Review
But it is no sports saloon in the mould of BMW’s 3-series. It lacks the involving steering and supple chassis which its German rival majors on. But I defy anyone to name a more comfortable car in this class.
The seats are something else – generously padded, they make long distance work a treat.
But as soon as you corner enthusiastically you slide off the side – it’s then that you realise they are designed to cosset rather than grip you. So instead of thinking of the S60 as a sports saloon, I prefer to call it a GT. It has that loping gait which suits the grand tourer title down to a tee.
Even the gear change has a long, lazy feel about it.
But this doesn’t matter too much, because such are the reserves of power on offer from this new D5 diesel engine that even a lazy gearchange doesn’t blunt your progress.
This engine is something else. At 185bhp it rockets the S60 to the top of the sub-3.0-litre diesel premium upper-medium power charts.
But it doesn’t feel like a diesel because it revs keenly and cleanly all the way up to the red line, all the while emitting that unusual Volvo five-cylinder howl which has become the firm’s trademark.
Mid-range power is very strong, which makes overtaking anything between the 50-70mph mark so easy that it doesn’t even need you to change down into fourth gear. Leave it in fifth, roll on the throttle and the S60 picks up its skirt and surges forward. The ride is biased towards comfort, although this can be changed by pressing the 4C button and switching from Comfort to Sport.
This firms up the ride, but to be honest there’s little point as it just turns the S60 into a hard-riding car rather than a more toned sports saloon.
And the steering is nothing to write home about either. The actual turn-in is quite direct, but there’s none of the feedback you get from a 3-series. And while we’re talking steering, the turning circle on the S60 is poor. Several times while driving the car I went to park in a space and completely missed it as there’s not enough turn on the wheels.
But on the plus side, the interior is a triumph, with a sloping centre console mounted slightly towards you and fairly high up, meaning most controls are within your eye line.
Everything is screwed together in that traditional Volvo manner and it feels as though it will go on for years and years without breaking.
And that pretty much sums up the S60. It’s a comfortable companion rather than an exciting fling.
Unfortunately for Volvo, the S60 will continue to live in the BMW’s shadow. But with the number of 3-series on the road nowadays, at least choosing an S60 will set you apart from the crowd.
Delivered price, standard car (P11D value): £22,705
CO2 emissions (g/km): 174
BIK % of P11D in 2005: 21%
Graduated VED rate: £160
Insurance group: 15
Combined mpg: 42.8
CAP Monitor residual value: 33%/£7,525
Depreciation 25.30 pence per mile x 60,000: £15,180
Maintenance 3.16 pence per mile x 60,000: £1,896
Fuel 10.03 pence per mile x 60,000: £6,018
Wholelife cost 38.49 pence per mile x 60,000: £23,094
Typical contract hire rate: £420
At a glance
We like:
We don’t like
THREE RIVALS TO CONSIDER
P11D PRICE
THE Volvo has the distinction of being the most powerful car here and also the cheapest. The 185bhp S model is the entry-level to the new D5 engine in the S60 family and it undercuts the 150bhp Saab by £100. The BMW is also in basic spec and offers 163bhp for a fraction over £23,000, while the Audi offers the same power for £900 more. Of the four cars, the Saab is the only one which is not in basic guise – in Vector Sport trim it is the best equipped 9-3 you can buy.
Volvo £22,705
Saab £22,807
BMW £23,052
Audi £23,917
SMR COSTS
A CLEAR win for the Saab which has the benefit of Vauxhall’s fleet expertise behind it now thanks to being part of the General Motors empire, offering more competitive running costs than when it was a stand-alone marque. Garage bills for the 9-3 over three years/60,000 miles are likely to be £1,674. Of the others, the Volvo is the next cheapest on £1,896 while the Audi will cost £2,196 and the BMW £2,298. Obviously, costs depend on how your drivers treat their cars.
Saab 2.79ppm
Volvo 3.16ppm
Audi 3.66ppm
BMW 3.83ppm
FUEL COSTS
WITH claimed average fuel economy of 49.6mpg, the BMW is the most frugal car of this group. If your drivers can match this figure, you should expect to pay just shy of £5,200 in diesel over three years and 60,000 miles. The Saab runs the 320d pretty close, returning 48.7mpg for a bill of £5,376.
However, there’s quite a jump back to the third-placed Volvo. The S60 returns a claimed 42.8mpg, leaving you with a bill of just over £6,100 – £200 less than the fourth-placed Audi which returns 40.9mpg.
BMW 8.66ppm
Saab 8.96ppm
Volvo 10.03ppm
Audi 10.50ppm
DEPRECIATION COSTS
DEPRECIATION is the main cost which can make or break a car’s fleet viability, and in this case it marks the BMW out as a safe bet. CAP estimates the 320d will retain a whopping 47% of its cost new after three years/60,000 miles, leaving a cash lost figure of £12,302. The closest challenge comes from the Audi on 41%, leaving £14,142 cash lost. The Saab’s predicted RV is 36% for a cash lost figure of £14,607 – nearly £600 less than the Volvo, which has a lowly 33% RV prediction.
BMW 20.50ppm
Audi 23.57ppm
Saab 24.34ppm
Volvo 25.30ppm
WHOLELIFE COSTS
WITH such a commanding lead in depreciation terms, it’s no surprise that the BMW easily wins the running costs battle. At 32.99ppm it is more than 3ppm cheaper to run than the second-placed Saab 9-3. Third place goes to the Audi, which suffers from a poor showing in fuel economy and from being the most expensive car to buy. The Volvo loses out for the same reason the BMW wins – depreciation.
BMW 32.99ppm
Saab 36.09ppm
Audi 37.73ppm
Volvo 38.49ppm
EMISSIONS AND BIK TAX RATES
ALTHOUGH the BMW is one of the most expensive cars here, its low CO2 emissions see it offer drivers the lowest company car tax bills. For a 40% taxpayer, the 320d will cost £131 a month in benefit-in-kind tax. The Saab runs the BMW close, though, with a BIK bill of £138 a month. However, the other two are off the pace, with the Volvo costing £159 and the Audi £191. VED rates range from £135 a year for the 320d and 9-3 to £160 for the S60 and £170 for the A4.
BMW 153g/km/17%
Saab 159g/km/18%
Volvo 174g/km/21%
Audi 186g/km/24%
Verdict
IT is a real shame that the Volvo can’t put up a better show for itself in running cost terms because it deserves much better than forever living in the shadow of its German rivals. But the figures don’t lie and such is the massive advantage of the BMW that victory can only go to one car. While it may not be lavishly equipped in base 320d specification, it is the best car to drive from any sector of the market, let alone the premium upper-medium segment. The Three reigns supreme.
