxes to suit me and my lifestyle. I envy and applaud your choice
Though, i did follow an Insignia bi-turbo the other day, forget they made them as weirdly not driven one. 192ps and plenty of lovely torque and a decent sized boot. That peaked an interest and a quick look on Autotrader. Seems very good value especially if you can find a high-spec Elite or SRi-nav trim
Had a lot of change of personal circumstances recently (lost my job - long story) so not in any financial position to change now but the Mondeo, albeit needing replacement rear shocks and springs is running just fine
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 16, 2019 13:27:42 GMT
Sorry to hear that. Hope you find something soon.
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 16, 2019 13:29:05 GMT
Had a lot of change of personal circumstances recently (lost my job - long story) ..... Sorry to hear that. I hope things change for the better very soon, and that you secure a better job too |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Jan 24, 2019 8:31:37 GMT
The Octavia in vRS guise is probably top of my next car list. Ticks a lot of boxes to suit me and my lifestyle. I envy and applaud your choice Though, i did follow an Insignia bi-turbo the other day, forget they made them as weirdly not driven one. 192ps and plenty of lovely torque and a decent sized boot. That peaked an interest and a quick look on Autotrader. Seems very good value especially if you can find a high-spec Elite or SRi-nav trim Had a lot of change of personal circumstances recently (lost my job - long story) so not in any financial position to change now but the Mondeo, albeit needing replacement rear shocks and springs is running just fine I'm sorry to hear that. You have my sympathy. Mrs R lost her job last October and is still to cind something. It does add some pressures. Hope you find something soon. |
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Post by michael on Jan 24, 2019 22:14:00 GMT
Just reading your grudge list reminds me of the Xc70. The seats were terrible, nothing like Volvo of old and the brakes utterly crap. I can’t stress enough how rubbish that phase of Volvo was.
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Post by Alex on Jan 25, 2019 8:01:40 GMT
Just reading your grudge list reminds me of the Xc70. The seats were terrible, nothing like Volvo of old and the brakes utterly crap. I can’t stress enough how rubbish that phase of Volvo was. The trouble is that all cars have some imperfections but those are the sort that can really make you fall out of love with a car and make every journey much less enjoyable. It’s a shame because they were otherwise very well designed cars. |
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 25, 2019 8:24:44 GMT
Just reading your grudge list reminds me of the Xc70. The seats were terrible, nothing like Volvo of old and the brakes utterly crap. I can’t stress enough how rubbish that phase of Volvo was. You must have got a poor example. The brakes on the 4 Volvos my parents had were always immensely powerful and reassuring. The brakes on my Fiesta are good but not as powerful as the Volvo or the Kuga's, but the brakes on the Fiesta I had as a loaner when the Ka was being worked on were absolutely dire and inspired no confidence at all. Whether or not it was air in the system I don't know, but it did concern me. Thankfully the test drive car was much better and contributed towards me upgrading form Ka to Fiesta. Hard to believe that it's nearly 3 years ago ! Where has time gone? |
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Post by Roadrunner on Jan 25, 2019 9:49:29 GMT
Just reading your grudge list reminds me of the Xc70. The seats were terrible, nothing like Volvo of old and the brakes utterly crap. I can’t stress enough how rubbish that phase of Volvo was. You must have got a poor example. The brakes on the 4 Volvos my parents had were always immensely powerful and reassuring. The brakes on my Fiesta are good but not as powerful as the Volvo or the Kuga's, but the brakes on the Fiesta I had as a loaner when the Ka was being worked on were absolutely dire and inspired no confidence at all. Whether or not it was air in the system I don't know, but it did concern me. Thankfully the test drive car was much better and contributed towards me upgrading form Ka to Fiesta. Hard to believe that it's nearly 3 years ago ! Where has time gone? Your parent's cars were probably all pre-Geeley? That was when the quality started to slide. |
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Post by michael on Jan 25, 2019 10:27:03 GMT
My model was of the Ford era. The brakes were crap on that model not just my car. They were spongy and underachieving at the best of times (socialist brakes?) but downright dangerous if they’d had a bit of use.
I’d also disagree that it was otherwise well designed, it wasn’t. The size to interior space ratio was pathetic and the general practilicalty was boot. Apart from the square boot shape which for me was essential, any BMW is a better designed and thought out estate.
