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I don't understand why people are stampeding and asking me to resign, give up writing and start doing something else and write about the Volvo XC60 I. In that order. I mean, if you want a reliable Volvo XC60 I, buy a Mondeo.

What do you mean "buy a Mondeo"? Are you making fun of us, you butt-clown in a dress? How dare you compare Volvo, this car brand that is for our hearts what Sasha Grey was for their private parts. The best selling car Volvo had on offer in Europe. Which is ironic.

Ironic because the Volvo XC60 I was launched in 2008, when Volvo was still under the tyranny of Ford. So, the XC60 was built on the Volvo P3 / Ford EUCD platform. The Volvo S80, Land Rover Freelander II, Ford Mondeo IV or Ford Galaxy were also built on this platform, and the D8 platform from Jaguar Land Rover, namely the Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar F-Pace, would be born from this platform. As you can see, the XC60 is in such a big family that it celebrates the he spiritual victory of Dharma over Adharma.

And that made the Volvo XC60 I an interesting proposition. It was built on the Mondeo IV platform, a generally reliable car. It had the 4×4 system developed by Land Rover. It had engines and safety systems from Volvo's own recipe. It had a bit of everything, to make Volvo's best selling car full stop. What a going away present they got from Fix Or Repair Daily.

Volvo XC60 I Engines

Petrol

• 2.0 Turbo B4204T6 of 245 and 306 horsepower - The 245 is labeled as the T5 and the 306 is labeled as the T6, both being 4 cylinder oil chuggers. The major difference is that the T5 has just a turbocharger to work with, while the T6 has both the turbocharger and supercharger. Same as VW's 1.4 TSI TwinCharger. A brilliant idea. I say stick with the T5.


• 2.5 TurboB4204T11 of 254 horsepower – Or better yet go for the older 2.5 Turbo T5, one of their most glorious engines of all time. When you say Volvo, you mean either 2.5 T5 or 2.4 D5. This is what they are known for. And if you want this glorious engine but don't like the XC60, you can find it on the Kuga and the Focus ST.


• 3.0 Turbo B6304T2 of 285 and 306 horsepower - Even if it was launched 5 minutes ago, this engine seems to be quite reliable and you can buy it with confidence. Plus it has 306 horsepower. Sure, it may chugg on some oil every now and then, but them 300 horsepower are worth it.


• 3.2 B6324S of 238 and 243 horsepower – This is Ford's going away present and this is comparable to the old 2.5 Turbo but only on power. Much heavier on taxes and oil, this engine is best left alone to see another day.

Diesel

• 2.0 D5204T of 136 and 163 horsepower – Quite a good engine, IF IT WOULDN'T HAVE PROBLEMS WITH COOLANT LOSSES AND ENGINE OVERHEATING UNTIL THE ENGINE BLOCK CRACKS. But if you vigilant on the coolant level, you're only left with EGR and DPF fails. Especially with the DRIve engine, the famous VEA with the famous EGR.


• 2.0 Bi-Turbo D5244T of 181 and 190 horsepower – 2.0 D4 is part of the miserable VEA family and in addition has two turbos. The thing is that most engines have already had the EGR changed under recall, but it is important to check if the change was made to the car in question.


• 2.4 D5244T of 163, 175, 185, 205 horsepower – The legendary D5 sings its retirement under the hood of the Volvo XC60 I. Launched in 1695 by William Kidd while he was looking for an engine for his galleon, the 2.4 diesel was a legendary engine for reliability and performance. Unfortunately, he was strangled by the emission standards as if he had given money for this service, and in his job the XC60 has constant problems on the part of the particle filter, EGR and injectors. Yes, it's still reliable, but it's just a shadow of what it used to be.


• 2.4 Bi-Turbo D5244T of 215 and 220 horsepower – The same 2.4 D5, but with two turbos. You get 15-30 extra horsepower, but you pay a few thousand euros more for the car and you also have worse reliability. Pass.

Volvo XC60 I Reliability Issues

• Pay close attention to some models because they have front-wheel drive. Having an XC60 with front-wheel drive is like inviting Sofia Boutella to dinner, but then you find out that she is at a that time of the month. She looks great, but you can't enjoy her.


• And then comes the big one: the automatic gearboxes. The non-facelift version has a 6-speed gearbox and the facelift has a new 8-speed gearbox and none of them are reliable. All you can do is postpone the inevitable and change the oil every 3 years or 37,000 miles / 50,000 km. And if you feel that he panics or leaves the place only with protests, don't panic. That's what the gearbox does.


• It is an excessively expensive car on the used market, especially on the petrol side of ads. I am not exaggerating when I say that the Volvo XC60 I competes with the Touareg or Lexus NX in terms of prices.

Volvo XC60 I Verdict

In theory, it's a good car. You have the Mondeo platform which is reliable, you have 4×4 technology developed by Land Rover and you have Volvo brand safety and comfort systems. And you have that Volvo look that now, if I think about it, brings a bit of Ford Mondeo. Instead, the problem is with automatic gearboxes. And in this segment of cars, you usually go for the automatic gearbox. But that can be a good sign. If an automatic transmission is not reliable, it means that the car requires higher maintenance costs and thus keeps the poor away from it. Not every big boy can afford a Volvo XC60 I, and that's okay. As for 4×4, do you really need such a thing? However, most owners only drive it on tarmac anyway.

Which engines do I recommend? For petrol power clearly 2.5 Turbo T5 and for diesel or 2.0 D4 but make sure that the EGR has been replaced. Or the older 2.4 D5, but as long as you stick to a 5 cylinder Volvo diesel engine, you're good.