2023 Volvo S60 Recharge — My Ultimate Daily Driver

I love Volvos

I also collaborate and produce content for TheTopher & Daily Motor!

#volvo #s60 #pov

[tobias_dahlberg]

Volvo is on the rise, and they started when Geely bought them. Volvo under Ford ownership was basically just surviving. Volvo under Geely ownership is thriving. Say what you will about having a Chinese parent company, but they sure as hell are managing Volvo better than Ford. They basically bought Volvo, gave them a big stack of money and said "Do your thing", not intervening, just letting Volvo be Volvo. Would be so great to have seen the same thing happen with SAAB...

[MrSocktown]

2022 S60 R-Design owner. Very, very happy with my car. No T8 drivetrain but mild-hybrid, the same interior you have on this tester, and Thunder Grey paint add up to the best daily I've ever owned. I am a multiple-time sports car owner and daily drove Mustangs, etc. for years (I'm 52 now) and there is something about battling the rush hour crush in the Volvo that soothes me after the work day. It's not hyper stimulating. It's not "eager" like a 3-series. And when the road is open I miss that sometimes. Though on a long highway drive the Volvo KILLS. The thing about the eagerness is....I live in Atlanta. Traffic here is pretty much a sun up to sun down reality. For a primary vehicle it's pretty much the perfect ride. Plus it's an event to be passed by another S60 on the road or see a second one in a parking lot. There are literally two S60s at my office and that's the highest S60 density I've encountered in the 2 years I've had it. LOL. Good luck with the channel. Dig your content over on DM and wish you all the best.

[markus]

Always fun as a Swede to see other countries also really experiencing Volvo cars. Sweden has produced probably the best cars in the world, and Saab even went bankrupt for creating cars that were too reliable.

[garrettrucker]

Good video! I bought a 2023 S60 T8 Recharge earlier this year as my daily commuter and I get asked about it and complimented on it everywhere I go. I especially love that, in Pure mode, I can commute to and from work on the battery alone, yet still have the full gas tank for longer trips. It blows peoples' minds when I tell them that I only have to fill the tank every three or four months.

[RayTheFPSGamer]

6:16 Hold the home button for like 3-5 seconds, the screen will go into cleaning mode so you can wipe the screen. At least that's how it works on my 2019 V60

[stephenstange]

I’ve been a Volvo driver since driving a rental S40 down the PCH 20 years ago and not realizing I was going 100mph until I glanced at the speedo. It was just calm, smooth and fun. My very next car purchase was a ‘02 S60 AWD. replaced that with my current daily driver which is’12 S60 T6 AWD. I still enjoy every minute behind the wheel. It’s still quiet and a great ride. And NO RUST even though it’s been through 10+ MN winters. It’s time to start thinking about my next S60 and I think this might be it. Great video.

[nicka]

I think volvo has the best seats in the midsize sedan segment, and one of the best interiors. The interior is clean, simple, and makes sense. Its much better than the 3 series with ID8, which is just a giant flatscreen TV in front of you.

[Piketom]

I just bought a 2024 S60 and it's an absolutely fantastic daily driver.

[itaifisher]

I have a 2023 S60 T8 Plus Dark for the last 3 months and here's what you need to know:
1. Compared to my previous 2020 S60 T6 AWD this car is much more powerful, it smokes almost any other car within the same price range with the exception of the model 3 performance. The previous S60 was no slouch, but this one is a different ball game.
However, this is more of cruiser than a sports car. Steering is a not very connected and it's really out of its element on a super twisty road. If that's your thing - BMW is a better fit.

2. Build quality is top notch. On-par with other medium luxury brands (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus) although there are some material choices where it's not a great. Compared to the build quality and materials - a model 3 feels like a flimsy toy car built for children.

3. Ride quality is great - the front seats are very comfortable, the suspension does a good job controlling the car's weight without being too soft or too hard. However, road noise is still noticeable and so are poorly paved roads. To be fair, it's less harsh than Audi, seats are more comfy than a BMW (but not as quiet). The rear seats is where things are really problematic. The raised floor and bump really make it hard for more than 2 people to sit in the back and while the seats are comfortable, the angle is too shallow to support adult legs on long trips.

4. Infotainment - that's a hit and miss. Google maps integration as well as Apple Car play (wired) is great. Built in spotify and soundcloud also work wel. Sound is pretty good although not industry best (unless you opt for the ultimate trim and the optional $3200 B&W sound).
The system lags a little switching between functions (AC controls, infotainment, camera) and lacks some refinement. Digital dashboard is decent but lack customization.

5. Connected services - a joke. My previous S60 had more options. No trip or odometer info, no fuel economy, no ability to schedule charging !?!? you get remote start, remote lock/unlock, and battery range.

6. The PHEV system takes space out of the trunk, there's not arm rest storage, and a bunch of other small and annoying compromises that feel like a step backwards from the 2020 gas-powered model. One other thing - the use of piano black trim on this car (same as my older one) is really something I'd wish they'd stay away from. Fingerprints, scuffs and tiny scratches galore.

