I am one of the effected VW/Audi TDI recall owners so unexpectedly on the market for a new vehicle. Prior to my current VW TDI sport wagon, all of my previous vehicles were Subarus or older Volvo models. My very first car that I drove throughout my college years was a 1984 Volvo 240 which I still have many fond memories of and it was just an absolute tank that had well over 230,000 miles when I parted with it. I am a wagon loyalist and as the American car market seems to offer fewer and fewer wagon choices, I've narrowed my next purchase to a Volvo XC60, Audi Allroad, or Subaru Outback Touring model. My priorities with a vehicle are safety, comfort (I have many significant back injuries so seats are a big deal!), handling, reliability, cargo space/utility, fuel economy, and AWD. I typically buy and hold onto my vehicles for about 6-7 years and log a lot of miles (20,000-22,000/year) so my cars need to last reliably for 130,000-150,000 miles. While I didn't expect to ever love a cross over vehicle, I have to say that the XC 60 seems to be my dream vehicle. The seats are absolutely amazing, I really liked how the 2017 model I test drove handled and it felt much more car like than some other cross overs I've tested. The fit and finish seems top notch, it offers plenty of space for my family, large dog, and all of our stuff; I found it much easier to get in and out of with my back than the other cars I'm considering, and the safety features and reputation of Volvo really put my mind at ease. The outside design I'm not wild about on the 2017 but the newly designed 2018 blows me away. With this said, my big hesitancy and only big concern is the mixed reliability reviews I've read online. Especially with the first year of a redesign, I'm very concerned that this car might turn into a money pit or be in the shop a lot which with my long commute is just not at all practical. My husband owns a 2007 Audi wagon that has been incredibly reliable and had virtually no issues so that speaks well for the Allroad although he drives far fewer miles than I do so that may be a fluke as new Audis seem plagued by many issues from what I've read in online forums. From what I researched, Volvo now seems to rank about average in reliability. I know the XC 90 had many software glitches and quirks its first year, not totally unexpected from a redesign, and so I'm imagining the same will likely be true for the 2018 XC 60. Would those of you who hold onto your XC 60s for 5+ years be willing to share your experience with reliability. What type of repairs or problems have you encountered? Would you buy one again? Am I crazy to consider the first year of the redesign (2018 XC 60)? Thank you in advance for your help!

 

Any reliability issues or problems with the original XC60 won't necessarily apply to the 2018, which is a totally new platform. I wouldn't expect it to have as many bugs as the new XC90 did, since it is on the same platform and those bugs are pretty well worked out by now.

That being said, the platform is still relatively new, so I haven't seen any with a whole lot of miles. I think the most I've seen some far was around 40k miles.