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Post by LandieMark on Jan 25, 2019 11:13:49 GMT
Volvos are not what they once were. I keep looking at 240/760/960 estates on eBay as a cheap, comfortable shed.
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 25, 2019 14:46:59 GMT
Your parent's cars were probably all pre-Geeley? That was when the quality started to slide. V70 is Ford era, the others were all "proper" Volvos |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Jan 30, 2019 22:50:38 GMT
My model was of the Ford era. The brakes were crap on that model not just my car. They were spongy and underachieving at the best of times (socialist brakes?) but downright dangerous if they’d had a bit of use. I’d also disagree that it was otherwise well designed, it wasn’t. The size to interior space ratio was pathetic and the general practilicalty was boot. Apart from the square boot shape which for me was essential, any BMW is a better designed and thought out estate. Exactly how I felt about the brakes in the V60. Not good in a car weighing 1750kg and with 329bhp. The brakes in the VRS are excellent and the seats are how the V60's should have been. "Small" service today for the VRS. 169 quid, got it back all clean and shiny. A car always feels better after an oil change and a wash. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on Jan 30, 2019 22:53:46 GMT
Volvos are not what they once were. I keep looking at 240/760/960 estates on eBay as a cheap, comfortable shed. For me the 850 was the pinnacle. Modern enough but retaining that incredible solidity Volvo were famous for. That said, I'd love a 240 estate. Weird, but I'm not afraid to admit it. |
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Post by Boxer6 on Jan 30, 2019 23:19:29 GMT
Volvos are not what they once were. I keep looking at 240/760/960 estates on eBay as a cheap, comfortable shed. For me the 850 was the pinnacle. Modern enough but retaining that incredible solidity Volvo were famous for. That said, I'd love a 240 estate. Weird, but I'm not afraid to admit it. I had an 850GLT estate way back when; IIRC, it was a 1995 'M' in gold. Managed to transport me, my then wife, 8-year old daughter and a rather large, bouncy Dobermann to both Marker Rasen racecourse and Blackpool (on different weekends!) to compete in dog shows. Both times we had a large tent, varying quantities of food etc for us and the dog, a folded-down crate (Dobe sized) toys (for the dog) and other stuff, all of which fitted inside with no hassle. My dad had a 245, which was the estate version of his first 244; it was really rather nice for a big Volvo, and big enough in the back to be a very comfortable passion wagon!  |
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Post by Tim on Jan 31, 2019 9:27:32 GMT
I saw a nice (?) low mileage and one owner 760GLT in gold at the Morris Leslie car auction last year.
It had a, er, lovely matching interior and felt fantastically comfortable.
I'm sure it went for a ridiculously small amount of money but looked as if you'd get a lot of years from it.
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Post by ChrisM on Jan 31, 2019 11:49:14 GMT
For me the 850 was the pinnacle. Modern enough but retaining that incredible solidity Volvo were famous for. That said, I'd love a 240 estate. Weird, but I'm not afraid to admit it. Having driven my parents 145 (which they had for 30 years) and the 850 that followed it, and bearing in mind that the 245 was substantially a 145, don't !! The 850 is light years ahead of the 145/245 in every respect |
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Post by chocy on Jan 31, 2019 12:28:36 GMT
For me the 850 was the pinnacle. Modern enough but retaining that incredible solidity Volvo were famous for. That said, I'd love a 240 estate. Weird, but I'm not afraid to admit it. I had an 850GLT estate way back when; IIRC, it was a 1995 'M' in gold. Managed to transport me, my then wife, 8-year old daughter and a rather large, bouncy Dobermann to both Marker Rasen racecourse and Blackpool (on different weekends!) to compete in dog shows. Both times we had a large tent, varying quantities of food etc for us and the dog, a folded-down crate (Dobe sized) toys (for the dog) and other stuff, all of which fitted inside with no hassle. My dad had a 245, which was the estate version of his first 244; it was really rather nice for a big Volvo, and big enough in the back to be a very comfortable passion wagon! I had a Sierra Estate which was fit for the same purpose, it was a Ghia, so a slightly thicker carpet helped on the comfort level. Sorry Boxer has lowered the tone. I'm glad you are enjoying the new car Stu. |
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Post by PetrolEd on Jan 31, 2019 12:53:38 GMT
I was very surprised with the extremely hard ride when I went in your V60 Stu. Great performance but I always assumed Volvos to have the magic carpet ride.
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