| Published
on 6
Jun
2010 |
All rights reserved.
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Claimed to offer one of the best
dynamics of its class, will the S60 be just too Germanic ?
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This is the second
generation Volvo S60. The Swedish manufacturer boldly claims it has one
of the best driving dynamics of its class, which comprises BMW
3-series, Mercedes C-class and Audi A4, among others. I repeat: one of
the best driving dynamics of the class. Can you believe this is a Volvo
?
Frankly, such a claim worries me. Volvo appeals to me because of its
Scandinavian flavour - simple yet elegant, well-built without
flamboyant, ergonomical, practical, reliable and safe. The last thing I
would want Volvo to be is to drive like a BMW or Audi. If so, Volvo
would be no longer Volvo, and we would have no reasons to buy it
anymore. However, I don't think many people share my appreciation for
auto-diversity. These days most people seemed to bias towards the
"advant-garde sportiness" of BMW and Audi. Anything else are difficult
to register big sales numbers. This forced Volvo - as well as Mercedes,
Jaguar, Saab, Opel and Ford - to follow suit.
Volvo's migration towards the sporty route started 9 years ago with the
first generation S60. It was designed as a stylish four-door coupe
(well before Mercedes did the same thing to its CLS). It received
sportier chassis tuning than any previous Volvos. However, limited by
the S80 platform on which it was based, it never quite matched its
German
rivals for performance and handling.
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How is it possible for the coupe shape
not to compromise rear seat space ?
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This time is different. Although the
new S60 is built on the EUCD platform of V70, S80 and Ford Mondeo, it
was allowed to make extensive changes to the chassis. For example, its
front subframe has been made much stiffer than the ones in other
versions of EUCD platform. Its front strut mounts and suspension
bushings are also stiffer. Larger diameter dampers contributes further
to rigidity. As a result, its front suspensions are more resistant to
distortion due to cornering g-force and road shocks, keeping their
geometry close to ideal case in maneuvering. Besides, the steering
column and its mounting have been greatly stiffened so that kickback is
largely eliminated. This also allows the car to adopt a 10-percent
faster steering rack to enhance sporty feel.
The pursuit of German sportiness goes further than a stiffer structure.
Mirroring BMW's M-sport, Audi's S-line and Mercedes' Avant-garde
suspensions, the new Volvo allows customers to choose between two
suspension packages - the softer Touring or the stiffer Dynamic. The
former takes care of traditional Volvo customers whereas the latter is
designed to lure younger drivers from the German camp. Of course,
customers with deeper wallets may enjoy the best of both worlds by
opting for Four-C continuous adaptive damping, which is carried over
from the old car. This device provides you three distinctive modes -
Comfort, Sport or Advanced, one harder than another.
No matter how hard the aforementioned efforts are, Volvo S60 is still a
front-wheel drive machine suspended on unsophisticated MacPherson
struts up front, so how to tame its understeer and torque steer becomes
critical. As before, AWD is standard on the most powerful (300hp-plus)
T6 and optional on some other models. It continues to utilize a
Swedish-built Haldex multi-plate clutch to transfer torque from the
front axle to the rear axle in case of slippage. In addition, another
multi-plate clutch device now provides torque vectoring between the two
rear wheels. This should greatly reduce understeer at the limit. For
those cannot afford the AWD system, don't worry, the new S60 has added
Corner Traction Control, which is a brake-actuated electronic
differential lock. Another new feature is Advanced Stablity Control.
Compare with existing ESP systems, Advanced Stability Control adds a
body roll sensor, thus it can react earlier and more progressively,
suppressing understeer more naturally.
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EUCD platform is stiffest in this form
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The sporty theme continues on its
exterior design. The new S60 was designed by Steve Mattin during his
short stint as Volvo's design chief. Mattin was previously responsible
for various Mercedes-Benz designs such as A-class, S-class, SL-class
and R-class. From these cars you can see his preference on radical
designs, no wonder the new Volvo looks so aggressive. Undoubtedly, it
is a head-turning design, but isn't it a little too flamboyant,
especially those headlights and alloy-effect underbody panels ?
Anyway, the new design does look attractive in the fresh, and it is
compatible with a good drag coefficient of 0.28. The "four-door coupe"
shape is preserved and enhanced further. The fast rear window seems to
compromise rear headroom, but in fact it does not. Yes, entering the
rear seats takes some precaution to avoid hitting the C-pillars, but
once entered, people up to 6 feet tall will find enough head and
leg room. How is this made possible ? If you compare the side profile
of the new car with the old one, you will find its wheelbase has been
stretched by 50mm, which contributes to 30mm extra rear knee room. Its
roof has been raised by 56 mm, the rear screen is set further back and
the combination of higher boot lid level and rising waist line also
contribute to visual sleekness without actually eating into cabin
space. Volkswagen Passat CC also uses a similar trick, but I would say
Volvo's execution is cleverer and the overall effect is more stylish.
Don't get me wrong, the S60 is no where as spacious as Ford Mondeo or
Skoda Octavia. Its interior space is just competitive against its
target rivals BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-class. Like them, it
is better served as a 4-seater as the center rear seat cushion is
narrow and
hard.
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The interior design is easy on the
eyes. There is an air of quality and solidity yet the overall theme is
warm and understated. The trademark floating console is now angled
towards the driver. Above which is a built-in LCD screen, which has
become class norm. The screen is positioned high to avoid distracting
your vision from the road. The same cannot be said to the controls on
center stack, which are placed too much lower than eye level. Driving
position is excellent, whereas the chairs are supportive yet very
comfortable for long journey.
