Hi all,

I am considering the new V60, but on the fence about the Drive-E option. I drive 25-30k miles/yr, and would like to own this car for 6-8 years so long term reliability is a concern (though not enough to put me in a camry). The drive-e engine is brand new so long term reliability has not yet been established, plus its direct injected which has me concerned about the typical stuff like carbon buildup and high pressure pumps.

I live in the northeast, so AWD would be helpful, though the Drive-E with and LSD and snow tires would be adequate for my 95% of my needs.

The difference in efficiency is pretty big, 29mpg hwy on the 5cyl vs. 37mpg hwy on the drive-E. Both have similar power. It would cost me roughly 30-40/mo extra to drive the 5cyl AWD.

I dont consider the difference in price significant, especially considering the AWD would do better on resale. So this really comes down to long term reliability, AWD vs. FWD, and efficiency.

thoughts?

 

I've owned both FWD (2 Volvos) and AWD (an Audi) and live inland in Connecticut (hills and snow)... My perspective is 1) invest in 2nd wheels with top quality snows regardless of what drive train you buy. 2) the modern traction controls and ABS make FWD cars very practical. I can think of maybe 2 or 3 times where AWD came in handy (driving home from a business trip with 9 inches of snow on the roads) - but the FWDs with good tires do fine when there's a few inches of snow even on steep hills. AWD helps you go but snow tires help you steer and stop... FWD is more reliable (less moving parts and less complex systems) and adds 1-2 MPG so it does have a cost of ownership advantage.

 

I went through the same thought process last summer before we bought our Drive-E V60. We live in a hilly subdivision and the FWD has worked very well this winter, much, much better than our Camry Hybrid.
As far as fuel economy goes, when it had less than 1,000 miles on it, we drove from Maine to Illinois and averaged around 35mpg which is pretty close to the EPA estimate.
The start-stop is kinda rough, especially in comparison to the Camry but you do get used to it. I find it's better to turn it off if you're in stop and go traffic.
I have no regrets so far.

 

The Chicago Tribune published a list last week of the hottest and slowest selling cars. The V60 was the second slowest at something like 112 days of inventory. That's consistent with the fact that I've never seen another one on the road.
I was at the dealer the other day and liked the look of the XC-60 but even with the 4 cylinder, the mileage takes a big hit over the V version.
I should have added before that our second car used to be a Caravan which can carry 4x8 sheets which the V60 can only dream about.

 

I've been looking at the V60s and everything I've read about the Drive E engine has been glowing. Of course, long term reliability has not been tested, so that is a concern. Perhaps you should go with a V60 cross country? I think they look sweet!

 

I have 2015.5 drive-e V50 (wife's car) for about 3 months now. We also looked at 5-cylinder S60 FWD. We specifically didn't want AWD. She liked drive-e setup better (lighter on its feet) and kinda prefers a hatchback.
The car currently has about 2500 miles, with her somewhat spirited driving it gets 30-33 mpg. I took it on a 700 mile trip and averaged 36-38 mpg using cruise control set to speed limit + 3 as much as possible. All mpg figures are based on car computer which I reset every fill up.