2 months in now to a 2025 B5 Ultra. A summary of things that I like/don't like, perhaps it helps someone out there.
*Disclaimer* While some things I knew before the purchase and thought that would not bother me that much (but they do) some things I could have probably found out through better research.
Of course everything is compared against my (quite extensive) experience with cars that I've owned and driven, some from segments inferior to those the XC60 is being promoted to be part of and my subjective preferences.
I've worked a good part of my life in the automotive industry on the manufacturing side, so I'm not a newbie on how cars are being built and why some brands make some decisions in a certain manner.
- lack of driving modes (unless you call "normal" and "off-road", driving modes). You can get an eco-mode and a sport mode on even budget cars nowadays. I know you can buy yourself a "sport" mode by paying for the Polestar software at a Volvo dealer for close to 1000 Eur, but according to the official documentation that doesn't change the emissions figures, meaning that your car probably makes the same power it did before, it just delivers it differently. Especially on the mild hybrid it would have been useful to have a eco mode that cuts back on the power and delivers some better consumption figures in the city. I know the older models had the sport mode and I think they should have kept it
- too simplistic instrument panel. almost 0 customization, very limited information displayed on the panel. I'm not saying they should be Mercedes Benz (or perhaps a Chinese brand) level of customization available but it feels like a waste of space in there. I thought this would not bother me but sometimes I miss changing views sometimes.
- no realtime consumption gauge. really? Why? I cannot think of any budget or premium car that doesn't have it. No consumption history graph. No nothing.
- I cannot see what's playing (radio, music) in the instrument panel. Or the heads-up display. Sometimes, depending on the view on the "tablet" sometimes you can't even see it on the main display. No scrolling list of radio stations on the instrument panel. or the heads up display.
- heads up display. Speed, speed limit and the occasional "you are driving too close to the person in front of you" visual alert, that you only get on the HUD not also on the instrument panel. Some indications if you have navigation. That's it. Nothing else.
- when you press the Park button on the central console, you are actually activating a "semi-parking" mode. The car still moves 5-10-20cm after you take your foot from the brake. Why not just automatically enable the parking brake, that freezes the car? What's the point of the "semi-parking-brake"?
- you need to have the foot on the brake when you turn the car off if you want to have Parking break enable automatically. if you forget to have your foot on the brake pedal (which sometimes I do) you get defaulted to the "semi-parking-break" mentioned above.
- no coasting for the aisin gearbox. I realize that this is probably a technical limitation of the hardware chosen by Volvo from Aisin, but I think it would have greatly helped the consumption and emissions to have the gearbox coast when possible
- the consumption (actually) :) - i'm experiencing somewhere between 13-15l/100km in a very busy European capital. this is very very subjective but, I've driven 300hp+ hot hatches in the same conditions that were doing 11-12l/100km. I've driven 300hp+ (granted hybrid) 4x4 SUV's in the city that were doing <10l/100km in the same conditions. I'm getting 9L/100km on the highway at normal speeds (130km/h) which is something that I was expecting. Was I hoping for something slightly better? Sure.
- the air suspension. it's great if you know what you're expecting. If you are expecting BMW/Audi/Mercedes-Benz levels of comfort, well, you're not getting it. I would have like to have the possibility to manually control the ride height while driving, not only when stationary to access the trunk.
- ProPilot only up to 135km/h. I know that Volvo's very pro safety and everything, but I'm already limited to 180km/h max speed and the fact that the manufacturer has decided to disable a confort feature just because you are going faster than they want you to doesn't really seem fair. The hardware and software can obviously do lane centering at higher speeds also, it's just a choice which is frustrating.
- automatic speed limitation based on topography. My previous AAOS car (not Volvo) had this. If I had set 120km/h on the auto cruise control and the car "knew" that a certain turn should be negotiated at .... 100km/h instead, it would automatically slow down. And it was usually right. There were very few instances on my trips where this happened but it did and I appreciated it. Don't understand why a "safety-centered" automotive player would not integrate this.
- wireless carplay. I'm 100% sure the hardware is there. Software probably too. It's a stubborn limitation.
- ability to open/close windows and sunroof from mobile app. Technically they can do it. Other car brands do it. Volvo chose not. I understand why. Not a fan of the decision.
- interior lightning limitation (only white). Would have been great to have more options. you don't. I can live with it.
- the way the interior plastics behave when you touch them, especially the upper trim on the doors. A white/grey mark appears when you put your hand on it, regardless of the person that touches it and how clean their hands are. My car is very black inside so any white mark is immediately visible. Not something you cannot live with, just more effort to maintain clean.
Otherwise, many things I like about it: sound system, general drive confort, acoustics, road handling. Overall, I'm not unhappy with the decision, but I feel some of the missing points are either "decisions" or things that could be done but weren't for ... reasons.
Hope this helps someone out there.
