2023 Volvo S60 Black Edition | It Finally Works! 

At the very least Volvo has been able to keep their design identity. I really love the Volvo design philosophy. They just really need to improve their infotainment.

The most recent generation of Volvo's are the most handsome carts on the road. They're going to age so well.

Volvo has some underrated cars, though they were too early with the hybrid / 4 cylinder scene. Should’ve left a few 5 or 6 cylinders in the lineup.

I own this exact car. Used primarily for trips less than 50 miles and have accumulated 3500 miles so far at an average of 138.3 MPG! Nearly 80% of the time is pure electric. This value should not be ignored. Oh and it qualified for $7500 PHEV tax credit....so for a $48k net price it's pretty hard to beat. Agree with most of the content of your review.

I own the late model 22 version of this car and it doesn't have the android interface for which I am grateful. I agree with most of what was said in this review and for the most part am extremely happy with my purchase. I work from home and the car performs short runs. I rarely have to visit the gas station and average around 44 miles on pure electric. For most drivers the power will astound and let's face it, most of us are not rally gods so the handling is more than adequate. It's a great car, looks beautiful and stands out because it's not a Mercedes or a BMW. My brother said it best. You've bought a niche prestige car that people who know will appreciate.

I’m so glad Savagegeese does reviews on Volvo’s, cause almost no one pays them attention despite from a distance looking like a compelling package. They look good, they have an intriguing powertrain, they’re different. But as it figures they’re application lacks some focus it seems. You know they market this as a sport sedan, I mean look at it. But it sounds like it would be disappointing in a few ways to the other options. (Especially at those extreme prices). Volvo’s character really is best served as EVs

What a transition at 2:00 ! A truly masterpiece

My 2017 v60 t5 (4 cyl) has been great reliability wise. Only failure I've had was at 140,000 miles was the mech fuel pump. You can swap it in a half hour or so. And isn't too expensive.

No other car reviewer's explain and give driving dynamics details the way the both of you always seem to do:)! Yours are must see reviews! Thank you for your dedication to vehicle excellence!

Spot on review. I work at a Volvo dealer (no, I'm not a salesperson, I'm a porter as a part-time job outside of college) and I drove one of these back from our service center to our dealer. I've driven more S60s than I can count and the new recharge was quick, but still dreary as hell and feels like driving a desktop computer.

My brother is a huge fan of Volvo in all its iterations which makes perfect sense since his favorite color is grey, his favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, his favorite season is winter, and his favorite meal is porridge...did I mention his favorite position is missionary. P.S. yet another master class in automotive journalism.

Yes Jack, we know you'd take the BMW equivalent over this -- that's been well establish.

I know he had issues with his own Volvo, but I put 20k miles on a 2021 V60 T8 and it was flawless (the old system). Perfect transitions from supercharger/turbo/electric minus the occasional weird thing if I did something bizarre with the throttle. The Bowers & Wilkins was absolutely the best audio system I've ever had the chance to listen to.

You nailed it Mark. It should've been called the "Murdered Out Edition" instead.

Between the powertrain, styling and understated luxury, this is a hybrid I could see owning. The lack of gimmicks is a huge selling point to me.

They need to make more black editions for other models. It's cheesy but at my job these particular ones sell within a day or two or come pre-sold.

I have a 2020 S60 poverty spec (T5 momentum) with a couple add ons and I really like it. I bought in spring of 2021 before the car market went totally bananas and got it for a decent price as a off loaner (6.5K miles, 1 yr old). Dealership experience was meh, which was surprising for a premium brand but I guess all dealerships are alike. I like the ride and how it looks inside and out. Everything inside the car is really well done, like they thought about it and made an effort. I am likely going to move on from it when the warranty expires in 2024. Only issue was an O2 sensor crapped out in summer of 21, warranty repair.

Finally someone reviewed the Black Edition ! Thank you guys !

Bought a S60 Recharge Polestar a few months ago as our main family car. The upgraded plug-in hybrid really appealed to us as we can do most of our driving with just electric and I just love the styling inside and out. I"m surprised you observed 26 mpg; on the only long distance run where the battery was depleted, I managed to get about 37 mpg. Also, we get closer to 50 miles on a full charge than the rated 41 miles. (So maybe it's our driving that is more economical?) And yes, there is a body shudder over high frequency bumps in the Polestar version as well.

