More expensive cars typically eclipse mainstream cars in countless areas, from improved performance and ride quality to better materials and more creature comforts. But infotainment usability doesn’t seem to be one of these areas. We’ve seen plenty of luxury cars with difficult interfaces, for instance, and plenty of mainstream cars with functional ones.
As we touched on in a previous update, the infotainment system in our long-term Volvo XC60 is OK. But as we live with it longer, its attributes, including the negative ones, become magnified. For one thing, the system is slow to boot up after you turn on the ignition. This is a bit annoying when you’re trying to change the radio or get your phone set up. And you better wait a minute if you want to adjust the climate, because the touch controls won’t respond if you try it too soon.
The screen itself looks good. The 9.0-inch unit is laid out like an iPad, but it’s not overwhelmingly large like on some cars. We’ve been enjoying the optional 12.3-inch digital driver display, which relays information to the driver in a coherent way. You can change design elements via the touchscreen.
After a few hours of driving, I start to feel a little stiff in the leather seats, an optional upgrade. The leather in the driver seat is starting to pucker, while the other seats are holding up just fine. Cleaning the seats couldn’t be easier, even if you accidentally spill something and forget about it for a day (yes, I’m guilty). Leather cleaning wipes fix the seats right up in no time.
The XC60 feels spacious and has plenty of headroom and legroom. This makes a comfortable cocoon for rear passengers, though we wish there were a few more amenities on our $52,740 model. We’re OK with no rear climate control knobs, but we wish there were cupholders you could fold down from the middle seat. Instead, there are shallow tray areas that we haven’t found as useful.
Read more about our 2019 Volvo XC60 T5 AWD long-termer:
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