Prestige Volvo

The entry-level luxury segments are heating up and Volvo has taken notice. The new 2012 Volvo S60 T5 ? that's with a turbocharged five-cylinder engine ? now carries a base price of $31,850, a $450 decrease.

Instead of the S60 T6?s all-wheel drive and 300-horsepower, turbocharged inline-six engine, the front-wheel-drive T5 sports a 250-horsepower inline-five that's also turbocharged. Acceleration from 0-60 mph is estimated at 6.8 seconds for the T5 model. Volvo says fuel economy on the more frugal S60 is 20/30 mpg city/highway, which puts it way ahead of the 2011 T6 AWD model (18/26) and competitive with others in the segment like the Infiniti G25 (20/29 mpg) and the Audi A4 (22/30 mpg).

Baked into that $31,850 price is Volvo's five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and complimentary maintenance over the same period. Volvo is offering a three-year lease for the S60 T5 at $299 a month and $2993 down until the end of February. The S60?s sub-$32,000 price still puts it in a crowded class of premium four-doors. Does the new price make you more likely to consider the S60?

Source: Motortrend.com

The Volvo S60 was easily the biggest surprise during this year's All-Stars test. That's because, at first glance, the spec sheet looks familiar. With 300 hp and all-wheel drive, you might guess that the new S60 T6 is a rehash of the old S60R, an entertaining car that was never a front-runner in terms of driving dynamics. Despite sharing the old R's power rating, the off-kilter warble of the old five-cylinder has been replaced by the smooth hum of a 3.0-liter in-line six that's fortified with a twin-scroll turbocharger. (A 250-hp, turbo five-cylinder is the new S60's base engine, though.)

The S60 T6's power is routed through a revised all-wheel-drive system that now employs torque-vectoring technology. In this case, we might have to redefine the term "torque steer."

Between the smooth 'n' punchy straight-six's 325 lb-ft of torque and that trick all-wheel-drive system, the S60 is so agile it feels as if it's hinged at the B-pillar -- just point the wheel, mash the gas, and you're off in a copper-hued blur. (Volvo might make this car in other colors, but "vibrant copper metallic" seems to suit it, like silver on a Mercedes-Benz or lime green on a Lamborghini.)

The interior is a Scandinavian masterpiece, like Elin Woods and unlike a Stieg Larsson novel. The S60 provides all the luxe accoutrements you'd expect in this class, from a killer sound system to wood inlays that look like they belong in a Thos Moser catalog. But it's all a bit softer and more inviting than you'd expect. Novel idea: you don't need great big bolsters and carbon-fiber trim to remind you that you're inside a fast car.

With the S60, Volvo has managed to carve out a distinct product in an impossibly crowded field. The S60 retains its Swedish personality (it'll tow 3307 pounds, for some reason) but now challenges the class leaders on refinement and handling. The R is dead, all hail the T6.
- Ezra Dyer, Writer

Source: Automobilemag.com 

Safety and Scandinavian design have been hallmarks of the Volvo brand for decades. Now, powertrain excellence can be added to that list.

The Swedish auto maker always has had good engines that provided enough motivation for luxury sedans, wagons and cross/utility vehicles.

But few car enthusiasts spoke longingly about Volvo engines, known for reliability and family-friendly transport rather than heart-pounding performance.

It didn?t help that Volvo?s powertrain strategy was all over the map, literally. In recent years, Volvo has produced its smallest engines internally, in Skovde, Sweden; sourced midsize engines from former parent Ford Motor Co. in the U.K.; and purchased V-8s built in Japan by Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd.

But Volvo has a new lease on life under Chinese ownership, as well as something to motivate the powertain engineers in Sweden to continue stepping up their game: a Ward?s 10 Best Engines trophy.

Judges have driven several 4-, 5-, 6- and 8-cyl. engines in Volvo vehicles during the competition?s 17 years, but this is the first time Volvo will step to the podium in January to collect the hardware and take a bow.

The auto maker?s ?T6? 3.0L Turbocharged I-6 in the all-new S60 sedan truly is deserving, with its meaty mid-range power band, minimal turbo lag, expressive exhaust note and outstanding NVH characteristics.

The all-aluminum I-6, internally known as the B6304T, features a twin-scroll turbocharger and variable valve timing on both the exhaust and intake side of the engine and meets ULEV2 emissions standards.

The latest iteration is a heavily modified version of the T6 originally introduced in the ?09 XC60 cross/utility vehicle.

Its specs are wholly competitive. With 300 hp, the T6 matches the output of BMW AG?s 3.0L N55 I-6 (also a 10 Best Engines winner this year) and actually betters the Bavarian mill on the torque meter by 25 lb.-ft. (34 Nm).

The T6?s 325 lb.-ft. (440-Nm) torque rating equals that of Volvo?s 4.4L V-8 and reaches its peak 1,800 rpm earlier.

