Off Topic: My Winter Beater

[7eregrine]

Joke, of course. No, this car is no beater. I have wanted to park my Volvo C70 hardtop convertible over winter for years. I've been looking for cars all summer long because this is the winter I was going to do it. After test driving some crap, my awesome wife told me "You should up your budget and get the car you really want".
I love her.
So instead of an older Saab or an older Volvo, the 2 I was seriously looking at... I went and test drove the car I wound up getting. I truly love my CX5 and it's treated us wonderfully, but...I wanted a C A R. I miss driving a C A R. If I would have gotten an SUV, I'd probably trade the Mazda in. But we didn't, so you aren't getting rid of me just yet. Wife will use that car for her "winter beater" since she drives downtown 3 days a week. And I will be driving my new car.
Allow me to introduce to you, my Mazda friends, to STORM! (car named by child).
She is a 2019 Volvo S60 R-Design with the Polestar upgrade and the Comfort and Tech package. So it's almost top of the line...missing just one package. I now have all those bells and whistles that Mazda added in 2017 and I JUST missed out on, because I got the 16. This includes: Lane Keep Assist, HUD, Heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, 360 Cam, markers in the cameras to indicate how close you are to stuff, WIRED AA and ACP already built in, Pilot Assist which is almost self driving and cornering lights. Volvo has never actually offered wireless AA/ACP.
Listed for $27K. Talked down to $26K. Not much but I totally feel like it was a great deal. $29K out the door after tax and fees, which were minimal. CPO warranty until April. Can extend if I want to pay.
Now I'll post this and edit from phone to add photos.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

Looks good. Congrats man.

 

[7eregrine]

Thanks brother.

My god am I in love with this thing. Absolutely amazes me how these car companies get so much power out of a 4 cylinder engine. And somehow Volvo made this thing sound like a much bigger engine. The growl when you get on it is so good but not overly loud. It's pretty perfect. And the handling is second to none. With the power and the handling it's so fun to drive.
You can choose if you want a looser or tighter steering feel. Never saw that in a car before.
And this Pilot Assist thing that makes it almost a self driving car. Wow...my first experience with anything like that and wow, I am so impressed. Keeps me perfectly centered and keeps perfect pace with the car in front. OR just keeps a steady pace when there is no car in front.

 

[sm1ke]

Just in case anyone was curious about what's included in the Polestar Upgrade:

Polestar Performance Optimization - S60 2019 - Volvo Cars Accessories

S60 2019 Performance Polestar engineers have taken a holistic approach to take the driving experience to a new level. No less than five key functions have been optimized to provide faster response, better balance and more intuitive driving. This results in a vehicle that responds quickly and...

accessories.volvocars.com

That's a nice upgrade to have on an already nice car! Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

 

[7eregrine]

It's a $1,200-$1,300 add on that you can get on a ton of Volvos even going way back.
Wife won't let me get if for her C70.

The strange (or smart) thing this Volvo dealer did was to NOT advertise like half the features this car had! So on my way there I'm thinking... well it's still a decent price. S60 R-Design cars themselves are are already kind of rare. (Just did a search for Polestar'ed S60's available nationwide USA: 7.)
Then I get there and the guy's showing it to me... and I see the Polestar badge on the back. I was like..."It's Polestared?" He smile... "Yea..."
I get in: HUD wasn't advertised. I see the HUD... I was all... "OMG HUD?!?!"
Saleguy... Yep!
"Too bad no heated steering wheel..." like I'm just looking for stuff to negotiate over...
Salesguy: "Sure it has that!" TAP TAP on the screen....OMG there it is. Ray Charles would be able to see I was getting excited. Yea...that's why I only got just under $1,000 off....

 

[sm1ke]

It's hard to hide your excitement sometimes! My wife was the same way when she bought her Civic 17 years ago. It took a lot for me to maintain my poker face when I bought my CX-9, but you better believe I was grinning from ear to ear once I left the dealership lol.

I figure the Polestar upgrade improves a ton of stuff on the car, but do you know specifically if it improves peak HP and TQ as well? If so, by how much on your S60?

