Volvo S60R and V70R 2003 Review

What we liked
>> Perfect heel-toe pedal relationship
>> Stonking brakes
>> That five-pot warble

Not so much
>> Turning circle
>> Front tyres touch guard on full lock
>> Labrador gets car sick at the track

OVERVIEW
Think Volvos are boring? Passed over the brand from fear of having to don a cardigan and hide your face on arrival at your favourite brunch spot? Well, meet the cars that Volvo says it has built to change the minds of people just like you. Meet the all-wheel-drive Volvo Rs -- the S60R sedan and V70R wagon.

In Aussie showrooms now, the 60/70 Rs bring serious sporting pretensions.

"Almost a decade after Volvo launched the yellow T5 R in 1995, this time the message is much stronger since the technology level in the new R models is much higher," says Volvo's R boss, Hans Nilsson. "Our previous models were focused on extreme estate cars. This time we are also showing that we mean business with a sports sedan."

Dubbed by the maker as the most technologically sophisticated models it has ever produced, they're also the most potent, boasting 220kW turbocharged powerplants that, in manual transmission form, rocket the cars to 100km/h in less than six-seconds. Both models feature computer-controlled, active suspension systems and sportscar-spec brakes.

Electronically limited to a 250km/h top speed, these cars aim to significantly raise the profile of Volvo in the performance arena. Evidence of this was the fact that Volvo Oz chose the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit to launch the Rs.

To use the maker's own vernacular, they're clearly not your average bloody Volvo!

FEATURES
The technical tour de force of the Rs is not the brakes but rather Volvo's Active Performance Chassis (APC). Combining the new FOUR-C damping control with all-wheel drive, standard Servotronic speed-sensitive power-steering and DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control), the APC sets the Rs apart from their brethren in terms of sporting prowess and day-to-day comfort.

FOUR-C (Continuous Controlled Chassis Concept) was co-developed by Volvo and the suspension wizards at fellow-Swedish company, Ohlins. Best known in the racecar and motorcycle fields, Ohlins is a world leader in the development of high-performance suspension.

FOUR-C offers three settings -- Comfort, Sport and Advanced -- however, these positions shouldn't be confused with conventional, electronically adjustable shocks. Using a raft of sensors measuring everything from acceleration and yaw in multiple directions to steering wheel position and rate change, to severity of brake application, FOUR-C constantly monitors suspension damping rates (at up to 500 times per second). It can also adjust all four shock absorbers independently in 5-15 milliseconds in accordance with the programmed parameters of the chosen setting.

Comfort is the softest setting and isolates the car from the bumps and lumps of the real world -- the so-called skyhook setting. This is the default setting to which the car returns whenever it is re-started.

In Sport mode, the damper settings stiffen to reduce body movement and deliver a traditional sporty ride.

It's in Advanced mode, however, that FOUR-C really comes into its own. This setting optimizes the chassis for maximum grip and performance and is recommended by Volvo for smooth roads only. Based on sensor input, Advanced works to balance the car through the three stages of cornering (entry, apex and exit) and reduces pitch when accelerating and braking. The R's brain also sharpens response from the drive-by-wire throttle.

Unlike some other Euros, Volvo allows the driver to reduce assistance or totally isolate DSTC. With DSTC partially disabled, the system allows for some oversteer before intervening via the braking of individual wheels and/or reducing power. Turn it off altogether and you're on your own -- as you should be. Please take note BMW and Benz.

COMFORT
A conventional three-box sedan and two-box wagon respectively, the S60R and V70R give every indication of being top places to spend some time. With the launch limited to a relatively short drive from Melbourne to PI (although yours truly did play hooky -- see On the Road, below) and then a morning on the track, full cabin impressions will have to wait for our seven-day test in the new year.

Volvo's electrically adjustable R-Line sports seats are standard fare and offer reasonable adjustment. In addition to seats, there's plenty of leather and classy alloy at the touch points inside the cabin. The dash is handsome with its blend of alloy and blue faces. A trip computer is standard, as is an integrated phone.

The level of equipment in both the $98,950 S60R and $102,950 V70R is impressive -- thanks in part to some judicious tailoring of the factory standard spec for the Australian market. Though metallic paint is still an option (on a $100K car, c'mon guys), 18-inch wheels (with Pirelli P-Zero rubber), premium 11-speaker sound system, electric folding rear headrests, multi-zone climate control, Bi-Xenon headlights, foglights, ancillary lighting, split-fold rear seats are all standard, as is fast glass and multi-adjustable leather sports steering wheel.

Save for the odd sunroof and wagon load-floor sub-woofer (no kidding), most of the launch fleet cars were refreshingly stock. It wasn't difficult, however, to pick the ones fitted with laminated side windows ($980 option). Already a quiet car, those so-equipped were positively library-like.

SAFETY
As you'd expect from a company with Volvo's history of safety first, the Rs are loaded to gunwales with driver aids and passive and active safety systems.

The working of the APC has been detailed above. Included in this active safety package are the usual suspects: antilock brakes, electronic brake force distribution and all the other elements of an integrated traction and stability system.

The benefits of Volvo's airbags, SIPS (side impact), WHIPS (rear impact) and rollover systems are well documented. Add to this a commitment to child safety and you end up with an executive express that's fast and safe.

MECHANICAL
CarPoint first tested the S60 almost three-years ago and though the basic body-in-white structure of the cooking model S60/V70s has not changed in the evolution of the R twins, almost every aspect of the model's running gear has been upgraded and/or redeveloped.

Commencing under the bonnet, the new Rs get substantially revised 2.5lt five-cylinder engines. The all-alloy, long-stroke DOHC powerplants feature 20 per cent larger KKK blowers, dual air-to-air intercoolers, variable cam-timing (on both inlet and exhaust cams) and redesigned 20-valve cylinder-heads.