Even more surprising, while the BMW engine uses direct injection, Volvo manages quite nicely without it, saving krona by the handful.

The T6 is destined to become a workhorse for the Volvo brand, powering the ?11 S80 and XC70, in addition to the S60 and XC60.

Volvo engineers clearly paid close attention to reducing friction and optimizing fuel economy as they benchmarked the best 6-cyl. engines in the world.

Drive it hard or soft ? the T6 is gloriously refined. We agree wholeheartedly when Volvo management calls the T6 the best engine Volvo?s ever produced.

In the cut-throat luxury segment, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Cadillac, Lexus and Infiniti pay close attention to each other?s powertrain developments.

They?ll need to add Volvo to the list of rivals worth watching. The T6 is for real.

Source: Wardsauto.com

Electrified versions of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles may look the same, but large engines have been replaced with smaller motors, the batteries are enormous, and there's no gas tank to be found. Those differences are enough to impact or compromise the car's original safety features.

To demonstrate the safety of the C30 Electric, Volvo released video of a crash test that shows its electric versions are as safe as counterparts outfitted with conventional internal combustion engines (ICE).

The video was taken right before the 2011 North American International Auto Show, and shows an C30 Electric prototype with a 660-pound battery in a 40 mph offset crash. A computerized overlay outlines where the T-shaped battery is located in the vehicle, and shows that it remains fully intact and uninjured despite the high-speed crash.

"The test produced exactly the results we expected," Jan Ivarsson, Volvo safety senior manager, said in a statement. "The C30 Electric offers the very same high safety level as a C30 with a combustion engine. The front deformed and distributed the crash energy as we expected. Both the batteries and the cables that are part of the electric system remained entirely intact after the collision."

In a conventional vehicle, the engine typically distributes a lot of the impact's force. To compensate for less mass under the hood, the front crumple zone of the C30 had to be reinforced. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about leaks in the gas tank, but unlike cars with ICEs, the C30 Electric has a 440-volt electric system. Keeping that in mind, Volvo separates the lithium ion batteries from the car's crumple zones and the passenger compartment.

Volvo is often slower to adopt new technologies because of the high safety standards it imposes upon itself. While several manufacturers are already introducing electric vehicles this year, Volvo will only introduce a demo fleet of C30 Electrics sometime this year for testing. It plans to produce a plug-in hybrid in 2012 for the European market, with a U.S. model to follow shortly after.

Source: Cnet.com 

On the first day of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Swedish manufacturer Volvo has released the first details and photos of the new R-Designed S60 model. Meant as a prettier version of the regular model, the vehicle comes with all the regular enhancements of the Volvo make-up artist.

From the performance standpoint, the R-Design S60 comes with virtually no change compared to the street version. However, all the R in the name translates into a meaner, more imposing look for Volvo's model.
Still, the numbers have been improved with a little work done on the chassis, meant to sharpen the steering of the S60.

At the exterior, the car received a redesigned front grille painted in glossy piano black, color-matched body components, details in matte special finish, twin exhaust tailpipes and unique five-spoke 18-inch Diamond cut wheels. The car will be made available in seven colors.

The interior of the model was tweaked with the addition of sports seats an all-new seat cushion with closer side support.

?The all-new S60 marks the beginning of a new approach to our successful R-Design. We've gone one step further this time, with our sights set on creating a cohesive whole, an integrated blend of sporty looks and an exciting drive. They take our quest for authentic sportiness another step forward," said Paul Welander, Volvo senior vice president for Product Development.

"R-Design has already helped increase our sales and lower the age of our customer base. We believe that the all-new S60 R-Design will give this trend a substantial boost."

Source: Autoevolution.com 

I can hear the words coming over the Public Address system now: This is NOT a test. This is a REAL emergency.

Unfortunately for me ? or actually fortunately ? the emergency alarm was sounding inside today's test car, a 2011 Volvo S60. There was no time to do anything but react by slamming on the brakes.

I'd glanced away from the road for a second, not texting or making a call but rather to make sure I had a transponder with me so I could use the Fast Lane over the Tobin Bridge.

Then, in one of those split-second happenings that seem endemic in Greater Boston driving, the two cars in front of me stopped abruptly on Rte. 1 in Revere. Why? I'll never know.

But I do know there was a strong chance I'd have rear-ended the Cadillac in front of me if the S60 hadn't been equipped with Volvo's advanced array of safety technologies, including:

• Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake
• Adaptive Cruise Control that now operates at all speeds
• Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake
• Distance Alert
• Driver Alert Control
• Lane Departure Warning

It was No. 3 on that list, the collision warning system, which saved me from what could have been an airbag-deploying and embarrassing automotive encounter of the worst kind.

The alarm sounded as I glanced up to see the Caddy's looming tail lights. As I stabbed at the brake pedal, the Volvo beat me to that, too, locking the brakes in a tire-screaming panic stop.

The S60 slowed to an almost stop about eight feet short of an accident, just as the cars in front began to accelerate again. Would I have been able to do the same on my own? Maybe, but I doubt it.

