Msnowdon

I am interested in this car and the TL, was wondering why you choose the TL over the S60R?

Michael

Nodoze2004

I also looked at the Volvo, but in the end went with the TL for a number of reasons.

1. Resale value (Volvo's have abysmal resale value)
2. Reliability (I did not feel that a turbocharged euro car, would be as reliable)
3. Refinement (as noted in a number of reviews the Volvo's engine is not very smooth, and the shifter looks horrendous)

Probably the biggest factor in my decision is that the Volvo dealer would not let me test drive the S60R. "This is a hot car so we do not allow test drives, I can let you drive something similar, but not the R'. I laughed and left the dealership. As a point of note the exact same car I looked at was still on the lot 2 months later.

So I ordered a 6sp A-Spec TL!

davemiamiacura

comparibly priced = 42000.00 +


the 8000.00 can be better spent elsewhere.

or like it was said get the a spec pack on the TL thats the way to go... hands down

Repecat

I test drove the S60 as well as the S80. Both rather dull handling. The "R" model was just too expensive for my taste so I didn't even test it.

GregC1968

I chose the TL because I feltit looked better and performed better. The interior of the TL was more polished and refined. Another reason was reliability: the Volvo's have been abysmal in terms of reliability over the last few years. Finally, cost was important. The Volvo was considerably more pricey.

nikko

I looked initially at S60 T and I was surprised how cheap the interior was ...it reminded me somehow of Ford Taurus....and also the back seats are so cramped so I've decided

vp911

Price and it just didn't catch my attention like the TL. $33 for TL + $4ish for a-spec. Then keep extra money for a plasma tv or something

05ACURATL

volvo used to make good cars in the old days.

now volvo has been having a lot of recalls and known as being unreliable.

it`s your money and your taste! don`t let us change your mind

Oswald Vater

I test drove the R on 2 separate occasions before getting another TL. The dealer was giving me a great enough deal ($45500 sticker - $37500 sale price), there were some great lease rates at the time, but it was $20 more than the TL for 6 more months. Knowing that Volvo's reliability isn't as good as it used to be, I didn't want to chance keeping the car longer than the warranty on it. 2nd, I just thought that the TL with its bells and whistles had the Volvo beat in too many areas. However, the "R" is a nice car extremely overlooked by many people. I would think that good deals can still be had on them.

alvonchui

The TL is the right size for me, the S60R is a bit too small, and more expensive.

I used to own the 850, it was comfortable, reliable, and nice to drive, but the parts and services are expensive.

rs808

Before anyone considers buying the Volvo S60 I recommend reading Consumer reports. The S60 was rated last out of all upscale sedans. Reliability and resale value were the main reasons it came in last place. By the way, the TL came in first place!

ibeplato

I looked at it and drove a S60 (not an "R"). The interior was very spacious and comfortable, but performance wise, it wasn't in the same class as the TL, it was also over $40k with comparable options.

rets

plus, I don't like its inside and outside...

NOX 3.2

Since FORD bought Volvo It's out of my list to consider...

USCGMoose

I too looked really closely at the S60R. At the time Volvo was offering it on overseas delivery and including airplane tickets to Sweden and sweatening the deal with a stop in England for 3 days. The overseas delivery deal brings down the price of the car because they can then ship it to the USA as a used car and avoid some tarrifs.

I almost pulled the trigger on that deal but the Acura won out because:
1. It was as fun to drive
2. It was still cheaper than the Volvo
3. It had more electronic toys (ELS, DVD-Navi, Bluetooth, etc.)
4. Honda has a better reliability rating

The real kicker was that there were too many question marks on the Volvo's reliability. I thought the Acura would be trouble free.

Now don't get me wrong, I still think I made the right decision, but I've had tons of problems with the TL. It was in the shop almost weekly for the first 3 months I owned it. Bottom line, any make or model can have reliability problems. All you can do is TRY and hedge your bets by going with a car that's historically been trouble free.

For what it's worth, I still think the S60R is a good car, but I probably still go with the TL.

crazymjb

Haha, I am trying to get my dad out of his POS fallin apart Taurus and into the TL. I also know someone who has an 280, im not sure which one, but who would win a race, just out of curiosity. He keeps bragging about his 43k S80, seems like a waste of money. A new 3 is definatly a better way to spend that. Anyway, I just wanna know which areas he is beatable in.

mrjoshua

I rented an S70 from Enterprise a few years ago. This was not long after Ford had bought Volvo. What was shocking was to what degree the car had changed in its ergonomics and performance. It literally felt like sitting in a poorly disguised Ford Taurus with more rigidity. You would not be buying a Volvo, you would be buying a Ford. One need only look at Jaguar to be convinced of this. Buy the S60R at your own peril. And the S80 was until recenlty one of the most overpriced and poorly rated cars on the road. If the flagship is a piece of shit, just think of what the rest of the line looks like.

1995hoo

The reason I was in the car market was that I had just gotten rear-ended by a girl in a Volvo and my car was totaled, but her Volvo was not even damaged somehow. So the idea of a Volvo was intriguing to me, until I did some comparisons of the S60 and the TL. The biggest thing was how much more expensive the S60 would be to get a comparably-equipped car. I'd also read that the S60's manual transmission (and Volvo manuals in general) is not particularly good--rubbery linkage and not fun to shift. In the end I never did test-drive the S60 at all for these reasons, and for the other significant reason that I decided that a 31-year-old single guy should not be driving a Volvo!

If I were to consider one of the TL's competitors, the one at the top of my list would be the Lexus IS300.

mrjoshua

The new to-be-released IS300, perhaps. But the current one? I only drove the automatic, but its acceleration was abysmal and I felt like a 16 year-old in an overpriced Civic trying to be cool. It honestly feels like driving a go-cart, though it's handling is impressive. This article will give you a good perspective:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

1995hoo

I haven't driven the IS300, in part because it seemed small for the price, in part because it was expensive compared to the TL, in part because it's rear-wheel drive and I'm a skier, so front- or all-wheel is better for me, and in part just because my father, brother, and I have all had really good experiences with Honda and Acura vehicles over the past 23 years. Some friends who have IS300s speak very highly of them, though, which is why I'd consider it if I were in the market (although I'd buy the TL again).

JetJock

I couldn't stand the name VOLVO!!!

VChron

Ford acquired Volvo Cars in 1999. The S80 was already in dealer showrooms from 1998. The S70 dates back to 1993, but was called the 850 (sedan and wagon) through 1997. It was merely renamed the S70 (sedan) and the V70 (wagon) in 1998. The C70 dates back to 1997, while the previous generation S40/V40 debuted in 1995, but wasn't imported to the U.S until 2000. Obviously, Ford had absolutely nothing to do with the design of the above models.

The current generation S60, V70 and XC70 models use the S80's platform and, except for the R's, went on sale in calendar year 2000. Ford had no real opportunity to influence their design or content, since they would have already been in (or about to go into) pre-production and final certification testing at the time of the acquisition. The current R models went on sale in late 2003, but are just performance-enhanced versions of the regular S60 and V70.

The first Volvo models with significant Ford design influence or components are the new S40 and V50.

mrjoshua

The S70 I drove was absolutely influenced by Ford ergonomically. The interior details were not up to Volvo standards and were obviously Ford inspired. Enterprise even admitted that their customers who had rented the S70 noticed this and had complained about it.