Double The Boost, Double the Trouble? - 2015 Volvo S60 Long-Term Road Test

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Double The Boost, Double the Trouble? - 2015 Volvo S60 Long-Term Road Test

Here we are in our 2015 Volvo S60 T6, a car that doubles down on boost like a card shark in Vegas with an 11 at the blackjack table.

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allthingshonda

Yes it's going to be more trouble. In previous post I wrote about a friend's Dad's hand me down 1987 or 1988 Volvo 740 that had well over 200,000 trouble free miles on it before the transmission gave out, this is not that car. That old Volvo was built to last, a simple under powered 4 cylinder mated to a 4 speed auto transmission. Nothing complicated and little that could go wrong.

ebeaudoin

allthingshonda said:

Yes it's going to be more trouble. In previous post I wrote about a friend's Dad's hand me down 1987 or 1988 Volvo 740 that had well over 200,000 trouble free miles on it before the transmission gave out, this is not that car. That old Volvo was built to last, a simple under powered 4 cylinder mated to a 4 speed auto transmission. Nothing complicated and little that could go wrong.

Yup. Sounds like my daily driver, a 2001 Toyota Camry. Bulletproof 2.2L 4cyl mated to a 4spd automatic. Sure, it's slow and a little boring at times, but I would take boring over high maintenance costs any day of the week.

defyant15

Agreed. Too many moving parts. Volvo's reliability (other than the early model XC90 transmissions) has generally been top notch, so I wouldnt count them out BUT I would anyday take a naturally aspirated engine that is not boosted nor operates at stratospheric rpm (in the latter example though the Honda S2000 proved this can be reliable setup). From the performance point, the 5.0L in the Stang and 6.2L LS3 come to mind. In the economy cars, the SkyActive range from Mazda and Toyota's engines are fantastic.

Expecting 200K miles from an engine thats well maintained is not unreasonable.

Any engine trouble and all the fuel economy savings can be reversed quickly. The only people it benefits then are lease owners and the manufacturer targeting CAFE.

saulster

My 2015.5 S60 T6 I averaging 26 MPG in a mix of commuting to work, local driving, and some 800 mile RT trips ( LA - San Jose ). It is excellent mileage on the open road, 32 - 33 MPG with cruise control set at 76 MPH up and down the I5.

As noted in the report, engine operation is pretty much seamless and powerful. The transmission could be a bit smoother shifting in traffic. I am driving a rental MBZ GLK 350 while Mr. Volvo is in the shop for repairs after some jackalope tail ended me in traffic commuting to work. The smoothness of the engine / transmission combination has to be experienced to be believed, just the best. Also, the automatic shut down and restart when stopped is rough and needs some reprogramming to match a reasonable standard. My 2014 Lincoln MKZ hybrid is MUCH smoother in this function, hardly noticeable at all, while the MBZ is just a hair even nicer into completely unnoticeable.

I agree that there is some risk in the newer and more complex technology involved in the new Volvo I4 motor. If I was buying this car for a very long term ownership, I would be more concerned. But, like many, I am leasing and expect the car to still be under the 4 year 48 or 50K ( I forget which ) warranty when I am done.

I don't plan to buy this car out at lease end. The salesperson mentioned that many lessees take the lease as an extended test drive and do so. I remain disappointed in the rough start / stop engine function, the crappy navigation programming, and some other items. That said, it is very comfortable, best seats, seems solidly built, and is a true mile eater on trips.

fordson1

I guess you could just ride a bike back and forth to wherever you go. Tha's pretty uncomplicated. But NOT one of those newfangled ones with all those GEARS.

gslippy

Turbo-supercharching dates back at least to WWII fighter planes: http://rwebs.net/avhistory/opsman/geturbo/geturbo.htm
What could go wrong with it in a warranted Volvo?

schen72

defyant15 said:

Expecting 200K miles from an engine thats well maintained is not unreasonable.

My '99 Acura TL is closing in on 300K miles.

mrvtecski

tsxtravels.com- Check out that guys 05 TSX, 451k and counting. It's a good thing I also have a TSX.

herrstreet

The main concern about turbocharged engines is the turbo and or supercharger not lasting the life of the car. In modern cars with regular synthetic oil changes, I don't think this is going to be a huge problem. I have an R Design XC and the only deviation I'm going to make is to change the oil at 5k and not 10k intervals. But I take a lot of trips less than 5 miles so I'm a bit harder on the oil than someone who has a longer commute.