Volvo V60 review

Quick verdict

The Volvo V60 focuses on technology, practicality, and subtle Swedish design, making it a real competitor to the German establishment. Many of its rivals focus on driver appeal, but the Volvo takes a more comfort-oriented approach. We also like that the cabin design is brighter than that of its rivals from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, and the quality throughout is impressive. 

With either a front-wheel drive mild-hybrid petrol or two rapid all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid options to tempt business users, the V60 is an attractive proposition against the slew of SUVs that are so popular at the moment.

Volvo V60: price, specs and rivals

Volvo is famous for its estate cars, and while the Swedish brand temporarily tried to cull such cars from its UK line-up in favour of its SUV range, popular demand saw the trusty Volvo V90 and Volvo V60 load-luggers return – the latter of which we’re concentrating on in this review.

The V60 follows the tradition of iconic Volvo estates like the early 240 and later 850, which were generally held to be some of the most practical and family-friendly cars on the market. Volvo’s foray into the SUV sector has reduced its focus on estate buyers, but the fact the V60 remains a key part of the brand’s model range while traditional saloons like its sibling, the Volvo S60, have been ditched suggests that there are still plenty of loyal Volvo estate car buyers keen to drive a practical car without the bulk of an inefficient SUV.

This is the second generation V60, and it’s most obviously a rival to estate versions of rival German premium-exec models such as the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class Estate. There are also plenty of family-orientated estate cars from other brands that cross over into the premium realm with higher spec models of the Peugeot 508 SW, Skoda Superb Estate, and the Volkswagen Passat.

The tried-and-tested running gear the V60 uses can also be found in the outgoing Volvo XC90, Volvo XC60 and Volvo V90 estate. The V60's engine line-up is made up exclusively of a single petrol 2.0-litre, four-cylinder unit badged as B4. It features mild-hybrid technology, but for those with a focus on efficiency, Volvo also offers the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrid versions. Both V60 PHEVs produce well over 300bhp and are capable of returning over 330mpg, according to Volvo. The mild-hybrid petrol V60s come with a seven-speed automatic transmission and are front-wheel drive only, while the T6 and T8 powertrains feature an eight-speed automatic and four-wheel drive.

Prices for the V60 start from just under £44,000 for the mild-hybrid petrol and rise to just over £58,000 for the plug-in hybrid, which is more or less on par with rivals. The V60 trim range has been slimmed down to just Plus Dark and Ultra Dark. All versions come very well equipped, with the former Plus Dark coming with 19-inch alloys, an electric tailgate, sat-nav, leather trim, and blind spot monitoring. The Ultra Dark adds a panoramic glass roof, Harman Kardon sound system, and upgraded Pilot Assist driver assistance system with adaptive cruise control.

The Volvo V60 takes a different approach to rivals in terms of the driving experience. Rather than go chasing the driving dynamics of the BMW 3 Series Touring, the V60 takes a more relaxed approach. It’s quiet and comfortable, even on the optional 19-inch wheels that are available, although the largest 20-inch wheels might be an increase too far.

The suspension isn’t as stiff as in some rivals’, which pays off in terms of ride comfort, but not so much when it comes to handling. The V60 corners safely and with confidence, but you don’t quite get the level of feel you get from a 3 Series Touring through the steering wheel and suspension. For most people most of the time, though, they’ll enjoy the quiet calm of the Volvo, especially on the motorway, where it’s an impressive cruiser.

Go for the top-of-the-range Ultra Dark version, and you can make use of Volvo’s excellent Pilot Assist autonomous assistance features on the motorway. The car will keep a set distance from the vehicle in front once you’ve set the speed you want to travel at (this is the same as other adaptive cruise control systems), but it will also help keep you in your lane and steer you around gentle corners. You have to keep your hands on the wheel and pay attention at all times though, ready to take over if needs be – otherwise, you’ll get beeped at by the safety systems. However, it really adds a degree of relaxation to longer journeys and the system works well.

The fastest model in the range is the Volvo V60 Recharge T8, which is the most powerful of the two plug-in hybrid options. It's not especially sporty and is best considered as a fast, composed cruiser rather than a BMW-baiting driver's machine. Its 449bhp and 640Nm mean overtaking is effortless but there's not much communication through the steering wheel in bends. Thanks to its plug-in hybrid technology, silent all-electric driving is possible for up to 54 miles – it's feasible that both the T6 and T8's petrol engines could be reserved exclusively for out-of-town driving if you keep the batteries topped up.

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

There’s just one mild-hybrid petrol in the Volvo V60, which puts out 194bhp 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, and has a swift 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds.  

