Comfort, for me is about suspension control. I don’t want a cushy soft ride. I want composure without harsh. This is possible with quality suspension.
For insight, my Ford Focus RS Mk3, is solid in ‘Normal’ hand harsh in Sport. I never use Sport. The RS was broadly criticised for harsh suspension. Ford did a mid-life retune which is much better. Ford replaced my original car early release (lemon) car at 3yrs & 40,000km with a late build – so I’ve lived with both tunes. I was hard over going to replace the original dampers. I’m in no rush to replace the Rev2 units until they are worn. Not great, but tolerable.
We almost bypassed the XC60 because dealers only stocked the R Design with air suspension which, while very insulating was also very isolating from the driving feel. Some might like this. We didn’t.
Taking a punt, we ordered our XC60 T6 R Design on standard 21″ wheel and the mechanical Sport Chassis. We tried to have the dealer swap to 19’s because we routinely drive gravel roads. They wouldn’t.
I have some 19’s with winter tyres – softer but suspension behaviour is the same.
The damper tune on our R Design is quite simply a disaster. Insufficient compression fails to control bump travel causing the suspension to crash through the relatively short travel to the bump stops. This is more pronounced when touring fully loaded with family, rottweiler-doberman roof boot and luggage .
Rebound damping is too quick causing a bounce out of larger bumps. Often rebounding with a corkscrew motion. I don’t think, however the spring rates are a problem…
My sister has the XC60 T8 Polestar with adjustable Ohlins fitted. These are absolutely top shelf dampers and transform the vehicle, even with the additional EV weight. They are externally manually adjustable via under bonnet/wheel well knobs. I’ve cautioned her never to leave her Polestar overnight at my place – It just might not feel quite the same in the morning…
With that said, I had an XC90 T6 on air last week as Volvo Courtesy car while ours received the 30,000km service. This vehicle was vastly more communicative, composed and a fair bit firmer than the 2019 XC60 R Design, Momentum & Inscription, too) we test drove.
Without disregarding the OP comment about air not being an option, I have at times regreted not ordering the air suspension, despite the criticism. It is better than the Sport Chassis.
I’ve searched extensively aftermarket dampers.
The Ohlins OEM kit is available. They are available after market here Genuine Polestar Ohlins Suspension Kit, Volvo XC60 18+ At US$6150, are a veritable bargin compared to the ~AU$20k quoted through Volvo…but (well) out of my price range.
More recently, Bilstein added B6 to the B4 listing. B6 is sporty, B4 is OEM spec.
I found these in the Bilstein OE catalogue, but NOT the aftermarket catalogue.
On this page you will find all topics that are important for dealers and workshops. In addition to our current product catalog, we offer information on training courses, product innovations and installation instructions.
workshop.bilstein.com
First production run is scheduled in May but is behind schedule. I have some on order Front
AU$420 each + GST, Rear AU$260 each + GST.
I had B6 dampers on my old Tiguan and they were excellent; firm, well controlled…added grip on asphalt and more gravel. My wife thought they were fine, good even…She likes the RS (amazingly), hated my lowered & stiffened WRX (truthfully, this was fair criticism, it was too hard with insufficient travel and was only good on smooth roads).
I expect they will bring the suspension in-line with the rest of the vehicle and await their delivery with great anticipation.