Aquisition/purchase Tips XC60, year 2016-2017

[adrian825]

Hi all and Happy New Year!

I'm looking to purchase a SH Volvo XC60, Year 2016-2017.

Since I have no experience at all with Volvo cars ( currently I own an Audi A6 Avant, 2012) I could use any advice on what to pay attention before buying it.

What I'm interested in the car:
- I'm considering this brand due to the safety features and built quality
- To offer comfort on poor streets quality ( no sport suspension packages)
- Which engines are the most reliable, Diesel or Petrol? I'm driving mostly on very short distances inside a city
- Which Gearbox to choose? I prefer an automatic, but I don't know if are reliable. For example, at my multitronic Audi A6, I've had some bad experiences with it. I think would be safer to choose a manual one.
- Is it worth to buy a AWD? or a front wheel drive will be enough, considering that where I live we don't have that much winter conditions in a year.

I had looked at other options, like Audi Q5 or BMW X3.

Thanks a lot for your inputs!
Adrian

[matthew1]

Hi Adrian, welcome to MVS and Happy New Year

We here don't regularly discuss Euro models, but sometimes questions pop up and we're happy to give what help we can. Here's what I know from the XC60 Wikipedia page:

Yes, you have to choose between gasoline and diesel. Interestingly to me, both are the same displacement: 1,969 cc, and probably share many parts. I know diesel is dying slowly, but that's a "long arc" environmental/industry/consumer phenomenon. I don't know if that matters to you in the typically 20-ish-year lifespans of personal automobiles, and this specific choice.

I don't have any information on Volvo 2.0 diesel reliability.

Get a second generation XC60, 2017-today. SPA platform. Better. I haven't heard anything going wrong with the predicted turbo/supercharged/small engine catastrophe when Volvo moved to the 2.0l 4-cylinder. It's been five years now on the XC90 gen 2.

Auto vs. manual is a personal choice, barring some information on the manual's reliability that hasn't reached these shores. We don't get manual Volvos here. Do you want to move your left leg often? I have a manual VW, and shifting gets to be a chore in city driving.

Don't need AWD? Don't get it. Same with sport suspension.

I'd look for a base model manual FWD 2017 XC60. That's my opinion from the US.

[adrian825]

Thanks a lot for your fast reply and info!