Whether we own up to it or not, we all take our eyes off the road
occasionally while we're driving. There are kids in the back seat,
radios to adjust, streets signs you have to squint and stare at to read
or passengers who like to say, "Hey, look over there!" And, in those
precious seconds, anything can happen.
Which is why I think the "City Safety" feature from Volvo is quite
brilliant.
Basically, this feature means the car is paying attention even when the
driver might not be. If the car is traveling at speeds less than 30
mph, there is an obstacle in the car's path and the driver doesn't apply
the brakes, the City Safety steps in and brakes. If there is any driver
intervention, City Safety backs off.
The last time I drove the S60, I was able to test City Safety with a
blow-up dummy called Bob. We propped Bob up in a parking lot, and I
drove straight at him going about 25 mph. Luckily for Bob, the car did
its thing and stopped in the nick of time. With inches between the
bumper and Bob's plastic casing.
This obviously won't work in every situation and shouldn't be used as a
fail safe, but it is a nice little back up that works really well.
And that's actually a pretty good summary for my week in the S60, it's a
nice midsize car that drives really well.
My parents were in town during the test week, and they ooohed and
aaaaahed over the comfortable leather seats and interior styling. My dad
was in awe of the doors that locked with a touch of the door handle. My
petite mom actually liked the front-seat headrests. My sister wasn't
leaving the back seat. And when I told them the base price was about
$33K, they were officially hooked on the car.
However, the test vehicle had an as-tested price of $38,170, and some of
those things they loved came with a $2,000 premium. Optional upgrades
included: leather seats, keyless drive, moonroof, heated front seats and
all-wheel drive. So, what comes standard with the base price? A lot of
good stuff actually: HD radio, City Safety, heated outside mirrors and
Bluetooth hands-free calling.
For being in the $40K range, though, I have to admit I was kind of
surprised by what the car didn't have. There was no navigation, no rear
camera and no rear parking sensors -- three things I typically expect to
be standard in a luxury car.
The test car had the base 2.5-liter, turbocharged inline 5-cylinder
engine, and it was pretty phenomenal. Smooth, yet fast -- and no
noticeable turbo lag. With 250 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque,
I thought this car was perfectly powered. Whether I needed to pass or
merge with traffic, there was always enough get-up-and-go just when I
wanted it.
The downside of this beautiful engine: fuel economy. EPA estimates that
the S60 gets 20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. I do have to
admit to having a lot of fun in this car, but in combined driving I only
averaged 19 mpg.
The up-level engine in the S60 is a turbocharged 6-cylinder that
delivers 300 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Base price for
this T6 model is $40,450, but AWD also comes standard.
Handling in the S60 is more sporty than luxurious, but this didn't mean
teeth jarring rides over Chicago potholes. Insert huge sigh of relief.
The one thing I didn't like: the turning radius. It's pretty awful.
Living in Chicago there are a lot of tight spaces and narrow streets.
And, when you have to make a turn in a garage or get out of an alley
parking space, you'd hope that you could do it in one fell swoop. Not so
much in the S60. Time after time, I had to do a 3- or 4-point turn when
I should have been able to do it in one rotation of the wheel. And,
once, when I tried to do a U-turn on a deserted street, I couldn't even
get a quarter of the way through the turn before I had to back up and
try again.
That alone makes me say that this isn't a very good urban vehicle. But
if you're based in the suburbs and drive infrequently in the city, this
shouldn't be a problem.
The other thing that should be noted: The S60 has very stiff steering.
This makes the car very responsive, but it also results in a workout
every time you parallel park.
The S60 was redesigned in 2011, so it's now entering its second model
year in its new skin. The basic shape of the S60 is the same, but some
of the rough edges were smoothed out. While I liked the styling on the
previous generation, I love the styling on this one. Particularly, I
love the new taillights. The older ones just felt a bit ... misshapen.
The interior of the S60 kind of reminds me of an Ikea catalog.
Everything is very organized, clean, modern, pretty and thoughtfully
placed. The added bonus, though, is that unlike something you might buy
at Ikea, the seats are comfortable and nothing feels cheap. I like the
plethora of cubbies and storage spaces, and the area behind the center
console is a nice niche for sunglasses, an iPass or a small purse.
My favorite interior feature, however, has to be the shift knob. The
clear lacquered knob encases a green glowing dot that shifts through the
P-R-N-D gears. A small detail, but one that adds to the overall cool
factor of the S60.
Volvo considers the S60's primary competitors to be the Audi A4 2.0T,
BMW 328i, Lexus IS 250 and Mercedes-Benz C300. Of this list, I agree
with the A4, C300 and 328i, but the IS 250 seems a bit too compact to
be included here. Volvo falls pretty solidly in the middle of the
spectrum if you consider Audi and BMW to be sporty and Lexus and
Mercedes to be luxury.
What I like about the S60 is that you really don't see a lot of them on
the road. It has some nice sporty characteristics with a decent
connection to the pavement and nice handling around the corners. But
when it matters -- like over bumpy roads -- the luxury side kicks and
and keeps the ride smooth. The seats are comfortable -- and from
passenger testimonials, I can say this is true for every seating
position.
While the turning radius leaves much to be desired, the S60 has pretty
much everything else going for it. So, if you're looking at entry luxury
but want something a little different, this might just be your car.
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