Saw one of these yesterday on the street. All murdered out. Gooooood looking.

This is the only channel i would watch a Volvo review

Volvo is mad underrated

Have one of these and do want to add that over 7000 miles I’m averaging over 125mpg with a 30 mile each way highway commute while charging nightly and at work. Just did a small road trip and with no charging returned 35mpg with a mix of highway and mountain driving

Yessssss!! Have been wanting SOMEONE to review this new powertrain.

The most beautiful car manufacturer...simple,elegent...its just awesome watching bolbo cars...they dont have to try hard to impress people

I have the 2020 polestar Engineered. Fantastic daily driver I use mostly for highways. Very comfortable, I love the plug in for my quick excursions off the highway. I average in the 40 MPG range and on the road this thing pulls hard. Literally have not had a single reliability issue with the motor, the dampers are brilliant!

I have a S60 T8 since 2019. I drive around like crazy, and never had an issue once. Never on the side of road or had an electrical issue. Feels crazy listening to this.

I own a Volvo V60 D4 2014. Second owner and bought it 2017. Love the seats, never gets tired in long road trips and the D4 engine is strong with all the torque and low fuel usage. So far it's been great without any issues and I have been eyeing up on the newer generation for some time. Infotainment should be better in the newer, but you actually doesn't use it that much that it's a big deal. Volvo's world class leading safety is the biggest selling point for me. Protecting my family.

Wow great detailed review.. you mentioned things I didn't think about..ty

Love the "Sprockets" ending. Well Done

Great video as always. Will you guys review the newer Jaguar models like the XF or F-Pace? They have gotten major facelifts the last couple of years.

LOL! as a Volvo Owner! of the XC40, I concur :) they might not be the most luxurious! but they are sure comfortable and great long drive vehicles and just putting around the city too!

Thank you Mark for your honest,informative, knowledgeable review , the only other review I watch is retro Motor Week. Dude that was a funny joke on the tow truck!

I sincerely appreciate the honesty regarding the infotainment.

Laughed all the way through the drone crash, final thoughts then the Volvo presentation at the end 🤣

I love the clean look Volvo has been designing the last few years!

Local dealer had one on their showroom floor. Not gonna lie. It looks freaking great in person.

That outro tho… this is why I keep coming back to this channel. Savvy.

Rut Roh, I hope your drone survived its skirmish with the trees? As always, a great review from Mark and Jack!

Thanks for never holding back in your reviews

Nice to see this review, not much buzz in the industry about Volvos. I am a mostly accidental owner of a Volvo, not brand loyal at all. I love my 2019 S60 with the T6, and this new extended range T8 I should want it. Very conflicted though as I feel Volvo abandons the last of their customers that like driving. Over the years they have removed the R-Design branding, ESC Sport mode, drive mode switch, then the drive modes, and the "sport chassis" option. Then they add more battery and power to a refined T8, with a 112mph speed limiter. The Android system issues still persist after years, with less functionality than the old Sensus system (music info in the instrument display?...nope). Oh well, it's not all about HP, I do really like my 2019 and feel it does drive and handle well with the sport chassis. But the dream of being able to get the same car with the new Recharge drivetrain, seems to be too much to ask. I'm too cheap to go Polestar version, heck I am too cheap to buy a new car these days.

Reliability and parts availability/cost are holding back a unique brand. Thank you for another honest review.

man ever since they updated their looks, i’ve always kinda wanted one

Everyday i dream of owning a 2020 S90 T8, I did the test drive already and its the ultimate daily, an S-Class on a budget plus the best sound system I ever heard in a car, the only thing holding me back are the prices and depreciation, maybe in 2023 who knows… if money isnt a problem these are the best daily drivers out there!

I own a slightly modified 2018 S90L that I absolutely love, this S60 makes for an interestingly sporty second volvo in my opinion. Volvo for life.

I blacked out my polestar 2019 t6 s60 all around and smoked my lights back and front back in 2019 for fun, even the badges. Looks like Volvo caught on lol. Love this car. In Canada it's hard to find heico products for it though.

It's immaculate 🔥🔥

Nice review. I really like my 2019 S60 T6 R-Design with Polestar tune. Has the factory lowered suspension and ground effects no longer offered. The Sensus system does include a full EQ for the Bowers and Wilkins though I’ve kept mine flat as you should for well designed systems. Sad to hear of reliability issues from you but hoping it’s not all cars as I really enjoy mine. Hopefully the lack of hybridization improves my chances. A good honest review as always..

