Volvo S60 saloon (2010-2018) - Engines, drive & performance

The S60 has an engine range that comprises a petrol (the T4) and three diesels (D2, D3 and D4). In terms of driving enjoyment, the S60’s steering isn’t as precise as you’ll find in its Audi and BMW rivals and its manual gearbox is a bit clunky. While grip is good, the ride does get a bit bumpy on rough roads and there’s noticeable body lean in corners. The S60 is still fun to drive, but enthusiastic drivers will prefer a BMW 3 Series.

The toughened-up S60 Cross Country is no longer available – but that’s no great loss, as its extra ride height offered little extra function and made the S60 lean more in corners.

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Volvo S60 diesel engines

All of the diesel engines are powerful and responsive, with strong acceleration from low revs. Most buyers in this class go for diesel and the 118bhp D2 model is the most economical choice. We prefer the D4, however, as although it produces a hefty 187bhp, it still returns the best fuel economy and has very low CO2 emissions, so there’s really no compromise on power or efficiency. We’d also highly recommend pairing this engine with the eight-speed Geartronic automatic gearbox – costing around £1,200 but well worth it in our view.

Petrol engine

Volvo is unlikely to sell many T4 petrol-engined S60s for the simple reason that the diesel engines are all so good. The T4 is cheaper than a diesel of the same specification, but as long as you’re doing high mileage (and many typical S60 buyers will be) the diesels’ greatly superior fuel economy will cancel out that difference over the course of a few years’ ownership. The T4 is the fastest model in the range, though, getting from 0-62mph in a brisk 7.2 seconds, even if it doesn’t feel that sporty in practice.