The S60R blew my socks off (and the doors off other cars)
Written: Jan 18 '04 (Updated Jan 18 '04)
Product Rating:
Reliability:
Seat Comfort:
Build Quality
Roominess:
Pros: Power, well bolstered seats, low profile enough not to be a cop magnet.
Cons: Radio getting interference from my cell phone, back seat room, trunk a bit small
The Bottom Line: It’s like driving a stealth fighter, fast but doesn’t attract police attention. Up there with BMW M3 or Audi S4R, which both cost more, but don’t give enough incremental upside.
I am convinced that this is the best sports sedan for the money in just about every area to be evaluated. First let me set this up by telling you all that I have owned a 236hp, automatic S70-T5 for the last ~6 years (see my review from a couple of yeas ago: http://www.epinions.com/content_12341972612).
When my neighbor got a BMW M3, I started getting the itch for something that performed better than my 70. One complaint I had about my 70 was the manual transmission combined with the turbo lag. 60-100mph was great, but 0-20 was very weak.
While I have admired the newer S60 and S80 styles for the past couple of years, the incremental improvements didn't do it for me enough to get me out of my S70, which is still in near perfect condition. I really wanted something with a substantial increase in performance and sportiness. I also wanted a car that was a bit more of a standout from the crowd. As soon as I got my S70-T5, it seemed that I saw one at every intersection. While I see a fair number of S60’s (Volvos are quite popular here in Colorado because of the turbos and AWD), I have yet to see another R on the street.
I looked at, drove and deliberated over the full range of Saabs. The '04 93 Aero Convertible was my most likely choice, but I probably won't end up getting a convertible until I move from Colorado back to California or until I have a three car garage so I don't have to park a car outside. So back to the 93 Aero hardtop. I like it, but once I drove the S60R, the premium Swedish sports sedan contest was over. Volvo won hands down based on the slightly larger size and the significantly improved performance. However, I do actually prefer the dash configuration in the new 93’s.
Now I mentioned that my neighbor's M3 was part of my motivation to change cars, but there are a couple of reasons that car wasn't on the list to be considered. First, I'm in sales and I don't want to drive a car that carries a stigma. Secondly, I like the fact that Volvo (as well as Saab) is owned by an American company (Ford), but constructed way better than any car manufactured in America.
Enough background, now to some specific attributes:
Performance: I would give it a 9 instead of a 10 because there is still turbo lag off the line unless rev it up before dropping the clutch. However, the manual transmission goes a long way to mitigate this problem. When compared to the M3, it is a bit slow out of the hole for the first .5 seconds, but once the turbo kicks in at about 2000RPM then the 300 horses and substantial torque take hold and then the fun starts. The acceleration is smooth and exciting all the way through 6th gear. Then there is the handling. The adjustable suspension is very nice. I drive it in sports mode and it is smooth enough for most roads. The DSTC works as praised in all of the professional reviews. You never feel out of control. One more thing that gives the Volvo a big advantage in my book is that I live in the Denver area. Normally aspirated engines lose a good amount of power at altitude, but Turbo engines make their own atmosphere, losing almost no performance.
Comfort: This car is quite comfortable for me at 5'10" and 190lbs, but a person even moderately overweight might not like the performance seats. For your adult backseat passengers to be comfortable, those in the front can't have their seats back all the way. I have to have mine a little further forward than I prefer, but not to the point where it is uncomfortable. I like the way everything is situated. Some have complained about the cup holders being between the shifter and the armrest. Having my grande cup of Starbucks there caused me no problem and I like it much better than the flimsy Saab cup holder that comes out of the dash or the cupholder in my S70 which comes out of the armrest lid and renders it unusable.
Fuel Economy: I live pretty close to work so my average mileage is a mere 17mph because I enjoy driving it fast. When I drive longer distances I get about 23. However, if I was in this car for the mileage, I would have bought something else.
Fun to Drive: All the above makes this car a blast. The all wheel drive makes it great on dry pavement as well as the snow. I did have to find a way to deal with the cellphone with the manual transmission. After considering a bunch of phone holders for my Blackberry phone, I finally settled with a piece of Velcro on the console to the left of the radio where the optional Volvo phone would go.
Interior Design: Originally, I planned to get the Atacama natural leather and red exterior. However, I went with the silver paint with the blue/black interior. I love the color combination. Since the dash only comes in gray, I can't see getting either of the two brown options. The blue stitching goes great with the leather and the blue instrumentation. The only problem I have found is that while radio sounds great, it is susceptible to interference from my cell phone (even if it is not right next to it). I think the radio may not be grounded or shielded correctly and plan to have the dealer look at it since I don’t see the problem in my wife’s XC70 with the less sophisticated radio (yeah, we like Volvos at my house!). I like the console layout much better than my S70. The rearward swooping lines in the newer models look much better than the boxy, wall like console of the S70 (and the holdover C70 convertible). At first, I wasn’t a big fan of the new radio layout, which consists of a volume knob, a source knob, a preset knob, a total of four buttons and three little knobs for bass/treble, fader/balance/ and midrange/reverb (they call it center/effects). The main change is that there are no longer 6 preset buttons for a total of 12 FM presets and 6 AM where the FM presets are split between FM1 and FM2. I always hated the FM1 and FM2 set up which I found annoying while driving. In addition to getting 8 more FM presets and 4 more AM, I don’t have to hunt around for the station, rather I just put them in order and cycle through them until I get where I want. The design and increased number of presets offsets the ability to go right to the preset you want. Plus now I have the controls on the steering wheel, which I did not have in my S70.
Exterior Design: Let me put it this way. When I was driving to work the other day, an 18-year-old kid waved me down. Thinking I might have a flat tire, I lowered down my window to hear what he had to say. When I did, he said, "that car is sick." I was surprised that an 18 year old would notice any Volvo, but it the exterior is pretty slick. I like the S80 pretty well, but the S60 is the completion of the look they were going for the in the 80 design. I can't put my finger on why, but it is just looks like a smoother design. I think it’s how the back window swoops to the trunk and how the rear doors have the handle set further back resulting in a nice line where the door meets the rear quarterpanel. In short, every transition in the body is smooth and flowing with no abrupt changes in direction. The 18" wheels are very aggressive looking and the subtleties between the standard S60 and the R round out the whole sporty edge. The Bi-Xenon lights are great as well and very nice to drive to.
Build Quality: While I haven't had it long enough to know about its reliability, my wife has a relatively new V70XC. The two cars share many of the same features. The R feels as solid as either of my other two Volvos.
Price: I ended up buying mine for about $43K. If you add up sticker pricing on the light pressure turbo AWD S60 with all of the features you can get on the car I purchased, there is about a $4K delta. However, you can work a deal on the non-R models, so the actual delta may be higher. As of the time I wrote, the dealerships were holding the line on the R pricing. I got them to throw in $1100 of the $1500 incentive that Volvo/Ford was offering the dealers to close out 2003. But I shopped this deal around at 6 dealers. I usually pride my self in being a good negotiator, but there was little or no room since all of the dealers have their units sold before they take delivery from Volvo (I probably could have got a deal on the flash green automatic they weren’t getting any bites on, but my wife didn’t even like that color that even if it were in style today would be out faster than the blue-green that was so popular in the mid 90’s). However, since they are making only 4000 S60R’s worldwide (from what I read), I’m hoping that I realize much less depreciation on the R than I would on the other models.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 43000
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: R package, sunroof, pemium sound, 18" wheels, 6 spd, xenon headlamps
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