It’s nice to hear a more specific explanation for your common statement about how connected a car feels. It’s always slightly bothered me that you guys say a car feels disconnected front to back without elaborating on whether it feels that the front and rear halves of the car move on their own, whether the suspension upsets or damps the road at different rates, or even whether a drivetrain makes the front and rear power application feel unbalanced. It just always felt like a very vague criticism to me and perhaps it’s either that I haven’t driven enough cars to understand what “disconnected” feels like, or maybe it’s that it’s truly difficult to identify what causes a disconnected feeling. It could be worth making a fine print video talking about chassis connectedness like you have other stuff. I’d be curious to hear how suspension design plays into this - stuff like the flat ride paradigm, jacking down vs jacking up, how the damping is compared to the natural frequency, etc., how the body structure plays into it, and how a drivetrain affects it - AWD systems with torque vectoring, separate rear motors, how passive AWD reacts. To be fair you guys cover the drivetrain “connectedness” deficiencies pretty well, particularly with electric or PHEV platforms, but, for instance with the S60, I think a comparison to the TLX torque vectored mechanical AWD would be a good thing to explore and talk about the functional differences on the road. Again, you guys go above and beyond all other channels in talking about these types of technical and dynamics differences so perhaps this is too much to ask. Maybe that would be too technical for those viewers that watch this channel for car buying advice and for them, sure, saying a sports sedan feels disconnected may be enough, but for the enthusiasts that want to learn it would be awesome to hear those kinds of details. I suppose you also often don’t have that data on specific cars but it would be nice to hear a general overview of the concepts and how you feel the cars you review perform in those terms. I myself don’t understand this stuff very well and have picked up on it from your videos and from people talking about tuning race cars, so I apologize if I spouted some misplaced jargon that doesn’t make much sense. I guess this stuff isn’t what makes a channel successful but I’d still love a place I can learn about this that isn’t dry lecture. Oh and I can’t get over how pretty the design of this Volvo is. They hit it out of the park with styling outside and particularly inside, even if the details of infotainment usability kind of suck. I know Volvo isn’t a benchmark for them, but it should be because all the competitors in this segment aside from perhaps Genesis are veering into weird and ugly interior designs. It’s quite funny how Volvo managed to combine drivetrains into a PHEV that somehow delivers the worst of both worlds. Then again it may be more of a testament to toyota and a couple others that they were able to make a dual propulsion vehicle as reliable or more so than an ICE car. When the first PHEV concepts were coming out I remember thinking how pointless they seemed given that you had to design, tune, maintain, carry around, and worry about two entire drivetrains, but then the volt and Prius plug in proved me wrong. And then Volvo proved me right. Hah One more thing, I refuse to accept that a safety focus means vehicle dynamics needs to be tuned for preemptive stability control activation and prodigious understeer. The electronics are good enough to let cars get right to the limits or just beyond them without going over, and while understeer is definitely safer in a crash scenario than a neutral or oversteer biased car, it doesn’t mean that a safe car needs to plow. I think this is a deficit of the front wheel drive platform being sold as a safe car and allowing the safety to be used as an excuse for subpar tuning. I guess any car putting 300hp to the front wheels would be hard to tune into feeling neutral.

As someone who actually owns one of these (exact same trim in the better white blacked out version) I think most of what they pointed out is spot on, really good job. But I don't like the comparison to the ES, because I think it depends on the driving habits of the buyer. If your daily driving is under 40 its all electric, and even under 60 you'd still get better MPG with this Volvo assuming you can charge it daily. For the suspension, the ES is better. But you do have an option to get the Polestar Engineered if you really want better handling, and based on previous years it would make the sportiness of the car match its performance. But not really worth worth the extra $10k in my opinion, you might as well just get a BMW. But then again if you want to "out sporty" this car while matching or besting the power while still getting decent MPG, good luck finding that car that doesn't really exist right now. You'd either have to spend a lot more money or go full electric, which isn't always an option for everyone. And even then, really the only full electric car in this price range that bests this performance wise is the highest model 3 trim, but you give up all the luxury and comfort going that direction. One thing I wish they had pointed out though is the one pedal driving. You don't really get that in any of this cars direct competitors, and it's done so very well in this car.

