2006 Volvo S60 T5 Review - A Flawed Beast

[@robertoautore9252]

I own a 2006 Volvo S60 2.5T AWD, great automobile reliable and fast, Volvo for life

[@GoogleAccount-bk4sv]

Getting mine end of the month 🎉

[@pyryhulkkonen6670]

My friend had one of these. It was tuned to 300hp and had also suspension upgrades/lowered, a straight pipe and an R-bodykit. It was a fun car that suprised many and also looked awesome.

[@coleweis5184]

ouuu i wanna see

[@Joke9972]

I own the manual version of this, and you're right about everything here. Same colour 452. 274,000 kilometres right now. Bought it at 62800, 8 years ago.

[@Laylander]

You can make a few small 5 minute mods to make the car feel much more modern. 1. Get a CFE (Canbus function extender). Takes a while to set it up, but you can read GPS speed, boost, mixture, oil temp, etc. on the little display. This also allows for remote preheat, opening/closing windows, automatically heating seats under certain temperatures, foglight corner/steering lighting, mirror assist for reversing, and much much more. All the listed possibilities are a few pages long! 2. put PU bushings in the front two subframe mounts. That is probably the biggest improvement you can make. The regular ones are very soft, causing the understeer/unsettling issue. Dont put them on the rear subframe mounts though, because they'll make your dash chatter with every little crack in the road. 3. Adjust/shave the steering angle limiters to your wheel's spec. The angle limiters are very conservative, especially if you have something like a 225/30/18 wheel. If you have spacers mounted you sometimes can get away with using the limiters meant for the 16" wheels. Quite a significant gain to be had there. For the noise, standard windows were kinda noisy. If you can find them, the heavier double layer windows kill a lot of sound. Also, check if the steering column seal near the pedals is seated correctly. Many people undo the seal because you get a lot more turbo noise.

[@ItsDanLatham]

Excellent advice!

[@Laylander]

@@ItsDanLatham Glad to help! Now that reread my comment, I noticed I said bushings. I meant inserts. You press them into the original soft bushing. Doesn't really matter if they are worn, the insert fills the gaps, essentially locking them in their position. I'm unfamiliar with your channel (yet). Are you planning to modify? With stronger conrods and the addition of shims you can push over 500 WHP fairly easily, especially with the B5234T5. Just machine the K24 turbo into a hybrid. Good for 450 HP. With an HX40 or something similar you should be able to push it to 650-700 HP on a fresh block. With some good coilovers from BC racing and an LSD from Quaife it handles really well. Get a junkyard M56 transmission though. They're very robust, so even a higher milage box should be decent. If you open the box to fit the LSD you can also replace worn rings and/or bearings. All in all, for €7500 in parts you can keep up with an M2! I'm doing everything on the floor with axle stands and help from a fellow P2 enthousiast. But mine is a 2.3T5 which I'm putting a gen3 Haldex AWD in.

[@ItsDanLatham]

@@Laylander I would have kept it and modified if it was a manual, but for my driving, an old torque converter auto doesn’t really cut it. The gent who bought it off me though will probably be interested in your insights, as he is keen to extract power!

[@Stefan50326]

Which CFE would you recomend?

[@AquaLady153]

sound advice. I have a 2.4T

[@saykhan2004]

I own a m66 t5 with only 57.000km, great car looks sexy, sounds awesome, even stock and has capability of making 350-380hp very safely with a little upgrades. I hope to own this car coming 20 years lol definitely a sleeper aswel

[@Joke9972]

Did you buy it in Beveren Belgium?

[@alanoc2425]

Mine is in my picture - 2005 S60 T5 with a manual 6-speed gearbox. It is my 5th Volvo since I abandoned company cars. I sold a C70 T5 (51 plate) with 35K on the clock to a collector to buy it. I paid £1,500 for it but it was black, a Sport model and manual. I sent it off to be modified which took about 9 months. I love the car. I have had her for 7 years and put on 31K and spent £20K on her and still haven't finished. Coilovers and then the bodywork - I have had a rear bumper in the garage for 4 years:). I bought some very nice Eudora alloys (that scrape when turning) and have 7 alloys in my garage for her. I am currently thinking about selling her after spending £1200 on the brakes and another £500 on two Pilot Sport 4 tyres after the MOT. I could build another car with the parts I have in the garage. That said, 'She' speaks to me. She tells me if something is wrong (messages), keeps me safe and is currently chucking out at least 365 BHP due to the modifications. Average fuel consumption since I bought her reads 37.4 miles per gallon...impressive. The noise is addictive with a 3 inch downpipe and custom exhaust when you plant the accelerator. I don't have the traction issues as one of the mods I had was a limited slip differential. There are very few for sale in manual form due to Volvo technicians charging out at about £160 an hour and some independent Volvo garages ripping people off (I was a victim for about £3K to sort out a message that I ended up sorting out myself). 'Volvo for Life'? I have loved these T5s for years and am yet to find anything that could give the same comfort (seats) and the bonding you get with such an eclectic - and rare - car.

