ReVolvoing the S60.

A look into CARMA,’s issue 5 will tell you that we have already covered the Volvo s60. But what we did back then was give you a preview before Volvo had media cars brought to their dealership in Chennai. Now that we managed to get one for testing, here is the detailed review. The real thing; raw flesh.

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Retina Attraction

Let us be honest here, I’m sure the external looks play a major parameter for a car purchase. It’s like watching a movie with a real actress who knows what acting is but doesn’t look good. I’m not hinting at anyone here, but what I’m trying to tell you here is that we need a package. A package that can give you performance and also prove to be a looker when you stop at the lights. A perfect example that can fit into the boots of retina attraction and adrenaline pumpers is the Volvo S60.

The S80 on the other hand represents more of a dull and bored vehicle character and is sadly styled. Volvo probably gave it to a school boy who used his rulers to design the vehicle and just got his angles right. The S60 brings with it a lot of aggressive designing and very bold design signatures. One design line goes all the way from the front fascia, makes a small lift in the bonnet and finds its way to the A pillar and another line starts just behind the headlamps, causes a mild lift in the bonnet and fades to an end behind the tail lamps. A close look with probably an eye closed can give you a better understanding to this and help you compliment the lines better.

The S60 commands a certain respect level that so much so that you tip your hat at it when you see one. It makes one enjoy and feel the art of automotive design by just a glimpse. It certainly did tempt me to run my hand on the design lines but I didn’t want to look stupid.

The wide and just perfectly big grille supplements the aggressiveness in a more calculated and matured fashion. The headlamps are ferociously designed signalling the presence of a quite powerful diesel plant inside. These headlamps are also adaptive. This would mean your lamps turn when your car turns. Of course, this is an option that can be turned off using the “man — machine interface”. The standby lights that could be used and considered as Daytime Running ones include an orange strip at the top of the headlamp unit and also the white bulbed unit just adjacent to it. So, on the outlook, it looks like a furious eye.

Driving to the rear, the tail lamps are exceptionally styled and extend its limbs to cover the bunk portion as well. But these aren’t just reflectors. They have bulbs in them that actually glow as you can see in the images. Now that is something interesting.

Doors open, Doors close.

Getting to the interiors, you’d find a balance of brown leather and grey. Some attention should also be given to the utility space inside — 2 glove boxes behind your automatic transmission knob and another one for the passenger seat. Since we had the lowest end of S60s — the D3 Kinetic, we got only the 6*6 inch information system screen. The D5 and the T6 versions will have bigger ones. 4 roller dials help you out with the air conditioning and the music system.

The Bluetooth equipped system enables you to connect your phone, access contacts and call logs, play music and also set speed dials. The driver is equipped with steering mounted controls and a scroll to help access options.

The air conditioning system also has an auto climate option which can be turned off if necessary. The throw is really good and the rear vents mounted to the B pillars instead of the usual practice of fitting behind the middle console helps in better circulation.

The engine start/stop button is a blessing to the automotive enthusiasts. Though who aren’t used to it would just find it weird. But yes, it definitely is a conversation starter.

The driver gets to adjust his steering position with telescopic and tilt steering options. Volvo can also remember his power seat options and ORVM positions by storing parameters in its memory. That is a very good add-on to a high-ender vehicle.

Inside, there is very minimal engine noise that the passengers can hear. So, good filtering there. But it does make quite a sound when you hear it from outside the car. A good feeling to the diesel heads, just noise to others.

The seats are very comfortable and at some point you’d sink into them. The rear leg room is good. The cupped rear portion of the front seats helps getting the rear seated passenger some extra knee room as well. Having two split units of reading lights for the driver and passenger in the front and rear is a good idea altogether.

Seat belts compulsory for the driver and left passenger though. Or else Volvo kills you with the bong sounds.

City streets

Given that the S60 is slightly one of the over grown type, it does handle the streets well. The moderately heavy steering does tackle your manoeuvring between lights and those small by-streets. It doesn’t take too long to get used to those dimensions. A small source of worry would probably be the front bumper when you try parking it in front of a wall. It is a little difficult to assess how far away the bumper actually is from you. The same doesn’t happen with the rear because you have reverse sensors that make the bong sound again when there are obstacles.

The suspensions and shock absorbers are surprisingly good dampers and don’t seem to complain about driving on our roads. Though you may want to reduce your speed on some speed bumps. The ground clearance is not great to be really honest. The S60 barely misses speed bumps by a hairline clearance.

When it comes to overtaking, you can feel the automatic transmission down shifting on sensing a lot of throttling thereby giving you more revs to the gear and shifting up. The shift from 3rd to 4th happens pretty quickly where as the 2nd is slightly delayed. That is good as long as you get the sufficient torque.

Road Rollers

The wheels ensure a pretty good stance for the vehicle on the whole. The D3 variants come with huge 215/50 R17s. The alloys prove to be lookers as well, but Volvo only gives you the primary standard designs. A few modifications would be really cool.

Above all that, the tyres are tubeless. The S60 comes with no spare ones as well. Volvo equips you with a puncture kit that fixes your puncture using a certain chemical substance when you pump it with air.

Safety

Volvo can probably use safety as it’s tag line as it worships it. Or should I say the safety concept worships the Volvo? It is probably the only auto major that is so safety obsessed that it packs its cars with 6 SRS airbags covering the A pillar, the front dashboard and the C pillar. If those can give you a good sense of security when you crash, there is the ABS and Auto Braking that prevents you from crashing. So, we are talking two levels of safety here.

ABS with EBD is more or less a safety standard everyday in other cars placed in the same segment as this one and also the lower segments. The auto braking system on the other hand is Volvo’s idea of braking when the vehicle in front you slows down as well. This is a good value addition, especially on the Indian roads where lane discipline and pedestrian discipline do not exist. One cause of worry would be the vehicle coming behind you and not slowing down as quickly and sensibly as yours.

The power train

The D3 variants are equipped with a 2 litre 5 cylinder engine that churns out a 163 horses whereas the D5 does 215. The T6 variant has a 3 litre 6 cylinder petrol engine that outputs 304 horses. That choice is yours. All variants are Front Wheel driven, but you get Volvo’s option of additional option of “All wheel drive with instant traction” with the T6 only.

All the variants have a mated 6 speed automatic gearbox that is quite rev happy and it actually does sound good. The thud you hear once you lift your leg from the brakes is a little disturbing though. The vehicle moves up to a speed of 10 kmph with first gear engages without you pressing the throttle pedal at all. So, when you stop right before a speed bump, the vehicle makes sure you move ahead. The same applies for the flyover ascent traffic jams.

What’s missing?

All the above stand testimony to the fact that the S60 is a good package, but what does it lack? Yes. There is one main factor that the S60 loses while coming equipped with a million sensors and safety parameters — Driver involvement.

As a driver, you don’t feel involved with a vehicle at all. Yes, it does look good to be driving one. But does it feel good? Not so much. There’s a sensation of something missing that sits in one corner of your mind. You just don’t become a part of it. It considers you as a separate entity. It always judges you. It keeps correcting you when you go wrong. It becomes more of a control freak. What if you want to go out of control? Sorry, not allowed.

Take away points:

1. It’s a Volvo.
2. Exceptional styling.
3. Safe with a capital S.
4. Comfort
5. Responsive throttle and engine.
6. Start/Stop button.

Red markers

1. People would think you own a bus.
2. Control freak.
3. Very low driver involvement.
4. Could have a better alloy design.