Boasting 220kW and 400Nm of torque (from 1950-5250rpm) in manual form, the engines also receive modified sumps to maintain oil pick-up during high cornering loads. An over-rev function extends the engine redline by 300rpm to 6800rpm for up to three seconds when the going is really hot.

Transverse-mounted, the mills are matched to a new, short-throw six-speed manual gearbox or five-speed adaptive Geartronic autobox. Although Volvo expects to sell more autos Down Under, only manuals were available at the launch.

In auto form, the engine's torque output is 350Nm (1800-6000 rpm). Zero-100km/h times suffer (7.5 versus 5.7 in the case of S60R), though Volvo claims open-road performance is little changed.

In both auto and manual versions, drive is transferred to rear wheels via Volvo's version of the Haldex II all-wheel drive system. Under normal conditions, 100 per cent of drive is via the front wheels, with power transferred to the rear and metered on demand via the R's not inconsiderable computer power.

Braking hardware is as serious as the rest of the kit. Four-piston Brembo calipers are fitted on all four corners and grip 330mm ventilated discs (front 33mm thick; rear 28mm). According to Volvo, these brakes are comparable to those fitted to Porsche's stunning Turbo coupe.

It was only after multiple laps of the Phillip Island circuit (with more hard stops than normal thanks to three temporary chicanes) that the hardware even looked like starting to tire. This is not something that can be said of many road cars, given the extreme use the stoppers were put to. Top marks.

COMPETITORS
According to Volvo, the S60R's gunning for everything from Alfa to Z... well Volkswagen. This includes the $89,950 156GTA, the $97,900 Passat W8 4Motion, BMW 330i ($96,600) and Audi A6 3.0 Quattro ($100,400). And let's not forget the $102K V6 S-type Jaguar or $99,900 C320 Benz.

That said, Volvo is at pains to point out its offering not only boasts more horsepower than all of the above, it also gets 4WD and 'one-with-the-lot' standard equipment list.

Given the performance of the S60R, it's a pretty attractive proposition in what is one of the fastest growing segments in the premium category.

According to Volvo, the V70R is in a class of its own. Audi might want to argue that point, however…

ON THE ROAD
Having spent what limited time we had on the road (and most of the track time), in a S60R, we'll limit our comments to the sedan. (For what it's worth, our brief experience with the wagon showed its dynamics are only a few per cent removed from the four-door.)

On the track, the car was impressive. Its acceleration in the mid and upper revs was eye-opening. Quick progress required little more than faith in the electronics -- even the ham-fisted can post reasonable laps if you leave the DSTC button alone. Turn the electronics off and the car will default to understeer -- unless you're line perfect.

In the end, the perfect solution was to partially disable the DSTC, select 'Advanced' on the FOUR-C and enjoy the attitude that the systems allowed at the elevated racetrack speeds.

While dishing out plaudits, the Pirelli rubber, Brembo brakes and Volvo's pedal placement should get top marks here, too.

Diverting from Volvo's highway launch route on the way to Phillips Island, we were able to sample a few short kilometres of bumpy, prominently cambered Gippsland back-roads before we got to the track.

Though the car did show a propensity to tramline on the worst stretches of road (more at the rear than front), it was the car's performance in this real world that truly showed the potential of the S60R.

As we noted in our intro, this is not your average bloody Volvo.

BOTTOM LINE: Pace but a little short on grace

The would-be V8supercar driver had suddenly grown a neck and was doing his very best giraffe impersonation trying to read the badge on the low-slung four-door that had just blown his pride and joy away. When it came, the look of stunned recognition from the driver of the be-spoilered Commodore was almost worth the price of admission alone.

Yep, there's no doubting the pace of Volvo's performance S60R. We first got a taste on a detour from the prescribed route to its Aussie release at Phillip Island. There the car impressed with great in-gear urge and good manners at what was frankly an accelerated pace. Same can be said for its habits at the track.

This time we had the S60R around town with barely one jaunt into the nearby swervery to break the monotony. Still faultless was the just-so pedal positioning and satisfying six-speed manual shift. Still top notch was the leather-lined cocoon of a cabin. Still appealing were the muscular cab-forward, wide-shouldered looks complemented by wide low profile rubber -- serious kit.

Unfortunately, after a week what wasn't as endearing was the S60R's somewhat choppy ride. While the wizards from Bavaria seem to be able to deliver supple ride and the ultimate sporty drive, the trolls from Trondheim... Oops, sorry that's the other Swedes... I mean the guys and gals from Gotenberg still have some work to do. Indeed, even on comfort setting the S60R's FOUR-C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept) electronic suspension control was somewhat curt in its response to Prahran's potholes and Brighton's bumps.

True, the car was well behaved at pace, but the overall blend was not as accomplished as I remembered it.

On the other hand the prodigious performance was magnified in intensity away from the wide open spaces of the racetrack. With a claimed 0-100kmh in 5.7sec -- quicker than BMW's flagship 545i -- this is a rapid conveyance, and that certain five-pot warble ranks up there with the very best six-cylinder engine notes on the planet.

For the record, the same soulful song is all but absent on the S40/V50 T5 variant we tested recently. A shame, that... Guess we'll have to wait for the 40/50R versions to arrive to get the same aural gratification.

It may be a laboured point, but this is a very un-Volvo Volvo. The family called a style council meeting and discussed both the external styling and the interior -- including the metallic look leather accents in the cabin. That the teenage petrolhead-dominated discussion came to the conclusion that the S60R should get a resounding thumbs up is proof positive of how far Volvo has come.