An acquaintance told me that in Southern Ireland they are fully implementing EU safety rules. One of which is that ALL tyres have to be the SAME brand. I asked whether he meant same TYPE, but no. Same brand. This cannot be correct, surely?
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OK, now had the Volvo just shy of two weeks, during which time I've put about 800 miles on it. Plenty of time to get a good idea of fuel economy, and how the car is going to shape up as a long term ownership prospect. Here are my thoughts so far:


Engine and performance:

Certainly feels as quick as Autocar's 8.2 second 0-60 time. More impressive though is the delivery - creamy smooth, torquey and with next to no lag. It's reported to have a flat torque curve from 2000-5500 RPM. Being a light pressure turbo, the engine still runs a relatively high 9.5:1 compression ratio, meaning it responds well from idle. Definitely the best sounding car I've ever owned. It took a week before I stopped extending the engine over 4k just to listen to it. A lovely mellow warble, but with a nice hard edge under full acceleration. Near silent in normal <=3500 RPM driving. Utterly smooth too, except for a little "vibe" at about 2200 RPM. Not significant enough to worry me, but about the only time you can actually "feel" the engine.
Very long travel throttle, clutch (only about 5,000 miles old) and gearbox, although the latter's shift quality is good and positive. This, combined with a little driveline shunt in the lower gears can make smooth 1st to 2nd changes a bit of an art form, but familiarity improves the situation.


Chassis:

Competent, but not as good as my old Mondeo, and let down mostly by steering that is alarmingly dead, particularly around the straight ahead. There's a little weight as you apply lock, but it feels artificial. The Mondeo's steering was in a different league and you could feel road surface changes and the onset of understeer through the wheel rim which you certainly can't on the S60. Other than that however, the Volvo is perfectly competent. Ride can be a little crashy over really poor surfaces, but soaks up general bumps well. Corners fairly flat unless pushed particularly, and can be driven surprisingly quickly in the lanes, but always feels a little vague and unwieldy after the Mondeo which never felt out of its depth however hard it was driven. Understeers gently at the limit and the tail doesn't want to play even under extreme provovation. I think to expect more from a Volvo is probably unrealistic anyway, and I'm not sure how easy it would be to deal with oversteer in a car with such dead steering. This is more for information anyway, as 95% of this car's use will be motorway or straight A-roads, and it's accomplished and rapid on these roads.


Interior and comfort:

Perhaps a little "black", but the solidity of the construction hits as soon as you sit in it, and is streets ahead of the Mondeo in this respect, as it should be given the new price difference. Ergonomics are superb with everything falling neatly to hand. I love the way the centre of the dash curves toward the driver, and the stubby gearlever with its hand-stitched leather knob and "space ball" gear lever base. The car has brilliant seats that adjust in a multitude of ways and support in all the right places. Driving position is first class, and noise levels are impressively hushed. SWMBO finds the seatbelts too high, and only just long enough with the drivers seat at the furthest forward position - the Mondeo was the same so I'm guessing it's a Ford parts bin problem. Rubbish rear legroom is the other problem, although again it's not a big deal for me as this car is primarily a commuter. As SWMBO put it, it feels like an expensive car when you sit in it, and sounds like one when you drive it. I have to agree. Great spec for an entry level car as well - four electric windows, electric sunroof, electric mirrors, the best standard fit stereo I've ever heard, ABS, stability control, dual zone air-con, cruise, half leather etc etc. And every single thing works as it should.


Durability and finish:

Deeply impressive. 126,000 miles up and the doors still shut with a solid clunk, the interior only creaks over really awful roads, and then it's isolated items rather than the whole thing, and it glides along with very little wind or road noise. The loudest noise under the bonnet with the engine idling is the clicking of the injectors - not a hint of tappet noise, tensioner squeak or anything untoward. Mechanic friend had it on the ramps last week and the only thing he found was front pads getting towards the end of their life. No play in anything and no sign of impending bills. Had the 120k service done 5k late using an OEM filter and Fuchs XTR oil. Done 600 miles since, and none of the fluid levels have budged, although the previous owner (a mate) reckons it does usually need an oil top up or two between services - always has done apparently. Will have it serviced again at 132k which will put it back on course, and clear the engine out a bit after running 5k too long on its last oil.


Fuel economy.

Average so far is 31 mpg, but this does include some hard driving which won't be typical once the novelty of having a bit of power to play with wears off. I reckon once I settle into the commute, I can probably squeeze a few more mpg out of it. I'm going to try Super Unleaded after this tankful as the owners manual actually states the car will deliver optimum performance and economy on higher octane fuel. It will be interesting to see if the extra economy outweighs the extra fuel cost. Range is an easy 450 miles on the 70 litre tank. Will run this tank as low as I dare and brim it with V-Power.


Overall.

It's not perfect, but I like it a lot. Fast, comfy, quiet, smooth, good looking, well made, well equipped. Feels like a massive step up over what I had before even though it's only a year newer and has 20k less.
Well pleased.
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Hi,
I've offered to change a broken N/S headlight for a friend at work.
Does anyone know how to remove the old unit?
A thin, flimsy body coloured strip of the radiator grille runs under the headlight and meets up with the wing under the indicator. It looks like the whole grille has to come off but I couldn't see how to release the clip by this joint and it looks so fragile that forcing it will snap it. I wondered if the indicator light had to be removed first. This seems to be clipped onto the side of the headlight unit but I couldn't easliy remove that either.
Any help would be much appreceiated. Read more

Any ideas what could be causing a slight knocking sound that seems to be coming from the front of the car (sounds like the drivers side). It only seems to be happening at low speed (30mph) and disappears at a higher speed. Any ideas, anyone?

Many thanks,

Pootle Read more

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