ROAD TEST - Volvo S60 T6:
Volvo seems to be putting pressure on itself with its most recent cars by saying they’re the best it’s ever made.
Just last year it brought out its new XC60 medium SUV and called it the safest Volvo ever, and now with this, the new S60, we have what Volvo says is “without a doubt the most dynamic car Volvo has ever presented”.
Immediately thoughts of legendary older Volvos such as the classic Amazon, long-lived 144 Series and the cult-loved 850R start springing to mind. Those are mighty big snowshoes to fill.
The first thing I noticed about the S60 is that it’s not a heck of a lot different from other models in the current range. At least not from the driver’s seat anyway. For one, the “floating” centre stack is something we saw over three years ago in the smaller S40, and not much else within immediate view is unique to the S60.
It’s all fairly attractive kit, and Volvo’s always had a way of making its slightly unusual materials work together in a distinctive Scandinavian way, but perhaps not quite as elegantly as the German competition might do it.
Touchable surfaces aren’t quite up to BMW or Audi levels and a simple knock test on the dashboard or door panels reveals slightly cheaper plastics than you’d expect in a “premium” model. I noted that some features, such as the colour display screen in the dash, bears suspicious resemblance to Audi’s MMI system graphics-wise.
The driving experience is also a little more numb than in the cars Volvo sees itself in competition with. The steering system’s not quite as plugged in to the road as, say, a 3 Series and the suspension, while very sporty, is a little clumsy over bumpy surfaces.
Volvo builds the S60 with separate Comfort (soft) and Dynamic (firm) chassis setups, but it sends the softer-sprung ones to other markets like North America and we’ll only get hard Dynamics here. Volvo also offers a R13 400 optional active suspension, that our test car wasn’t fitted with, but might be worth test driving if this car’s on your short list.
Our particular unit was a top all-wheel drive T6 model fitted with optional low-profile 18-inch wheels that look great but keep the shocks, springs and buttocks working overtime. They’re also vulnerable to SA’s deteriorating roads, so I’d opt to keep standard fitment 16 or 17-inch wheels (depending on models). They’ll save you money at the tyre shop, and chiropracter in the long run.
Interestingly, a spare wheel that tethers into the boot area is only optional equipment, and a puncture repair kit that stows beneath the boot carpet is all that comes with the car as standard.
Not all that unusual in this vehicle segment, but where BMW excuses itself with runflat tyre fitment, the S60 rides on normal rubber. I’d get the spare wheel but be warned it takes up a lot of space.
The T6 nomenclature denotes a turbocharged, 3-litre straight six that on paper rivals BMW’s similar 3-litre motor, but as only a car designed so close to Santa’s workshop would have it, it’s crammed in sideways (tranversely) into the engine bay. And then, on top of that, Volvo somehow managed to make it drive all four wheels. It’s a very peculiar drivetrain setup that I can’t think of in any other car ever.
Power is quoted at 224kW and 440Nm, but Vbox test results tell a different story. A best 0-100km/h run of 7.1 seconds is light years from the similarly powered BMW 335i’s 5.3, and the quarter mile is even worse at 15 flat versus 13.2 in the BMW. Not really a fair comparison though, as the S60’s unconventional drivetrain would be like comparing Bavaria’s apples to Sweden’s snowballs.
Audi’s closest rival, the S4, also with all-wheel drive, does the same tests in 5.6 and 13.8 secs respectively, but just being compared to these two icons of German engineering is a compliment in itself. Besides, at R464 000 the Volvo is considerably more affordable than its German counterparts.
Being a Volvo, mention must also be made of its safety features, though thankfully I never tested any of them during my evaluation. Just like Volvo’s “safest car ever” (the XC60), the S60 also gets the ability to brake for you if it detects an imminent collision with another vehicle but here it also has the ability to stop, or slow down, before hitting a wayward pedestrian. This is on top of other safety features like blind-spot monitors, whiplash protection, adaptive brake lights and six airbags.
VERDICT:
I fear that Volvo’s been so busy trying to cram the square peg it was once famous for into the round hole it thinks the market will accept, that it’s lost touch with its roots. Those block-shaped 144s and 850s had a unique Nordic allure with specific Volvo flavour, but now the taste has diluted into a somewhat bland, copycat recipe.
Is this the most dynamic Volvo ever? Possibly, but it’s still not as Dynamic as its competition. The new S60 doesn’t do anything terribly wrong. But it doesn’t do anything fantastically well either.
Good value for money though. -Pretoria News.