Amazing review

My dream car if I could afford it. I have always owned Volvos and have been eyeing this one for toooo long

This looks exactly what I did to my volvo s90 with plasti dip cans and vinyl wrap on the side chrome moldings. Along with Ali baba blacked out volvo lettering lol

This is the perfect vehicle for me to stealthily conduct business transactions in.

I think the harshness from the small sharp bumps could be that the chassis and bushings are too stiff. I found the the previous generation S60 had a similar issue with low profile tires, but winter tires with 55 sidewalls removed the harshness.

So now the only thing missing on American market is the estate version. C'mon Volvo...

got a V60 recharge slated for delivery in may (only with the harmon kardon sound system)... hopefully the silicon lottery is favourable to me, in this post-silicon shortage world...

Mark & Jack, any plans to do a live stream before the year end?

I hope they take Mark’s feedback. He’s always fair and dead-on. The higher end V90 CC has eliminated the EQ adjustment too. Android auto just sanitized the Volvo infotainment system a bit but it’s not a huge step up. For example there’s no way to easily see how many miles are on the car and it takes several annoying clicks just to get the seat massage going. Also, their intent seems to be to eliminate the need to connect the cell phone to the car.

The design is so clean! I love the Volvo's styling.

Your reviews are spot on. Really gets into what makes a car work or not.

a day when both Throttle house & Mr Geese upload, is a good day

Love to see you review Polestar 2 (performance)!

Harsh critique - I like the honesty, wow. Have my sub

It would be cool if you guys get to review the polestar version and compare. You guys rock!!

loved those 80's 740 turbo's

Bought the 2022.5 extended range edition of this car about 3 months ago. Also black edition but white paint with the blacked out grill. Only difference really with the 2023 is that it was the final incarnation of Sensus rather than Android Automotive. Through 3 months it’s mostly positive. With the 41 or so miles of range 95% or my driving dropping off the kids, commute to work and such is all in electric. So most of the time it’s a RWD experience on the electric motor. Not a car I’m going to take to the track. But as a daily driver it’s great. And I like the instant torque of the EV engine. And when I put it in pure EV mode I find it gets up to speed on the highway just great. And if you put it in Power mode maxing both the engines can get you 4.5 0-60.

From what I've read the recharge models have some very impressive mpg and ability to not even use the ICE engine if you are doing small trips. May look into getting one of those when ever I need to buy a new vehicle.

I'm a 2019 Volvo S60 T8 owner. I don't know what they did to the engine besides removing the supercharger from the T8 to the Recharge to make the idling vibration better, but my car vibrates and rattles like a true 4-cylinder even more so than my previous car - Ford Mustang Ecoboost whenever it's sitting at a red light with the engine on and idling. I don't know if it's just my car, but I remember savagegeese said the vibration and rattling were also non-existence or minimum when he was reviewing the last generation like the T8, which is very confusing that his experience is so different than mine for the same car.

When the Scandinavian guy at the end explains things about their new core computer, and said "we also connect it to our android infotainment system...", I thought he was going to plug in himself.

I loved the crumbs on the front seat

Nice Drone meets Tree there at the end LOL.

These have aged so well P3 interiors are so outdated but the spa volvos are so good looking even now

It would be great if you made a video or list of vehicles with the best audio systems

I was shopping an S60 T6R with the turbo-supercharged 4cylinder and AWD against an Audi A5 with the EA888 engine. The Volvo was, in my opinion, beautiful to look at. The driving experience was disappointing. The A5 was also nice to look at but lackluster with the turbo 4. In the end, I went with a Ford Fusion Sport. Cost me $10,000 less with half the miles at the time. I guess I just cannot get used to 4 cylinder buzz and noises. While the interior on the FFS is not even in the same league as either car, the daily driver experience with that sweet twin turbo V6 and awesome AWD is the best bang for the buck out there, IMHO. Also, the Q-ship factor is off the charts. I think the one you reviewed must have been an abused early build press car, because mine does not leak a drip anywhere with 31k on the clock and runs 13.7 at over 100mph in the quarter consistently. (I have the slips) Looks are subjective, and while the Volvo and Audi are definitely better looking cars the FFS is not that far behind them aesthetically. Lastly, compared to the aforementioned Volvo and Audi, my car IS faster stock vs stock. 😎 Great review.

