“High performance” is not a descriptor typically employed for products from Volvo, the safety-savvy Swedish company previously operated by Ford and now owned by China’s Geely. But three years after canceling its R-badged performance derivatives of the V70 and S60, Volvo is dipping its toes back into the sporty pool with the 2012 S60 R-Design, a more powerful, more stiffly sprung version of the firm’s mid-size sedan. (The XC60 R-Design, which was introduced last year with an upgraded suspension, also gets a power boost for 2012.) This higher-performance S60 shares the throne of “most powerful production Volvo ever” with its sister XC60 R-Design, but it has an uphill battle to win over the Euro-sport constituency, as it’s priced right up against some serious and well-established competition.
That pricing commences at $43,375. For starters, it nets an engine tune from Swedish racing team Polestar that bumps the turbocharged inline-six’s horsepower from 300 to 325. Torque makes a leap as well, from 325 lb-ft to 354. Polestar didn’t have to do much to hit these numbers. The engine internals remain the same, and the company merely upped the boost to 14.5 psi (from 13.1) and advanced the spark timing. Premium fuel is recommended, whereas the regular S60 T6 swills regular. Call us lucky for once: The power boost is specific to U.S.- and Canadian-market R-Designs. EPA fuel-economy estimates are unchanged from the base car’s 18 mpg city and 26 highway.
Changes Down Under for a Car from Up North
The R brings abundant chassis changes as well. Stiffer suspension bushings reduce the feeling of isolation from the road. Coupled with 15-percent-stiffer springs, a front strut-tower brace and a 0.6-inch-lower ride height contribute to taut body control and quick reflexes. Unlike with the Four-C adjustable chassis system available on T6-powered S60s, the R-Design driver doesn’t get to make on-the-fly adjustments to the ride and handling.
Inside the R-Design, blue instrument dials peer through the sport steering wheel, and front-row riders sit in more heavily bolstered versions of leather-wrapped S60 seats. A unique front fascia, rear diffuser, decklid spoiler, and 18-inch R-Design wheels round out the exterior tweaks.
Over the canyon roads coursing through California’s Napa Valley, the S60 R-Design is as smooth as the region’s famous vino. It’s fairly light on its feet for a two-ton sedan, and the steering has excellent on-center feel and no slop. The driver can select from three levels of steering effort, with the lightest requiring just the right amount of effort to move the tie rods. Sadly, feedback from the tires is completely filtered out in all settings by the electrohydraulic steering rack, meaning that switching to a heftier setting only makes driving more of a chore. The R-Design rides markedly firmer than other all-wheel-drive S60 T6s. We were hoping its sportier chassis tune would have reduced understeer more, but predictable push still dominates this S60’s cornering behavior. Like the S60 T6, the R-Design offers a no-cost summer-tire option: Continental SportContact3 rubber measuring 235/40-18 at all four corners.
The brakes bite nicely without a dead spot in initial pedal travel, but they, like the R-Design’s steering, suffer from a lack of feedback. This isn’t a concern on public roads, but Volvo cut us loose on Thunderhill Raceway, where we wanted a firmer pedal with more notice of impending ABS events than the moments-too-late shudders from the pedal.
Thanks to the extra oomph, we figure the R-Design’s acceleration to 60 mph and through the quarter-mile should drop by about 0.3 second from the T6’s figures, which means 5.2 and 13.8 seconds, respectively. The last S60R we tested, in 2005, only managed 6.4 and 14.6.
Transmission Options in the Cards?
Volvo admits the R-Design’s transmission is a weak spot. The six-speed automatic constantly hunts for higher gears when set to drive or sport mode, theoretically to save fuel. We found it worked best in manual mode, even though there are no steering-wheel-mounted paddles or buttons to select gears. In this setting, the gearbox will upshift at redline—not sooner—and downshift to the most expedient gear as long as the kickdown switch is triggered. Volvo says it is working on a sportier solution. Whether that is a three-pedal manual or a more-controllable automatic (maybe even a dual clutch) wasn’t revealed. Either way, space is a concern, as the transversely mounted inline-six fills most of the room between the wheel wells. Inventive engineering is likely to play a role.
Competition comes primarily in the form of the BMW 335i, Infiniti G37, and Audi A4. At a base price at least $1000 higher than the Volvo’s, the 335i still has seats wrapped in faux leather, highlighting its spartan nature versus the relatively well-equipped R-Design. (A new 3-series is looming, but it’s safe to assume pricing will increase only a little bit.) Even if the BMW has fewer bells and whistles at this price, though, its rear-drive layout and superior chassis balance make it our choice. The Swede stacks up well against the G37 and A4, too, although the Infiniti offers similar power at a lower price—and better feedback from the major controls. Sorting the exact pecking order is tough without driving these cars back-to-back, but one thing is clear: The S60 R-Design finds itself in very good company—high-performance company.