 

[7eregrine]

Yes, polestar tuing adds a little, to a lot, of HP/Torque. Depending on the model.
This site gives exact info.
Model selector | Polestar Engineered
Attached is my specific car and my wife's car.

 

[7eregrine]

So my wife has been driving my Mazda. Drove my CX5 on Saturday for the first time in 3 weeks...
O
M
G
What a freaking boat that thing feels like now. The steering wheel feels SO much heavier. Man, I thought something was wrong at first. I used to LOVE driving that thing. Not so much now.
The S60 has really reawakened my absolute LOVE of driving. I haven't driven anything as fun as this...maybe ever.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

So my wife has been driving my Mazda. Drove my CX5 on Saturday for the first time in 3 weeks...
O
M
G
What a freaking boat that thing feels like now. The steering wheel feels SO much heavier. Man, I thought something was wrong at first. I used to LOVE driving that thing. Not so much now.
The S60 has really reawakened my absolute LOVE of driving. I haven't driven anything as fun as this...maybe ever.

Well it is a crossover at the end of the day. It may be the fun crossover to drive, but it's still a crossover. Enjoy the S60!

 

[7eregrine]

I drove the CX5 quite a bit this weekend. I do still love her.
Absolutely a freaking rock in the reliability department. And that eninge tranny combo is so good.
Many people say you're crazy if you don't get the turbo. The NA is still fun to drive. You just can't be afraid to get on it. And there are people that don't get on it as they think it's bad for the tranny or engine. I've never understood that. It's not. It's literally built to do that. Most cars anyway.

 

[7eregrine]

I love my driveway. Part circular, and the part to the garage is nice and short for snow removing.

First "mod"...(2nd pic)
Mud flaps. pretty much always my first mod. CX5 has em too.

1st pic: Yea, I am obsessed with taking photos of my cars.

 

[7eregrine]

So I finally understand the whole driving assist thing. I can't believe how long this has been around. "Pilot Assist" on the Volvo is almost, not quite, but almost self driving.
It keeps you perfectly centered in the lane, keeps you perfectly xx car length behind the car in front of you. Will slow and come to a stop and start moving again. If you put your turn signal on and (manually) switch lanes it will automatically speed up because it is assuming you are trying to pass, no foot on the gas.
I'm blown away.
However, Volvo is so safety conscious they will not let you go completely self driving. If you do not interact with the steering wheel in 15 seconds, you get a warning "Touch the wheel!"
If you ignore that, 5 seconds later it warns you again. If you ignore that (I have never ignored that so I'm not sure how long until) it gives you a final warning and starts beeping. If you ignore that, it disengages Pilot Assist completely.

And I haven't even told you guys about one of the coolest things in this car. When you buy a new Volvo, you have 3 choices for the stereo. The base model and the upgraded Harmon Kardon. If you get one of the higher trims you can also opt for the Bowers & Wilkins upgraded stereo which my car has. I kid you not: when new this is a $3,200 upgrade. Didn't believe it when the guy told me... um, yea...I looked it up. Volvo charges $3,200 still to this day for this upgrade. Now...I am no car audio expert but it absolutely is incredible. Far and away the best thing I've ever heard in a car. I personally would NEVER pay an extra $55 a month on a 5 year loan for audio but i am really happy the original owner did! Crystal clear audio at any volume, excellent range, envlops you completety, stereo seperation is just SO good. Listening to old songs and I'm just WOW I forgot how good that was.
"No his mind is not for rent...don't put him down as arrogant..."
Son heard that yesterday and was like "Wow, play that again!" hahaha
I never even heard of this brand, honestly.
They talk about it on their website. Little blurb on Volvo's website too. That woman's expression on the Volvo site sums it up pretty well. (I think she's supposed to be singing...my first thought when I saw her: it's jaw dropping).
So, yea...pretty happy, borderline obsessed with it.
It is one of the last ICE Volvo's. Most of the new ones are mild\hybrids. And the full electric ones are coming down the pipe now.
That's one con i haven't mentioned... MPG is pretty damn awful in the city. I am currently averaging... about 22. And the T6 engine and above requires 91 octane too, of course. Significantly better MPG on the highway but... yea. If you ever consider Volvo, unless you don't mind spending money on gas, get a T5\B5 or a hybrid.