The plug-in hybrid V60 T6 and T8 pair their petrol engines with an electric motor for a total power output of 345bhp and 449bhp, respectively. The former gets from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds, while the latter will do the same sprint in 4.6 seconds.

All engines in the V60 (and indeed the entire Volvo range) are limited to a top speed of 112mph.

The lone mild-hybrid petrol Volvo V60 has a fuel economy figure of 44.8mpg and emissions of 143g/km, which compare well with the equivalent petrol models in the BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class Estate range. However, those needing a diesel to cover lots of miles will need to defect to the Mercedes, because Volvo no longer offers such an engine.

The brand’s reasoning for ditching diesel is that it is moving towards having a fully-electrified line-up, with the V60 gaining not one, but two plug-in hybrid powertrains. Both the T6 and T8 are pretty evenly matched at an official 353.1mpg, although our experience with plug-in hybrid cars is that you won’t get anything like that figure in real life, even if you charge the battery up regularly. Still, during our testing of a T8 version – incorporating a combination of backroad and urban driving – the V60 T8 we drove returned an average of 80mpg, which still represents efficient driving. CO2 figures for the T6 and T8 are 18g/km and 19g/km, respectively.

When not running on electric, both the T6 and T8 versions of V60 maintain the same 60-litre petrol tank as the mild-hybrid version, which is a lot more useful on a long trip than the 40-litre tank supplied with the equivalent BMW 3 Series plug-in.

Electric range, battery life and charge time

The 18.8kWh (14.7kWh useable) battery pack in the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrid models is enough for an official electric range of over 50 miles, which is a little short of the BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class Estate, which both use a larger capacity battery with greater EV range.

Utilising a standard 7.4kWh wallbox home charger, it’ll take 5 hours to refill the batteries of both the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrids. 

Tax

Prices for the Volvo V60 range start well above the £40,000 threshold, so all versions will be subject to an additional surcharge on top of the annual VED road tax from the second time the vehicle is taxed, up until it is six years old.

At least company car drivers will benefit from the long electric range provided by the plug-in hybrid models, which will cost a lot less in Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax than the mild-hybrid petrol model.

Insurance groups

This Volvo estate car is on par with its BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes C-Class estate rival, starting in insurance group 29, before rising to group 36 for the T6 plug-in hybrid, before topping out in group 39 for the fastest T8 model.

If you need something cheaper to insure, you’ll need to look towards the Skoda Superb Estate.

Depreciation

The Volvo V60 is expected to hold onto 47 per cent of its value after three years and 36,000 miles of ownership, which is a little better than the Mercedes C-Class Estate, but can’t quite match the BMW 3 Series Touring. 

To get an accurate valuation on a specific model check out our free car valuation tool...

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The Volvo V60 shares a similar interior look to its Volvo XC60, Volvo V90, and Volvo XC90 siblings, featuring a dash that’s dominated by a 9-inch touchscreen in the centre, with a few supporting buttons beneath.

Ahead of the driver sits a digital instrument cluster, vertical air vents on either side of the centre screen and a ribbon of trim (some of which is finished in a wood veneer if you go for the lighter colour interior trim option) running the full width of the dash. Build quality is good, although it's still not quite up to the standards of the Audi A4, although we can’t believe anyone will be disappointed.

The exterior takes the larger V90's general design and adds a little dynamism to it. So the front looks more athletic and the sides a little more swoopy and toned. The rear tailgate is more vertical than on the V90, helping to boost those boot capacity figures and make the V60 easier to load up.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

The V60's nine-inch portrait touchscreen on the centre console runs an Android-based operating system with built-in online services, much like the Volvo XC40, Volvo XC60, and Volvo XC90. The screen has sharp graphics, and the menu layout has been made less complicated than previous iterations. It generally works best if you sign into its in-built apps (even though it’ll take a while to set up initially) because the Apple CarPlay smartphone connection doesn’t take up all of the screen. Wireless phone charging is provided as standard, along with Google navigation – the latter works well with voice commands and saves you from manually programming your route.

For those keen on listening to music as they drive, we’d recommend upgrading to Ultra Dark trim in order to get the 600-watt, 14-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.

The Volvo V60 sets a practicality benchmark in the compact executive class. It’s bigger than key rivals, and it makes the most of those dimensions inside. Boot and passenger space are better than you’ll find elsewhere, while comfortable seats mean the Volvo is a great place to whittle away motorway miles on a long journey. 

All versions of the V60 have electrically adjustable front seats, with memory settings and electric lumbar support on the driver's side. You sit fairly low in the car next to a chunky centre console, providing a sizable centre arm rest with a decent-sized storage area below. As with all Volvos, there’s a useable glovebox and door bins that can handle a large water bottle.

