I have recently bought a low mileage CPO 2024 V60 B4. I was quite happy with it at first, but several weeks and 2k km later I feel that disappointment starts to kick in.
Preamble: my previous car was a Skoda Superb Mk3 Sportline (for US audience: think of it as a bit cheaper, bit bigger and (arguably) better styled EUDM Passat Wagon). It was a nice daily for its price – practical, spacious, generously equipped, cheap to run and maintain. However, I never really liked the Sportline seats: the cushion was too narrow, the side bolsters too aggressive. The cushion did not distribute pressure well, creating a feeling that its left side is harsher than the rest. As a result, my left hip was going numb and sore after 70-100 minutes of driving. I’ve researched online and saw that I am not the only one with this complain on Skoda seats, so eventually I’ve decided to move on and start searching for something more comfortable and refined. As I had an overwhelmingly positive experience with 1st gen S60 and 3 Series F30 back in the day, G21 and V60 seemed like obvious candidates.
I’ve started with a long, 5 hours test drive of G21, which felt excellent: really nice drivetrain, very comfortable seats, impeccable seating position, responsive and convenient infotainment. Unfortunately, none of the CPO cars in the area at the moment were specced to my preference. In addition to that, BMW dealers offered rather low trade-in value for the Skoda. I’ve considered ordering a brand new G21 for a while, but decided that the price difference would be too hefty for me at the moment.
This lead me to what seemed the second best option, the V60. I did not have an opportunity for extended test drive, so it was standard half an hour. Given that I was happy with my old S60 (which is still running strong in the family!) and the reputation of Volvo seats as being one of the best in industry, I did not pay much attention to the seating comfort during the test drive. One of the local dealers had a beautiful CPO V60 Plus with just 3k km on the odometer and most of the bells and whistles I need. They offered a reasonable trade-in value for the Skoda, so I’ve decided to make a deal.
In the hindsight, that was a rushed decision. There are two main reasons for my discontent.
The seats
Yes, that was extremely surprising for me, but the longer trips this week made me feel that the seats are nowhere as good as their reputation. They are ok at best, better than those in the Skoda, but still with flawed design.
I have electrically adjusted seats with extendable cushion and 4 way lumbar support, but without ventilation or massage. I think these are usually referred to as ‘Inscription’ seats as opposed to ‘R-design’ with more aggressive side supports or ‘Momentum’ without an extender.
The problem with the seats is twofold.
First, I don’t find the profile of the backrest optimal. It pushes the shoulder area forward too much, while not providing adequate support in lower back area. The lumbar support somewhat remedies this, but there is still some area around it where the back support is a bit inadequate.
Second, and this is much more important, the design of the cushion extender is just not good. If it is retracted, it feels obvious that the extendable part is more hard and sits higher than the main part of the cushion, thus applying some pressure to the thighs underneath. In this configuration, the overall length of the cushion is also a bit shorter than I prefer. If this piece is extended, then I can feel some metal bar running across the seat at the very front of the main part of the cushion, which creates an unpleasant pressure to the legs as well.
I have not given up on these sits and I will keep adjusting them, trying to find a comfortable position. Still, I find that the P2 seats and sport seats in the F30 were way better, allowing me to find a comfortable position in a couple of minutes and then drive for 10+ hours without any discomfort.
Electrical gremlins
I was prepared that AAOS infotainment is not exactly industry-leading in both stability and functionality, so a couple of occasions when there was no sound in the car at all were not a surprise. No worries, it’s a minor nuisance and it’s easy enough to restart the infotainment.
But I was not prepared at all to a yesterday situation where BLIS caught a false positive and was actively preventing me from merging from ramp to the highway. As I was speeding up on the ramp, I’ve noticed that BLIS indicators on both sides are on, which was surprising as there were no cars on the highway and just a guard rail to my right. I’ve double checked that there are definitely no vehicles to my left, turned on the indicator and started changing the lanes. The car then screamed about collision avoidance, and abruptly and violently steered itself back to the ramp. I was lucky that the speed was moderate, the ramp was rather long and that BLIS fixed itself in 3-4 seconds and finally allowed me to enter the highway. Still, it was a rather unsettling situation. I can easily imagine an unexperienced driver panicking and steering to the guard in these circumstances. As there is no way to turn BLIS and other driving assistants off, I can no longer make myself to fully trust the car: what will it do next, decide to automatically brake without any particular reason?
There is very much to like with the V60 – the design is lovely, the interior is high-quality and very well built, the sound system is very decent for a base model, the B4 drivetrain is sufficiently quick and really efficient. But these two things above definitely affect the driving experience enough to make me wonder if I were much happier with a G21 or a G31.
Thank you for your time and attention to my rant.