Safety has always been the strength of Volvo. Although other car makers
have largely closed the gap in the past few years, the S60 still has
one advantage - Pedestrian Detection system with Full Auto Brake. It
uses radar and camera to detect pedestrians in front of the car, then
warns the driver with beep and flash lights at the head-up display, and
simultaneously pre-charges the brake booster. If the driver fails to
react, it will brake the car to full stop automatically. As long as the
vehicle speed is no more than 35 km/h (22 mph), S60 can avoid hitting
the pedestrian. Above that speed, the system can still greatly reduce
impact force hence the injury caused to the pedestrian.
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The engine range of S60 seem competitive. Although Volvo is now in the
hands of Chinese, it still gets the latest "Ecoboost" engines from
Ford. At the bottom of the range is 1.6 GTDi in two states of tune
(150hp or 180hp). Both employ full variable valve timing, direct
injection and turbocharger. The same technology can be found on the two
2.0 GTDi engines that produce either 203hp or 240hp. We have seen the
lower power version in Ford Mondeo and it impressed us with good
response and linear power delivery. The higher power version is not
available at the time of writing. It will be badged as T5 and serve as
a greener
replacement to the long-serving Volvo five-pot engines.
The characterful five-pot still lives in the form of diesel. The
2.4-liter D5 employs a sequential twin-turbo system with different size
turbines to achieve 205 horsepower at minimum lag. Its problem is
excessive noise under hard acceleration, so the entry-level D3 may be a
better choice. The latter is downsized to 2.0 liters, employs a
conventional VTG turbo and produces 163hp. It loses little real-world
performance to the larger engine because its maximum torque is only 15
lb-ft down.
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Dynamically, see it as a beefed up
Ford Mondeo and it won't be far off...
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At the top of the range is T6, powered
by Ford's turbocharged 3.0-liter straight-six built in Wales. Thanks to
reduced internal friction, its output is lifted from 285hp on V70 / S80
to 304hp here. Its maximum torque is 30 lb-ft higher than that of BMW
335i.
All these sound promising. However, on the road the S60 never feels as
quick as it should be. One of the reasons is its hefty weight - in
front-wheel-drive form it tips the scale at about 100 kg more than a
3-series or C-class, or close to 200 kg in the case of T6 AWD.
Moreover, the Aisin-built Geartronic 6-speed automatic transmission is
not quite the best around, no matter response or efficiency. A narrower
ratio spread means the cars with Geartronic return significantly higher
fuel consumption and carbon emission than those with manual gearbox.
Worse still, Geartronic is compulsory on the T6, whereas most other
S60s are also likely to be sold with Geartronic.
Dynamically, the S60 isn't in the league of BMW and Mercedes yet, but
it has taken a leap forward and is now on a par with Audi. See it as a
beefed up Ford Mondeo and it won't be far off. Its chassis feels solid
and is reasonably well balanced. Its body control is tidy. AWD provides
plenty of traction and grip. Torque vectoring improves its agility at
the extremis, though in normal driving it still feels nose-led. Its
biggest weakness is steering, which is too light and numb. On the
positive side, the S60 will be praised for a refined ride. Even on
optional 18-inch wheels and 40-section tires it still leaves enough
compliance on any surfaces - the same cannot be said to its German
rivals with sports suspensions. Meanwhile, the float of the old car has
been replaced with great body control, which translates into high level
of composure. The lack of road and wind noise enhance the refinement
further.
Well, its claim for best-in-class driving dynamics might be a bit over
the
top, but so what ? The most important is, while pursuing a sportier
taste, the Volvo has not forgotten what made it special and successful
in the past, i.e. comfort, refinement and safety. This is definitely
one of the cars entry-level executive cars buyers have to consider. |
Verdict:  |
| Published on 1
Oct
2011 |
All rights reserved.
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S60 R-Design
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Originally, R-Design is
supposed to be a sporty look and suspension trim level at Volvo, just
like BMW's M Sport package or Audi's S-line package. The S60 R-Design
in Europe gets a more aggressive looking (if not functioning) front air
dam and rear diffuser and a set of 18-inch wheels shod with 235/40
rubbers to distinguish from the regular trims. In addition, its
suspensions are considerably stiffened, with 15 percent stiffer
springs, 15 mm lower ride height, thicker anti-roll bars, stiffer
bushings and a front tower bar to reinforce the structure. Regardless
of models, sportier passive dampers replace the Four-C adaptive
dampers. Inside, the cabin gets unique steering wheel, gear lever,
pedals and trim materials. Normally, I don't write about such modest
changes.
Unlike Europe, Volvo USA wants to give the R-Design label a real
performance meaning so that it has something to rival Audi S4 and BMW
335i. Therefore, the US version of S60 R-Design is not only limited to
the flagship T6 powertrain – which means 4-wheel-drive and turbocharged
3.0 straight-six – but it also enjoys a slight power boost. Turbo boost
pressure is dialed up from 0.9 to 1.0 bar, lifting output by 25 hp and
30 lbft to 325 hp and 354 lbft. As the boost is modest, it needs no
more than a revised ECU. No worry about hurting durability, as the same
tuning has been well proven by Volvo's semi-official tuning arm
Polestar.
The result is just as expected: a marginally faster and sharper S60.
Its acceleration still can't match the aforementioned German rivals,
mostly due to its immense weight of 1738 kg. The steering response and
body control are better than the regular T6, but the chassis still
feels front-heavy compare with the aforementioned German rivals, while
the unchanged brakes are not
up to the job of performance saloon. The electrohydraulic steering gets
heavier but no more feelsome, sadly. On the plus side, the firmer ride
is still smooth enough, and the cabin remains well insulated from noise
sources.
Being promoted as a performance saloon, the US version S60 R-Design is
inevitably disappointed. Its charm remains the same as the regular
versions of S60, i.e. a combination of high refinement, unique style
and trustable safety. This mean the best S60 is not the performance
flagship model but the cheaper ones.
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| Verdict: |
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