2012 VOLVO S60 R-Design: A hot rebirth

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This article was published 04/05/2012 (5213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The R-Design takes the stock Volvo S60 T6, which is not a bad-looking car in the first place, and adds to the appeal in all areas. The body kit, which counts a more aggressive nose and a rear diffuser, lends a louder style, while the work beneath the hood ramps up performance. The end result is a car with more purpose and certainly more substance.

The S60 T6 R-Design is a seriously quick car, and it boils down to the work Polestar, a Swedish racing and performance company, did to the stock motor. Tweaking the engine-management system and increasing the turbo’s boost pressure bumps the 3.0-litre’s output to 325 horsepower (up eight per cent) and 354 pound-feet of torque (up nine per cent) at 3,000 r.p.m. This is enough to spirit the S60 to 100 kilometres an hour in 6.1 seconds, while it accomplishes the more important 80-to-120-km/h passing move in four seconds flat.

Power is put to the pavement through a six-speed manumatic transmission and all four wheels. The transmission, which features Normal, Sport and Manual modes, is a refined unit that slips through its gears seamlessly, yet it kicks down quickly when the throttle is hammered.

When I tested the mortal S60, I lamented the lack of paddle shifters — in the R-Design, it is a bigger oversight. Given the added alacrity, the ability to drop a cog or two without taking one’s hands off the wheel would be preferable — alas, this is not the case.

The all-wheel-drive system is very good at getting the power down, even on a slippery road. Mechanically, the R-Design’s Haldex system operates as a front-driver, with 95 per cent of the power being fed through the front wheels under normal circumstances. However, the car launches with the power being split evenly front to rear. This not only eliminates the need for front-wheel slip to initiate all-wheel drive, it does away with any sign of torque steer.

The seamlessness of the AWD system and the uprated suspension combine to give the R-Design a seriously planted feel. The firmer springs (up 15 per cent) and damping along with a 15-millimetre drop in the ride height brings a balanced car.

Toss the R-Design into a corner and roll is limited to a couple of degrees and understeer stays at arm’s length. The latter boils down to the torque vectoring that’s built into the all-wheel-drive system.

While not as sophisticated as a mechanical system (think Acura or Audi), the brake-based system has the desired effect. Slowing the inner wheel(s) tricks the differentials into sending more power to the outer wheels, which physically turns the car in. This reduces the plow factor and the amount of steering that needs to be dialed in. In the end, it allows the S60 T6 R-Design to be driven deeper into the corners, which speaks to its agile feel — remember, this is a large car that tips the scales at 1,775 kilograms.

One neat feature is the ability to tailor the assist level of the steering. The driver can select from three levels of steering effort — low, medium and high. I preferred the latter; my wife liked the low setting and its pinky-light feel.

Now, if you’re after a technologically laden car, this is the one for you. The S60’s list of electronic helpers is longer than any of its peers when equipped with the Driver Support package. City Safety, which is standard, looks for low-speed impacts and can stop the car if the driver shows no sign of doing so. You’ll also find blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.

Thumbs up for these two systems. Ditto the pedestrian-detection system with full auto brake. It actively looks for pedestrians using a camera and grille-mounted radar. If it senses a pedestrian and the driver doesn’t react, the system applies the brakes and brings the car to a halt about a half-metre short of the jaywalker.

The lane departure warning system is plain annoying — it blares out the first three notes of the Lone Ranger ditty whenever the car impinges on a lane marking. I also disliked the fact it is automatically re-armed whenever the car is started. This mandates turning it off before each and every drive.

As for the rest if it, the R-Design is first-class all the way. The front seats are quite simply the best in the industry, the ice-blue instrumentation is very easy to scan at speed and the centre stack is intuitive. The climate control system revolves around a human-shaped series of buttons. In the back, there is plenty of head- and legroom for two adults — the outboard pews are bucket seat-like, which leaves a pronounced hump between them. Behind that there’s a large 12-cubic-foot trunk that features a low liftover and benefits from split/folding rear seats.

As an alternative to an Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series, the S60 works, especially the R-Design. It is remarkable how much difference 25 hp and a sorted suspension can make to the manner in which a car drives. The S60 T6 is good; the R-Design is better.

— Postmedia News

THE SPECS

Type of vehicle: All-wheel-drive mid-sized sport sedan

Engine: 3.0L turbocharged in-line six

Power: 325 hp 5,400 rpm; 354 lb.-ft. of torque @ 3,000 r.p.m.

Transmission Six-speed manumatic

Brakes: Four-wheel disc with ABS

Tires: P235/40R18 (optional winter)

Price: base /as tested: $50,325/$58,775

Destination charge: $1,095

Transport Canada fuel economy L/100 km: 11.3 city, 7.7 hwy.