Blink and you’ll miss the very mild facelift given to the Volvo S60 and V60 for 2023.
The updated models should reach local showrooms around mid-year.
Cosmetic changes are largely limited to the concealing of rear exhaust outlets.
An attractive new six-spoke wheel design is available on the T8 Recharge, resembling the wheels found on the 2023 C40 Recharge and XC40 Recharge.
Inside, there’s a more significant change as the S60 and V60 are the latest Volvos to move to the new Android Automotive operating system, still accessible via a 9.0-inch portrait-oriented touchscreen.
B3 and B4 models pick up a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, however Volvo currently offers the S60 and V60 here exclusively in B5 guise.
Volvo says there are no plans to change the current line-up in Australia when the facelift touches down.
The eight-speed torque-converter automatic carries over for B5 models, which continue to use a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with a 48V mild-hybrid system and outputs of 184kW of power and 350Nm of torque.
S60 Recharge T8
Claimed 0-100km/h times are 6.7 seconds for the S60 B5 and 6.9 seconds for the V60 Cross Country B5.
The wider S60 and V60 range continues to offer mild-hybrid 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder and plug-in hybrid 2.0-litre turbo petrol engines in other markets.
Volvo has pared down its range of 60-series passenger cars since the launch of the current generation in 2019.
At launch, Volvo offered four different variants of the S60 and four of the V60, including range-topping T8 plug-in hybrid versions of each.
The T8s were the first to go, dropped in 2020. The V60 wagon was discontinued in 2021, although it was replaced by a single V60 Cross Country variant.
Finally, for 2022 Volvo pared the S60 range down to a single B5 Inscription variant.
It echoes a similar whittling down of Volvo’s flagship S90 and V90 models. You can no longer buy any of these in Australia, with the V90 Cross Country the last to go in 2021.
Globally, Volvo has committed to continue offering passenger cars, even as the SUV body style has become the clear favourite for Volvo buyers.
Volvo sold just 168 S60s in Australia in 2021, with the late-arriving V60 Cross Country registering 148 sales. Only 14 V60s were sold.
In contrast, Volvo sold 3688 XC60s.
MORE: Everything Volvo S60
MORE: Everything Volvo V60