[@ItsDanLatham]

The only other car I bonded with as much was a Saab - must be something about the Swedish cars!

[@Feix]

Nice vid Dan! I love my 2007 T5 with its M66 Spaceball (I converted it from leather assembly top Spaceball) for its weirdness, its power and the sound. Never ever will they make such unperfect cars again which are capable of putting such big smiles on your face. Never ever will they make such gorgeous engines anymore... I am so glad I got mine and I will keep it, even If its just a loud old crappy car to most people... In my world its a unicorn .

[@ItsDanLatham]

It’s certainly going to become even more rare and even more desirable amongst collectors!

[@CarsofGlasgow]

love the spaceball!

[@Feix]

@@ItsDanLatham I agree! In Germany there are also only a few around, less of them manual. They never pop up for sale...only once a year maybe. Much more rare than an "R" manual... Its a keeper

[@Feix]

@@CarsofGlasgow Yes...I had to do the conversion as soon as I had all parts needed. It also shifts shorter than the normal assembly 🤗 and feels better!

[@tomgruber6780]

I just bought a 2.4 D5 from 2004 yesterday. Great car and insane torque. 5th gear and 1500rpm, and you just tap the accelerator and it goes. Crazy down range power. Got it with the 5 speed manual and its just such a great car.

[@ItsDanLatham]

The manual makes this car so much better. The only reason I got rid of it eventually was the lazy auto makes it feel much less powerful. The sound was fantastic though! Enjoy it, and thanks for watching.

[@Stefan50326]

I drive a 2.4 without Turo. You are hittiing many points. Yes, it is like a living romm and I love it. It is old but with a Smartphone and Bluetooth to Aux adapter this isn't an issue. The suspension is awful, therefor I will change mine next month to a KW V2. I believe that the bad response and bad corner grip will be gone. Enginesound is simply natural and awesome, I love it. The turning circle is huge but I wouldn't say it makes me avoiding places. Since this my first car, I needed some time to learn parking but know this is easy. If you learned it with an S60, you can do it with every car. Driving this car in the black forest makes so much fun. Of course you have to shift late, to enjoy as much as possible from the engine. The brakes, as mentioned, aren't bad but could be a little more powerful. After 50k kilometers they are stil in good shape and can go for another 30-50k.

[@Lovecars1218]

I think changing the whole undercarriage is definitely desirable with these P2 Volvos. My own S60s undercarriage is fragile af and basically crumbles under the poor roads of the Ruhrgebiet haha I am literally changing some part like every year. I think my dampers will be finished next year so I’ll go for a Bilstein or KW undercarriage instead of throwing in OEM parts yet again. I LOVE the car, it’s amazing for long distances, the 5 speed manual is great and overall the car is a lovely contrast to my VZ5 but maaaan the undercarriage is huge problem in these cars…

[@CaptainSeamus]

I've got an 04 R that I bought in 2012 with 59k miles on it then. It's got 285,000 miles on it now, and keeps running on and on. That's the 2.5l 300hp version - and never had a problem with it... the smaller pots are a little "safer" but it's not the same - the extra 50 hp is great. Also, I get an extra button on the 4c - although I did away with it for coilovers - $500 per corner is a little excessive and they go in and out of stock. BTW the wind noise you are hearing is probably from damaged seals OR you need to do a window tune on the front windows - the soft stop is probably not completely tight - you can raise the window all the way, then hit the Up button again a bit and it'll close up the rest of the way. Longest single run - 485 miles without stopping - Wichita Kansas to St Louis Missouri - stopped then for lunch, bathroom, and fuel. And then drove another 7 hours after that. Absolutely comfortable.

