Today I drove a new S60 2.5T

I'm a lousy editor. The 'seemed solider' part above refers to the Volvo. The 'in fairness' part refers to the M-B.

Pat

I've got friends with the 2.4T motor in their V70, and it's a damn fine engine, they have 130K+ on it over the past 3 years, and not one engine issue, just the gas cap related check engine light, they did have to fix the DSTC system tho, but hey, that's on the first model year, bound to have problems on a year one car.

It's a faster car then your S80 cuz you have the 2.9, not the 2.9T, unless you didn't include the T. The 2.9L engine can only use a 4 speed gearbox, where the 2.5T has a 5 speed.

If your 2.9L six is anything like its original design counterpart; the 960 engine, then I know why the S60 feels in general quite a bit faster. The

2.9L in the 960 hasn't got the good low end grunt of the turbo 5's, you really need to wind it out to get the power down.

I own a S60 D5, registered 10.11.2001 with now 122.000km on it (76250mls). The engine is a 5 cylinder diesel, with 163hp, not known in the states, but the most sold version in europe. Anyway, my S60 is a wonderful nice to ride car. I like it very much. It had some small issues, but nothing real exciting. Most things are fixed now in 2004 models. And all things are fixed by my dealer.

My car is filled with GSM telefone, RTI, Leather, power drivers seat, and so on. The equipment is very different between USversions and european versions. Here leather, cruise control, power drivers seat and sure, automatic transmission are options. On the other hand DSTC is standard.

Jürgen

Hi, Pat - - -

Most of us out here with S60's have the 2.4 engine. I love my '02 S60AWD (includes the "T"), but even though the reported numbers aren't notably better, I feel that the 2.5 engine has more guts. It's the old story of nothing being able to beat cubic inches - or cc's either! Buying an '04, you have the benefit of the larger engine inclusion.

As to space, I have to admit that if the S80AWD had been available when time to buy came around to act, I'd likely have gone that route. I was looking seriously at the BMW 330xi, and took the wife down to give it a try (same Dealer). She didn't complain about the space on the test hop, but on returning to the Dealer, went and sat in the S60. Even though she is likely even more of a Volvo lover than I, that was it. Just look at the specs - being derived from the S80 chassis, the S60 has 2" more track width than does the 330xi. That's a lot! Those chassis inches translate directly to interior inches, too.

No service issues at just under 25K miles, just a thoroughly pleasant ride. Overall fuel mileage at this point is about 24mpg - most tanks are at that point, with the best ever just short of 30mpg. My friend Juergen Schrader weighed in on this thread, but took mercy on those of us in the U.S. by not mentioning his incredible diesel mileage on the Autobahn.

bob noble Reno, NV, USA

great car. WAAAY better than the little M-B C240 I drove for a couple of days the previous week. I cannot exaggerate how much better. It puts the competing C240 to absolute shame - and I have no axe to grind against Mercedes. I own a Mercedes and a Volvo and am happy with both.

My concern is How Good is The S60 Turbo on a Long Term Basis? (My larger S80 is 2-1/2 years old and has 42,000 miles and I've had no real problems with it, but it is naturally-aspirated and perhaps a little less fussy.) By the way - I'm new to Volvo. Unlike some of you guys I never owned one before I bought my S80.

My wife doesn't get a new car as often as I do...so if we replace her C230 with something it better be a good car for a long time. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Pat

PS - I even liked the color of that loaner. It's the same color as our M-B, and ironically enough, I'm sick of looking at it on that car. Might be a problem. :-) Maybe I ought to check out some other colors too.

Hi Pat,

I see your concern is mostly about the reliability of turbo engines. I would say: the VOLVO turbo 2.4 or the "new" 2.5 engines are good for at least some

200.000mls. I have no doubts about that. And they deliver a fine torque moment. Sure, "normal" treatment "required". That means: no racing with cold engine. But this is standard with all engines.

In the latest issue of the magazine "Auto Motor Sport" there was a comparison test between BMW 330IX, Audi A4 3.0 Quattro and the S60 2.5T AWD. The S60 2.5T AWD won. This is not very often here in germany that a non-german car wins over a 2 german cars..... Sure, the overall differences are small: 479 points to 474 and 473.

In my opinion you can`t do anything wrong with choosing a S60.

Jürgen

Thanks Jurgen. I am nearly convinced now. I'll discuss it with my wife, after all it is going to be HER car, but right now I'm thinking we may become a 2-Volvo family.

By the way, I posted a picture of my S80 2.9 on alt.binaries.pictures.autos yesterday (P1310047.JPG). It will probably be visible for a couple of days before it "times out".

Pat

differences

My turbo was leaking oil at only 50K under normal driving condition. Warranty replaced it with new.

differences

But a Jaguar only has two seats and if you carry a mechanic around whereever you go to fix it everytime something breaks, you don't have room for a passenger ;)

People are paying for reliability, not technology. If technology makes something unreliable, it is CRAP.