Some thick roof pillars can get in the way when looking over your shoulder, so the standard fit blind spot monitoring system is quite a handy feature to have, while the front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera help when slotting into a parking space. This can be upgraded on Plus Dark trim models to a 360-degree system for a little over £500.

Every Volvo V60 comes with bright LED headlights, but you’ll need to go for the priciest Ultra Dark trim in order to get adaptive headlights that alter the beam pattern at night to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic.

Dimensions and size

At 4,778mm long and 1,916mm wide, the Volvo V60 is longer and a touch wider than its rivals – and much larger than the model it replaces. It’s 180mm shorter than the Volvo V90, which isn't that much really. You also sit a bit lower in the V60 than the V90 – in keeping with Volvo saying this is the brand’s most dynamic car yet.

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Seats, leg room, head room & passenger space

Space in the cabin is good, with a six-foot passenger able to sit comfortably behind a six-foot driver with an inch or so to spare. Foot space is tight if the front seat is in its lowest position, while the wide centre tunnel further restricts things, especially if someone is sat in the middle seat. Here, shoulder room is okay, but you’ll struggle to adopt a knees together pose due to the transmission tunnel running down the middle of the car – although that’s a complaint you can also level at its closest rivals. If you need more space in the back, then you’ll need to look at bigger estates like the Volkswagen Passat, our estate car of the year, the Skoda Superb Estate, or the brand’s own Volvo V90.

Parents who need to put their children into car seats will find two ISOFIX points on the rear seats' outer positions.

Boot space

The upright boot door in the Volvo V60 pays dividends when it comes to luggage space, with 519 litres when the seats are up, it's larger than the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3 Series Touring, and Mercedes C-Class Estate. The seats down figure of 1,431 litres in the V60 isn’t quite as impressive as the 3 Series Touring and C-Class Estate, but it beats the A4 Avant. 

It’s worth noting that unlike its BMW and Mercedes rivals, this Volvo doesn’t lose any boot capacity when you go for it in plug-in hybrid form, meaning company car drivers looking to reduce their tax burden won’t have to compromise on practicality. Indeed, both the T6 and T8 versions of the V60 have a larger boot than the Skoda Superb Estate iV plug-in when the seats are up.

The rear seats fold completely flat at the touch of a button, with headrests automatically tucking out of the way so they don’t get caught on the front seats. And in true Volvo fashion, plenty of other small details have been thought through, like the fold-up boot divider with elasticated straps to stop your groceries flying around the boot. That’s especially handy because it’s a long way to lean into the boot to retrieve items if they have rolled to the farthest reaches of the load bay. You also get a number of hooks from which you can hang shopping bags, tie-down points in all four corners, plus a passthrough for longer items. It is a shame it doesn’t have the more versatile 40:20:40 split folding rear seats like its German rivals, though

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Towing

Towing capacities for the Volvo V60 depend upon which engine you go for because the B4 mild-hybrid can manage a braked trailer or caravan of 1,800kg, while the T6 and T8 plug-in hybrids can lug up to 2,000kg. If you need an estate that can pull more weight, you’ll have to look towards a diesel Skoda Superb, which can handle up to 2,200kg.

As befits the traditionally safety-conscious Swedish manufacturer, the Volvo V60 has an array of safety kit on board to try and prevent a crash from happening. But if the worst does happen, then it will protect you thanks to its five-star rating from Euro NCAP (tested in 2018), with scores of 96% and 84% for adult and child occupant safety, respectively.

The car will help you to avoid head-on crashes if you stray out of your lane, it's also able to detect pedestrians and animals in your path and prevent you from pulling out in front of oncoming traffic if you need to turn right across lanes. As well as these advanced safety features, the V60 has the usual round of electronic driver aids and speed limit warnings, a full set of airbags and ISOFIX child seat mounts in the back.

When it comes to keeping customers happy, Volvo finished in 13th out of 32 manufacturers in our 2023 Driver Power survey, coming above BMW (21st), Mercedes (25th), and Audi (30th). However, it’s worth pointing out that Volvo finished in eighth place in our 2022 survey, so we hope the brand will reverse this downward trend.

Warranty

All Volvos come with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, which is standard for the class, although BMW and Mercedes offer a similar three-year warranty without a mileage limit. In addition, Volvo issues a paint warranty for the same three years, while a corrosion warranty covers the car for eight years.

Servicing

The Volvo V60 requires servicing annually or every 18,000 miles, whichever comes first.

There is a Volvo Service Plan available to customers to help spread servicing costs on an interest-free monthly basis. After each service, Volvo will extend your breakdown cover for one year at no extra cost.