[@pointblank2020]

Now that's how a car review should be done. I'm about to buy one with 110 000km on the clock. It's probably strong enough to do twice that mileage. Great content, thanks man.

[@ItsDanLatham]

@@pointblank2020 appreciate the feedback, enjoy it 👍🏻

[@guckmaschine]

I've owned the 2007 version of this car for 15 years now. I can't seem to let it go and get a new car. The turning radius and understeer is also a sore spot for me too, but you learn to drive better with those limitations :D All in all, such a great car.

[@ItsDanLatham]

I loved it despite its flaws!

[@TOMGROVE-q8l]

You also have the optional “soft leather” package, with 10mm extra padding, softer leather and extended leather over different surfaces

[@GoodGains90]

I got a 2006 s60 t5, 6 speed manual (m66) . It always surprise me how fast it is and specially on the high way.

[@gatisvilcaks8235]

I got S60 T5 m66 gearbox, I love it.

[@CarsofGlasgow]

wow

[@pavelspavlenko6456]

I own V70 T5 manual with top trim, great car, still running strong. I love it. Greetings from Latvia ;) btw yeah, T5's, especially manual are very hard to find.

[@ItsDanLatham]

I’d love to try the manual version! Very rare here

[@leadsolo2751]

I hv one, probably the only one still in showroom condition here in Malaysia - Bought in 2012 and still as good as when I first got him, even with all the flaws U mentioned which I consider just nitpicking :p

[@FedericoRojasfrojas13]

I love my S60 2.5T . Fast AND Safe car. Not as economic but it's very good car.

[@Birmingham_racing]

I was thinking of changing to something like this since I'm changing jobs soon which is 2 miles away so won't need a diesel anymore

[@ItsDanLatham]

Do it! Such a great car for the money.

[@HozniakMedia]

It is really cool to be fair to it. Certainly characterful! Definitely an experience in it's own right and one you'll remember. Agree on the GS300 comments obviously having had 3 of them! (one of them yours!)

[@nightfarming4205]

the "oversteering" can be because of the tires

[@jacobwakefield4282]

The manuals are very fun!

[@Viscosity-cb3xl]

Great car the early S60 T5 with the high compression turbo. Far more reliable and nicer to drive them Audi, BMW, Volkswagen

[@MuckyD.]

Awesome car and video Dan. I remember wanting one of these with the 2.0L engine but then the road tax changes came in and made them 615 a year :(

[@ItsDanLatham]

Luckily this one falls under the lower £360 bracket due to the year!

[@Stefan50326]

@@ItsDanLatham In Germany the 2.4 versions costs just 168€

[@chucky2316]

Awesome car

[@chucky2316]

Leg room in s citreon c5 🤣

[@zzoinks]

I think that the backseat space is terrible too

[@ItsDanLatham]

It’s very comfortable back there but you should have way more legroom!

[@Birmingham_racing]

@@ItsDanLatham don't think they cared about criminals lol

[@Birmingham_racing]

Abit of a sleeper

[@ItsDanLatham]

Definitely!

[@FredericFreedom]

Sleeper

[@mayg7415]

How is the economy on this car?

[@elie1888]

Have a great day God’s love you

[@suicidalcoffee4399]

About how much would 1 cost i want 1 myself

[@jaskajokunen3716]

Depends on where you live, in my country you can get these from anywhere between 2-8k euros. I got mine for 6K since it had low mileage and hasnt failed mot in 2 decades 🤔

[@suicidalcoffee4399]

@jaskajokunen3716 yea I live state side I've found them here between $2500-$8k I'm not sure what the exchange would be in euros but thanks

[@Stefan50326]

@@suicidalcoffee4399 It's about the same in dollars and euros at the moment.

[@williamnewmann670]

23 mpg is fine fpr 250 PS

[@ItsDanLatham]

During its time yes definitely, but not by modern standards!

[@dannywhite1392]

I'd be interested if your selling it 👍

[@ItsDanLatham]

It’s for sale, email my business email in the description 👍🏻

[@AquaLady153]

did u buy it?

[@amigachris]

fwd so a no-no from me...

[@AquaLady153]

why not?

[@CarsofGlasgow]

Great video Dan! Random Q do I follow you on twitter? I feel like ive seen this car on there...

[@ItsDanLatham]

Thanks! I don't use twitter, so won't have been me.