7. Fuel economy - at the electric range is far from accurate. my 6 miles daily commute somehow always shows a drain of 10+ miles despite being in city, flat, and during normal weather (where the manual claims it should actually consume less than the 6 miles). However, overall, it does eventually evens out and able to get ~40 miles of pure electric range. If going on longer trips or when the battery is not fully charged, using the built-in Goolge maps to set trip destination optimized gas/electric usage but it really varies by your commute / trips. I've gotten as low as 29mpg when it's mostly gas. On a 120mile trip I got an average of over 54 mpg (partly electric / partly gas) all in all - pretty happy with the economy. This could be a perfect car for anyone who wants the EV experience without the range anxiety (albeit I do have a garage with a 40Amp 240V circuit making the 7kw L2 charger work well for me).

[zachbseattle]

I just bought my 2020 V60 CC out of its lease (no other car I’ve had has ever compelled me to keep it) and look forward to many many more years of soothing driving around chaotic Seattle traffic. Can’t recommend it enough, it fits in in every neighborhood, every mountain pass, the best all rounder IMO.

[TheDizman]

Agree with pretty much everything you said about Volvo and the car, good video! I've been a car person since I was kid thanks to my parents but never paid attention to Volvo until around 2017 thru 2020. My parents would come to visit me and rent from a place that usually rented BMW's and Mercedes (at the time I was a huge BMW fan) but they started giving us Volvos! The first one we were like "Pffft what is this 'downgrade'?!" but then we drove it and were all impressed! Over those couple of years we probably got 5-6 different models as rental cars and we liked them all and even started to prefer them over the trim levels of BMW/Mercedes they'd rent!

Then came 2021 and I was in the market for a new car, started no where close to Volvos, but then remembered all the rental cars we had and decided to check them out for myself and ended up with a 2021 S60 T8 (which only had 415hp at the time) and man that was probably the nicest car & daily driver I ever had! (I use to have a 2008 BMW M3). And the only reason I got rid of it was because the opportunity fell in my lap to get a 2023 V60 T8 Polestar Engineered wagon, which is now my current car/daily driver and the nicest car I've ever had! Besides the more power over the previous model year the Polestar suspension, brakes, and tune make a huge difference! You listed a lot of models you've driven but have you drove a Polestar Engineered model? I'd be curious to hear your take on it.

Oh and yes, I agree about the new Google based infotainment system (started in 2022). It does a few things nicer than the old system in my 2021, but in large part they GREATLY removed a lot of features (some very small, like why even bother) and the biggest was the PHYSICAL drive mode button/roller wheel that was in front of the parking brake switch! I read that they supposedly removed it because their research showed hardly anyone used it, but man I used that thing constantly and miss it greatly. Based on a lot of the features that were only in-screen that they removed with this new Google system has me believing they removed it cause it wasn't compatible with the Google system or they didn't want to take the time to figure out how to make it work.

But that aside, yea I love my Volvo and do wish more people in the US were aware of them, but like you said as long as they keep making and offering them here I'm ok if not a lot of people know about it too :)

[mansemso]

"not alot of people drive these" Like 40 precent of the swedish market is volvos. 50000 sold 2020. cant drive anywhere without seeing a volvo. all my neighbours have volvos

[zoomzoom]

I’ve never been a Volvo guy, but this looks really nice, a very simple but sharp approach to luxury.

[edouardlenne]

I’m receiving my 2024 S60 T8 Polestar with the Bowers & Wilkins in 2 weeks. It’s been delayed because I live in France and those S60 are apparently built in the US, so I’ve been waiting for 14 months… Can’t wait!

[brians]

I have a 2024 denim blue S60 recharge arriving in July. Can’t wait, big upgrade over my current ride.

[timwolke]

Just got my 2020 V60 T8 Twin-Engine Hybrid and I'm SO happy with the car! It's just perfect for every occasion. Bloody fast too

[samuelmilligan]

love me a volvo, looking to buy a used one for my first car

[zeedustrakok]

Just a small detail. It is the fueltank under the boot. The battery is in the transmission tunnel.

[Tim_in_Australia]

On my 2nd S60 in 4 years now. Brilliant awesome amazing car!

[timhoekstra]

2001 V70 T5 owner. I bought it off-lease 5 years old with 60, 000 miles. It now has 211, 000 miles and I still love driving it. Volvos are the best road tripping cars! You mentioned the leather steering wheel cover feels like it will last a long time. It will. Mine is still in excellent condition, as are the leather seats. And the body has no rust after all these Iowa winters. Its previous life was in Colorado. Since my car is 22 years old I'm starting to look for its replacement. I'm hoping the T8 drivetrain becomes available on the V90 Cross Country, since that's the closest equivalent to my V70. The V60 and XC60 have significantly smaller cargo capacities. I like the ability to haul large items inside- like 2 8' ladders, 10' lumber, or 800 lbs. of shingles.