15 Volvo S60 T5 vs 01 Volvo S60 2.4T vs 94 E320 vs 12 Focus SE
 

Four fairly different sedans I've driven on and off over the last year. Favorite is the '15 S60 but the E320 is a very close second. In fact rebuilding the suspension on the E320 and figuring out how to wire in auto-window up sensors would make it a tie or even number 1.

Some impressions

2015 Volvo S60 T5 FWD. Solid car, comfortable, fast, handles well, great brakes. Very handsome interior, the bright spot of the car. The gadgets make driving it effortless around town. Not as solid as the E320. Not as fast as I thought it would be, but a lot of fun. Overall, just a joy to drive.

2001 Volvo S60 2.4T FWD. Seats more comfortable than the 15, also has a better sound system so must have been optioned with the premium sound system. Tinier than I thought a Volvo of this vintage should be. Again, the one-touch up and down windows and sunroof are nice. Heated seats are fantastic. Slower than the E320. Overall a very nice car. Very much a toaster, but a quick, comfortable one.

1994 Mercedes E320 RWD. With only 80K miles, it's still a fairly new car. Heaviest feeling, I think mostly because 1. it is; 2. 15" wheels with tall, soft sidewalls; 3. Older, but more importantly soft bushings and soft sway bars. I put new Bilstein HDs in the front recently and that made a big difference. Some 17" E420 wheels would work well with all new, firmer bushings, wagon sway bars and shorter springs to give it a more modern feel, new (old) Eclipse and JL amp equal the 01 S60 with better/clearer highs but I need to add in some bass. The 3.2 makes the car surprisingly quick. Great brakes. Most solid car of the 4. Have to put seat heaters in soon. Definitely prefer RWD.

2012 Ford Focus SE. Nice little car that makes no pretensions to be anything more than it is, a solid little runabout. Here is what surprises me a little about this car. I would much rather have a nice $5K E320 than a $10K Focus. It doesn't come close to even the 01 S60. I would have thought that with 10 years of trickle down technology and engineering, it would be at least as good as the 01 Volvo. Did the front brakes on it for a friend over the weekend and we drove around for some time. It is a nice car but I would think an older Acura would be a much better choice. Especially with all the trouble she's had with it including some transmission recall stuff.

Interesting. I sort of want a Saab daily driver, but an older S320 is also in the back of my mind...

I had an E420 a long time ago. I loved that car.

If you wanted a fast, solid car, adding an excellent 1994 Aero into the mix would easily move it to first place, for me anyway. I would rather have a $10K perfect Aero with solid maintenance and extras done than a brand new S60.

I've owned an 88 900T, a 91 9000T and driven a 93 Aero a lot. The 900T was quick and fun. The 9000T was faster and hauled anything. The Aero was a family jr. supercar, for its day.

Loved my 1995 E320. Drove it daily until the transmission gave out at 183K miles. I debated fixing it, but my wife was ready to move on. I had to buy her a new car and take over driving her Lexus. Even though the E320 was 12 years older than the Lexus, I still preferred the E320.

The W124 chassis was the best road car going in its day. Most of the others on your list are considerably newer, and do have some advantages in the more modern electronics and materials, but it still amazes me how the Mercedes has stood up.


Gary

I had a 94 E320 as a company car. I loved it so much, when I left the company to go out on my own, I bought a 95 in the exact same color. I kept it six years and put 140 miles on her. Sold it to a friend and he's STILL driving it daily. It must have 250K miles by now.

With that said...I sure love my 2015 Volvo V60 T5. Same as the S60 only in a wagon.

I drove the E class diesel once. Wow. What a great car.