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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