Such a good looking car

what would you get if you dont want an ES for the same reasons you listed? I really am interested in the C class

This car looks awesome with the Black Edition and the Red/Orange paint

What mileage are you seeing? Because after nearly 8k miles I'm at 44.3mpg average for that entire distance. I drive 75miles to and from work, combined with some city driving. I have a late '22 version of this exact car w/o the B&O system.

I am curious what tires were put on that car. My S90 came with P Zeros and I had issues with the small bumps on the road as well. I moved to a P7 AS Plus 3 grand touring tire and it dramatically improved the ride quality of the car. I also think the tires better match the frame of the car and handle the weight of the car better.

That outro is the most Scandinavian thing I've ever seen

I like how there's food crumbs on the seats, spots on the fenders and dirty floormats. Its a car in its natural environment.

crazy to me how he said it gets less MPG than an M340i. drive both vehicles for a day the way you’re driving in the video and the M340i would get like 12mpg. my Black edition t8 averages 43mpg and i drive it pretty hard. mind you, i’ve owned 2 m340i’s and never got more than 18mpg bc of the way i drive

I wonder if they still use the plastic dash mounts they used on the old 850's that broke with the first cold snap and caused a creaking dash.

When i check with the volvo website, s60 B5 gear stick is not the crystal.. is that the option??

My 2017 XC90 t8 has been flawless in reliability and I'm at around 80k miles now

I think an interesting comparison would be between this and the Toyota Crown Platinum (hybrid max version). They're both performance hybrids with sorta similar pricing, but very different target audiences. My mother drives a '17 Lexus ES300H currently and while it's worked great for her (before you ask yes she's a real-estate-agent, driving the real-estate-agent car, we know), she wants a less boaty hybrid sedan with a bit more zoom, and the S60 T8 seems like a solid option for that though reliability is suspect. This leaves the Crown, which seems like an appealing package on paper, but so does this.

How is the isolation in s 60s in total? Not necessarily this model , I have a v40 and it's not really good isolated

Why on earth do manufacturers refuse to paint brake calipers on anything without a performance package? (inb4 money) The blackout edition should at least have the basic floating calipers painted black. It'd help with corrosion, and not call so much visual attention to basic brakes. Also, around @11:45, Jack says "if you care about the sporty part of the drive, just buy a BMW." I'm surprised to hear that, as the 3 series may have been the definitive sport sedan, all the recent reviews, even SG's, suggest it no longer is. Can you guys elaborate?

Would you say the 2020 or 2021 s60 gas powered version is better?

Mark, tell us what you really think about the UX.

Love Volvo

I have a 2019 T8 R-design. Has been extremely reliable only oil changed for the last 57k miles. I agree over broken pavement the car is out of sorts. I wish it handled better but straight-line acceleration is impressive when in power mode and a charge. Also does surprisingly well in the snow.

I appreciate how often you guys bring up the ES, no other journalist ever mentions that car and in my mind it's one of the bargains of the industry (assuming you're a driver who isn't looking to drive it like an enthusiast, aka 95% of most luxury car buyers). Also interesting to compare this S60 to that ES - which makes sense - but both the S60 and ES are indeed somewhat forgotten cars. I love Volvo's but they really are in need of some updates across the board to stay competitive. The black badges look cool but this car is so far behind at this point, although the Volvo recipe will always be a unique one that even when not competitive on paper, will find its loyalists.

is the bowers change also present in the v60?

I had a 2021 t8. Nice car for sure but had two significant repairs (under warranty) within 12 months. Both related to the hybrid system. Don’t you ever ever dare to buy one of these without an extended warranty. It’s fast-if the ice is warmed up. If you start in pure and you are driving around and then floor it, the ice kicks in, but since it’s not fully warmed up it doesn’t deliver full power. This is very noticeable.

The dude at 11:33 was so high on his phone that I felt like it's a miracle that he didn't hit you.

I think you could bring up G80 here as well, especially from cruiser perspective and since you're bringing up a maxed out ES. Yes, that's going to be a 4 cyl, but that's what Volvo is anyways, yet you get a better warranty and tech.

Interesting. My V60, super charged and turbo charged, has none of the problems you talk about. The T8 in Europe is known for its reliability.

idk if i should be saying this, but at the beginning of next year we produce these and the new EX 90’s, im actually excited 😅