Volvo EX60 P10 Ultra: impressions after ~430 km over a weekend
I spent a weekend with the new Volvo EX60 P10 Ultra. This was the first car we tested as a possible replacement for our Audi A4 B9.5.
Visually, I really like the car, both inside and out. The cabin is spacious, the boot is large, and there is also a useful frunk.
Performance feels more than sufficient. The car accelerates confidently at any speed, although at the same time it doesn't really encourage very dynamic driving.
Over the weekend we drove around 430 km on very different roads: almost 200 km of motorway, expressways at up to 120 km/h, country roads and city streets. Thanks to the navigation, we even ended up on some mountain pass with a narrow and twisty road.
Average energy consumption over the whole weekend was 18.5 kWh/100 km.
During relaxed city and suburban driving at around 70–90 km/h, the computer showed roughly 15 kWh/100 km. At 140 km/h it was around 22 kWh/100 km in good, calm weather on fairly flat stretches.
We picked the car up with 90% charge, so we only made one short charging stop at an Ionity 350 kW charger, with around 58% remaining. In about 8 minutes we charged to 80% and continued the trip.
My first impressions were very positive. The sound insulation is good, and the audio system sounds very good as well. But after driving it for the whole weekend, some drawbacks became more noticeable.
The interior layout is somewhat unusual. I would still like to have a traditional glovebox and a storage compartment under the armrest. The materials look good and feel soft, but they are quite easy to mark. Fingers and elbows leave visible traces. They are easy to wipe off, but still.
The infotainment system also left me with quite a few questions. Although I'm not sure how many modern cars actually have a truly intuitive and straightforward system these days.
UPD: One more odd thing: a few times the mirrors didn’t return to the position I had set them to after unlocking the car and unfolding. I definitely hadn’t adjusted them myself, so I’m not sure whether this was related to profiles/settings or simply a bug.
The steering feels very synthetic. Combined with the size and shape of the steering wheel, it wasn't particularly pleasant to use on narrow, twisty roads with tight corners.
The suspension over uneven surfaces was also somewhat disappointing. On roads of average quality, quite a lot of vibration and noise is transmitted into the cabin. Changing the adaptive suspension settings didn't help that much.
There were also a few details that felt strange considering the overall impression of the car.
When closing the frunk, I had to press down on it to latch it, and I was genuinely worried I might leave a dent. The metal feels very soft and thin.
The plastic covers over the roof-rack mounting points feel about as thin as a yoghurt cup.
This creates a bit of a contrast. The car looks massive and solid, but some of the details don't feel that way at all.
Of course, all of these impressions are subjective. This was only the first test drive among the cars we're considering as a replacement for our Audi A4 B9.5, and for the money I feel like it's missing a little bit of that premium feel and quality.
Still, if I put my own habits and preferences aside, the EX60 left a very positive overall impression and remains on our shortlist to buy. I’d be looking at the Cross Country P12 version, though.
P.S. This isn’t a review, just my subjective impressions. Don’t draw conclusions or form your opinion about the car based on my post alone.
P.S.S. For the avoidance of doubt: none of the photos or videos in this post were taken by the driver using a handheld phone while the car was moving =)
