Test Drive: 2012 Volvo S60 R-Design

2012 Volvo S60 R-Design. Click image to enlarge

Manufacturer’s web site Volvo Cars Canada

By Jonathan Yarkony; photos by Jonathan Yarkony and Michael Schlee

Photo Gallery:
2012 Volvo S60

I always love to book something special for the Christmas break, and this year was no different. Between my colleague Mike Schlee and I, we had a couple of really nice SUVs booked for the last couple weeks of the year, but then it all fell apart; the MDX got damaged by another journalist and the Evoque was double booked and due back exactly when I planned to be at my mom’s for a holiday dinner. On the very afternoon we heard about these cancellations, Volvo’s PR rep replied to an earlier request for an S60 with an offer of that luxury sedan for exactly the same week we were short a car. Not exactly a Christmas miracle to write a novel about, but a nice stocking stuffer, so I was thrilled.

2012 Volvo S60 R-Design. Click image to enlarge

And in the holiday spirit, the car was the fully-dressed S60 R-Design, with performance upgrades that deliver a shocking turn of speed for a Volvo and styling tweaks that complete the look and deliver a visual punch that screams “sport sedan.” For those unfamiliar with Volvo, R-Design is their high performance division.  Think of it as the equivalent of an AMG or M for this Swedish luxury car brand. This R-Design model is a special edition S60 based on the top trim T6, and at its heart is a pumped up engine that adds 25 horsepower, for a total of 325 potent ponies from its turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine.  If you are a torque lover, this car has you covered, with 354 lb-ft of twist in a car weighing 1,737 kg.

As we mentioned, the R-Design is more than just an engine upgrade, featuring items not found on lesser S60s, like a sport chassis, special wheels, R-Design body enhancements, and interior upgrades including striking watch dial gauges and R-Design sport bucket seats. The R-Design S60 comes with unique 18-inch IXION alloy wheels that have slightly twisted looking spokes.  Shod in 235/40R18 tires (winters in our case), the Volvo has an aggressive stance and looks ready for business.  The aggressive theme continues at the back end, where the dual exhaust system is surrounded by a stylized rear diffuser.

I’ve loved the S60’s design since it was first previewed by the S60 Concept in 2009, and thoroughly gratified when it debuted in production trim, outshining many concept cars at the time. I also love it in its own right as a good-looking car, and for its sleek and curvy departure from the boxy designs of Volvos past. Our tester was finished in Ice White, which was both seasonally appropriate and would be my choice for the car if I were taking it home, though it also looks stunning in Passion Red, a shocking bright colour that I never would have imagined looking good on a Volvo a decade ago. But who cares what I think about how it looks, you can check out and download pictures anywhere on the web to your heart’s content and make up your own mind.

2012 Volvo S60 R-Design. Click image to enlarge

What you won’t get from the pictures is how getting behind the wheel rewrites the story of what to expect in a Volvo. This car is fast — expletive fast. I’ve appreciated where Volvo has been going with its interior and exterior design for years, and have always loved the ergonomics and comfort of these Swedes (the chairs have always been the next best thing to a visit to my chiropractor because they perfectly suit my body type), but I wasn’t expecting this kind of immediate and tantalizing speed. Its official sprint to 100 km/h takes 5.8 seconds, all 325 hp and 354 lb.-ft. of aggression channelled to the road by Volvo’s torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system; the base T5 and T6 engines both manage the feat in 6.1 seconds. In a car with this much power, fuel consumption is rarely a key factor, but we got a surprisingly reasonable 12.1 L/100 km. The way I drove it, I’m surprised we didn’t closer to 15. But back to the fun stuff; there is little noticeable turbo lag in the S60 R-Design, just plentiful forward thrust, and we made use of it whenever leaving a stoplight or hitting an open stretch of onramp.

Of course, like most front-wheel-drive biased vehicles, the car does tend to understeer when pushed hard.  However, give it a generous helping of gas and the torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system will gladly rotate the back end into place.  The AWD system will even let the tires slip a bit when cornering with the DTSC’s (stability control) sport mode engaged. It makes for some juvenile fun in a car that won’t likely be pushed through apexes at the limit by most owners.

2012 Volvo S60; top photo by Peter Bleakney. Click image to enlarge

What most owners will be looking for are the ergonomics, comfort and safety on which this Swedish brand has built its reputation. Before moving on to the extensive safety equipment, I wanted to mention a couple things that really stood out (aside from the incredible speed and traction off the line) — the interior quality and ergonomics. The seats are the usual Volvo fare, comfortable and spacious and generating no complaints from the owners of the various body types that sampled them. And while automatic climate control makes them almost redundant, the aluminum body-shaped buttons on the centre stack are intuitive when you want to direct some extra heat to your feet (though I don’t think I used them in my time with the car) and aesthetically pleasing, especially with the R-Design’s custom-patterned metallic surface on Volvo’s unique floating console.

The sound system is also great and features a clear, crisp surround sound setup.  But why listen to the radio when you can turn it off and hear the turbo V6 hiss through the blow-off valve every time you lift off the gas? And if so, why even spring for the pricey navigation and premium audio package when it runs a steep $3,825?

And what’s a Volvo review without some comments about safety? Despite its stylish exterior, comfortable interior and R-Design power boost, this S60 is loaded with the latest safety technologies. The $4,500 Driver Support package included blind spot warning system (though some don’t necessarily appreciate it), lane departure warning, driver alert, back-up camera, adaptive cruise control (though I consider this more of a convenience feature), front and rear park assist, and City Safety, above and beyond the standard suite of airbags, advanced seatbelts, whiplash preventing headrests, brake assist, ABS, traction and stability control.

2012 Volvo S60. Click image to enlarge

City Safety is the latest addition to Volvo’s suite of safety technologies. It will automatically brake the car if the radar sensors detect an impending collision at low speeds (speeds up to 35 km/h). If the difference in speed between your car and the car you’re approaching is less than 15 km/h, City Safety may prevent the collision by aggressively braking the car. At greater speed differences, maximum braking is applied in order to reduce the severity of the impact as much as possible. New to the City Safety system is Pedestrian Detection, using radar in the grille and a camera high in the front windshield to detect pedestrians and applying braking to avoid hitting a person if you are travelling at speeds below 35 km/h, and reducing speeds as much as possible if travelling faster.

There is no question that Volvo remains at the forefront of safety research, development and application. But as the saying goes, you got to pay to play and the R-Design S60 is no exception.  Our test car stickered in at an eye-watering $60,000, but a base T6 R-Design can be had for $50,325, still coming in higher than such established cars like the Acura TL, Infiniti G37 and Lexus IS. The clearest competitor is Audi’s S4, available from anywhere between $53,000 and $60,000, though Audi’s and the S4’s brand cachet still far surpass Volvo’s, even if the S4’s engine ratings fall a bit short of the R-Design’s. On the other hand, an Infiniti G37x Sport tops out in the low $50,000s and matches horsepower, if not torque, though in a bit of role reversal, it lacks the visual flair of the Volvo.

Is the Volvo eclipsed by these well-established models from brands with a longer history of performance tuning? Not so much that it would stop me from recommending the S60 R-Design to my chiropractor as a replacement for his pre-2012-facelift Acura TL Type-S. The Volvo S60 is an attractive car from every angle, and the R-Design finishes the look with just enough aggression. There is plenty of power to back up its looks, state-of-the-art safety kit to back up the price, and it’s a unique proposition in the segment if you want to stand out rather than follow the flock to a German or Japanese luxury brand.