 

[7eregrine]

You know I hate chrome on cars. Swapped out the chrome grill for a black one.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

You know I hate chrome on cars. Swapped out the chrome grill for a black one.

Good man!

 

[Buzzman12]

Drove my CX5 on Saturday for the first time in 3 weeks...
O
M
G
What a freaking boat that thing feels like now. The steering wheel feels SO much heavier. Man, I thought something was wrong at first. I used to LOVE driving that thing. Not so much now.

Funny how that works.
I loved driving my Mazda 6 GT (2017) from the day I bought it new. It felt peppy to me and was a pleasure to drive.
Then I bought my Kia Stinger last summer. Holy crap. Getting back in the Mazda after driving that thing felt like I was driving a slug.
I'm not going to say I fell out of love with it, but I knew the end was coming. I used it as my winter DD while the Kia sat in the garage. I knew it was time to let it go after the winter was over.
I bought the 2016 RX350 as my DD, and take out the Stinger when I want to have some fun.
Gas mileage is crappy, but the smile on my face when I get behind the wheel means I don't care.
Also, the reaction I get when driving this car, or when I'm parked at a store, is a surprise. I have had random strangers stop and walk over to me when they see me next to it, and start asking questions. The best part is the exclusivity. There are just not that many around. There is only one other one in my neighbourhood that I know of.

 

[7eregrine]

I could have written that almost exactly with a few exceptions. Gas mileage sucks, and it's my daily, but it's that smile, man. Getting into that car just makes me a little happier... LOL
The CX5 has pretty much become the wife's commuter. She even calls it her car now.
And no one ever asks me about it. haha
Certainly exclusive though. No one drives these sedans or wagons around here. I've seen MAYBE 10 sedans since I've been really paying attention. We're talking over 6 months now. 10. 1 exact twin, which was crazy.
And maybe 5 of the wagons.

 

[Buzzman12]

Beautiful looking car for sure, and like you say, exclusive. If it makes you a little happier, all the better. I know the feeling.
In the 9 months or so I've had the Stinger, I can count on one hand the number of others I've seen in the wild.
As you stated, the sedan is dead where I live as well. I'm in your typical suburb, with big box stores within a 5 minute drive, so all I see are Rav4's and CR-V's. Boring as heck.
There's the odd Civic or maybe a WRX, pretending to be cool, along with a few 3 series BMW's, but that's about it.
So far I've only been challenged once, at it was no contest. An ugly orange BMW was behind me at a red light, and he purposely backed up and moved over to the lane on my right. I don't know what he was thinking, but I waved at him in my rear view mirror after the light turned green. Not even close.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

I had a trip for a wedding this past weekend and they gave me an Audi A5 Sportback for the rental. I don't like how the car looks, but I gotta say, it sure was fun to drive!

 

[7eregrine]

That's pretty Bman. Guy at work had a blue one. He actually had a ton of problems with it. Don't really like the dude so never really talked to him about the issues. But he just traded it in for a convertible BMW because of the trouble he had.

@colorado Yea, they are not attractive at all. And slow...compared to my car. (About the same numbers as a base model S60).

Actually had a rust issue with my car which Ill tell you all about when I get her back.

 

[ColoradoDriver]

That's pretty Bman. Guy at work had a blue one. He actually had a ton of problems with it. Don't really like the dude so never really talked to him about the issues. But he just traded it in for a convertible BMW because of the trouble he had.

@colorado Yea, they are not attractive at all. And slow...compared to my car. (About the same numbers as a base model S60).

Actually had a rust issue with my car which Ill tell you all about when I get her back.

Oh I am sure. It was much faster than I am used to driving though so had fun with that. But otherwise, ugly car on the outside imo and I would change some things on the interior.