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Interior Elegance Makes Up For Performance Gap - 2015 Volvo S60 Long-Term Road Test
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Interior Elegance Makes Up For Performance Gap - 2015 Volvo S60 Long-Term Road Test
The 2015 Volvo S60 might not have what it takes to be a true performance sport sedan, but one area it still holds an edge: its interior.
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That metal inlay on the Premier Plus center stack is real aluminum.
R-Design models feature turned aluminum inlay.
A crude aluminum vs. plastic inlay touch evaluation is to leave the vehicle parked outside somewhere chilly overnight. The next morning wipe your hand against the inlay. An icy feel will betray if it's metal.
Or else park in direct hot sunlight for several hours and try touching. Plastic will be warm but genuine aluminum will scorch.
Regarding too many buttons, Volvo seems to have made a conscious choice to avoid the "multimedia controller" device where one dial and button does everything though extensive menus and in exchange provide the individual button controls and voice controls instead of the other alternative, the touch screen. I have driven my 2015.5 S60 T6 for over a half year now and find I prefer the Volvo approach. No comments from this Edmunds editor post on this subject so it would be interesting to hear their thoughts.....
What seems like a lot of buttons in this picture simplifies greatly when you see that the interior buttons are the number pad ( input a phone number manually, choose a radio preselect, etc. ) and some manual climate control items, neither of which see so much use. With a decent automatic climate control system, it's mostly set and forget. There are buttons on the outside rows for front and rear defrost, heated steering wheel, heated seats, etc. And voice controls for many functions as well.
Not perfect but for me, a good functional compromise I like. Of course, that does not deal with my ongoing issues with the dysfunctional navigation POI look up but that has nothing to do with the buttons or other controllers.
On other interior items, I would have preferred the aluminum look but the car available with all else I wanted had the optional dark wood ( "piano" ) trim. OK but not my preference. If any wood, I prefer something lighter for contrast and to see a nice grain pattern.
As for torque steer and "performance", that's a whole 'nother story. Just how often do most drivers get "into" the loud pedal to unleash all 300 HP and 300 FP? Not a common event, right? I enjoy having all of the power available so when I apply even partial throttle, I get a nice, strong response and do what I need to on the highway. Why is why I went T6 instead of the certainly adequate T5 in the first place. BTW, I have not noticed "lag" yet. Maybe I don't drive hard enough?
My view of the Volvo S60 series is not a "sport" sedan but a "GT" sedan. If I wanted really "sport", I would have RWD ( maybe BMW M3 or M4 ) or AWD ( perhaps Audi S3 or S4 ). All of which happen to be much more expensive than a comparably equipped S60. I did look and cross shop first. Not just the performance variants but the more standard ( and less costly ) versions. Aside from cost, finding the BMW or the Audi on the lot with the adaptive cruise was not easy, even in Southern California with many large dealerships. MBZ's well - received new 300 series was also a consideration but even pricier than BMW or Audi and, again, at the time ( November, 2014 ) selection was limited.
The Volvo is a "mile eater" with what I consider exceptionally comfortable seating ( I am 6'0", 200 lbs. ) which stays that way over long distances. The adaptive cruise works nicely and is a real saving feature on trips and even in anything less than complete bumper to bumper freeway traffic. The ICE sounds very nice to me even though it's menu reading of my USB stick tracks is a programming disaster. And Volvo was quite aggressive on it's lease pricing and terms.
Just my thoughts.