Ace of Base: 2019 Volvo V60 Momentum

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

It’s not difficult to spend forty large on a new car in America these days. Heck, the average transaction price across this country is knocking on that amount, suggesting that nearly half of buyers are signing a note for that amount or more.

Thing is, it needn’t be spent on a milquetoast minivan or cringeworthy crossover. There are more creative options out there in which to haul the family and life’s detritus to the hockey rink and soccer pitch.

For whatever reason, mainstream America has largely deemed the station wagon body style to be less cool than socks n’ sandals. Compared mano-a-mano to their high(er) riding platform mates, though, it’s tough to see why. Most longroofs (longrooves?) provide better handling than their crossover equivalent thanks to a lower center of gravity and less weight. Cargo space is generally the same or better as well.

The Volvo V60 wagon comes in many flavours, including a tasty Polestar variant that is a good 65 percent more expensive than the $39,650 Momentum trim shown here. Despite being the entry level car, it is endowed with a healthy options list, including the likes of lane keeping and a snazzy audio system.

Volvo’s least expensive wagon is front-wheel drive at this price, putting to rest visions of when you smoked the baloneys on that knackered 240DL in high school. That brick didn’t have 250 horsepower, however, nor was it good for 34 mpg on the highway. V60 can make both those claims.

One downer with this car is its lack of paint selection, at least without paying for the privilege. The shade of Black Stone is shown here for $0 but everything else, including a nice Fusion Red Metallic, costs $645. Those stock 18-inch wheels do look great.

Inside, Volvo sees fit to offer several different themes — including a Blond City Weave Textile that will surely placate any hipsters — but it appears only one of them can be paired with the $0 black paint. Described as Maroon Brown Leather in a charcoal interior, the seat’s hue looks like the inside of a Milky Way bar. This is not a wholly bad thing. The brand’s Teslaesque infotainment system is on full display, the centrepiece of a very clean interior.

That’s an appealing proposition at forty grand for someone who’s looking to haul the family without disappearing into the school pick up line. Naturally, most shoppers ignore the V60 and make a beeline for the XC60, a car which costs more but delivers roughly the same features. Our advice? Get the wagon — preferably the base model.

[Images: Volvo Cars]

Not every base model has aced it. The ones which have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments and feel free to eviscerate our selections.

The model above is shown with American options and priced in American Dollars. Your dealer may sell for less.

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Jkross22 Jkross22 on Oct 09, 2019

    Volvo is aware of it's quality problems which is why they chopped their CPO warranty by 1/2. Why should anyone pay top dollar when Volvo has less faith in the quality of their cars today than they did 3 years ago? The base model is indeed the one to go for. No AWD, less complicated powertrain. Still feels like Russian Roulette, but at least the gun only has one of the chambers loaded.

  • FreedMike FreedMike on Oct 09, 2019

    I've driven the S60 with the same T5 engine. It's not great. To make it entertaining, you have to step up to the T6, which is the turbo/supercharged engine, and then it gets damn expensive. If I'm dropping 40 on a wagon, I'll take a Buick TourX, which has similar HP, AWD, and a ton more equipment, for a MSRP of $1,000 less BEFORE the giveaway pricing that Buick's laid on.

    • See 4 previous
    • B534202 B534202 on Oct 10, 2019

      If leasing, definitely get the T6 or T8. If planning to own and maintain the car, I would go with the T5 and skip the sc+turbo complication for sure.

  • ArialATOMV8 All I hope is that the 4Runner stays rugged and reliable.
  • Arthur Dailey Good. Whatever upsets the Chinese government is fine with me. And yes they are probably monitoring this thread/site.
  • Jalop1991 WTO--the BBB of the international trade world.
  • Dukeisduke If this is really a supplier issue (Dana-Spicer? American Axle?), Kia should step up and say they're going to repair the vehicles (the electronic parking brake change is a temporary fix) and lean on or sue the supplier to force them to reimburse Kia Motors for the cost of the recall.Neglecting the shaft repairs are just going to make for some expensive repairs for the owners down the road.
  • MaintenanceCosts But we were all told that Joe Biden does whatever China commands him to!
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