I'd grown to truly appreciate the S60's safety systems in a week of test driving, including a couple of rush-hour treks from the North Shore through downtown to St. Elizabeth's Hospital where Mrs. G was undergoing long days of treatments. Those trips, I think, helped me become a better driver, through the following systems:

• The Lane Departure Warning system. You want to be notified if you wander out of your lane, but it makes you more alert to not only stay in your lane but also to stay in the middle of the lane. You take the warning as a reprimand and try to avoid it. The only times it happened to me was when I took my attention off the road to fiddle with the audio controls. The alarms sounded like the William Tell Overture, a reminder you'll also get if you change lanes without signaling.
• Adaptive Cruise Control and Distant Alert made the week's long drives down Rte. 95 a breeze.
• I figured the Driver Alert system would come into play on the drive home to Newburyport after attending a BU-UNH hockey game, an annual get-together with a group of high school classmates. It didn't because I didn't want to hear any more vehicle-initiated alerts.

Safety isn't particularly sexy nor does it sell a majority of vehicles, but this Volvo has it in abundance.

However, there's much more to this S60. Besides the safety systems, this Volvo has the cache of being termed both "The sportiest Volvo ever" or the "Volvo with an attitude."

It's earned both of them.

The 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine delivers 300 horsepower and 325 lb.-feet of torque, moving the S60 effortlessly. The power is delivered through a six-speed automatic transmission and electronically controlled all-wheel-drive system. It also achieved 23.7 miles per gallon despite several hours in creeping traffic.

While not truly a "sport sedan" the S60's optional Four-C chassis allows a wide range of ride settings, including comfort, sport or advanced.

Seats are extremely comfortable and the interior materials are nice quality. The styling is contemporary with wonderful use of LED lighting, especially in the front marker lights and tail lights.

Our test S60 had an MSRP (including destination) of $38,550. The technology package extolled above is a well-worth-it $2,100. A $1,500 premium package added moonroof, power passenger seat, and terrific active bending headlamps. Metallic paint added $550 and the Four-C chassis package was $750 for a bottom line of $43,450.

We'd have gladly forked over another $800 for the climate package, which includes heated seats, washer nozzles, rain-sensing wipers and headlight washers.

In a year when I've test-driven nearly 50 vehicles so far, the S60 ranks No. 1 on my report card. The fact that it saved my bacon counts heavily, but so does the overall driving experience including performance, handling, styling, comfort and interior treatment.

While I do have a vote for Baseball's Hall of Fame, a carryover honor from 40 years in the Sports department, I don't have one for the North American Car and Truck of the Year.

If I did, the S60 would be my choice even though this seems to be the year of the emergence of electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf.

Source: Boston.com

As hard as it may be to believe, there have been sporty Volvos in the past. The Swedish brand, now under the stewardship of Chinese carmaker Geely, won its share of rallies on the backs of cars like the PV, and the 850T-5R was stunningly quick in its goings and haltings. But those cars were aberrations, rare instances when the Nordic penchant for drinking lighter fluid exerted itself on the product-planning process.

Now, however, Volvo is dead sober about running amid Autobahn-bred competition with its 60-series vehicles, a designation the brand hopes to make synonymous with athletic driving behavior. We had inklings of this when the powerful, fluid-handling XC60 impressed us in a comparison test last summer, and the S60 continues in that vein. Makes sense: When every other carmaker is touting its safety bona fides and honing in on Volvo's self-declared turf, the Swedes need to dig a little deeper and find something new.

"Create the Sportiest Volvo Ever."

That was the engineering brief. But because Volvo knows that many of this volume model's customers might not autocross their S60s on the weekends, it offers three chassis tunes: Dynamic, Touring, and Four-C. All begin with the strut-front/multi-link-rear Y70 platform that underpins the XC60 and S80, as well as the previous generation of Volvo's mid-size sedan and wagon. The Dynamic chassis, shod with 18-inch wheels, will be standard for the U.S. market. It boasts springs that are almost 35-percent stiffer, stouter bushings, and harder suspension mounts versus the S80. A new steering column uses thicker tubing relative to its platform-mates, and the whole path from the steering wheel to the rack roughly doubles in stiffness.

The gentler Touring setting is a no-cost option in the U.S. It is a tweak to the Dynamic setting, with more relaxed damper valving and softer front and rear subframe bushings. For $750 you can get the third option, called Four-C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept). In it, adaptive dampers deliver three driver-selectable modes: Comfort (analogous to Touring), Sport (Dynamic's equivalent), and Advanced, for the flattest, stiffest response.

At launch there will be four engine options worldwide, ranging from a hobbit-ready 161-hp diesel four to the turbocharged, 3.0-liter inline-six from the XC60, here putting out a very competitive 300-hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. We will get S60s with just this engine initially, but expect a version of Volvo's 2.5-liter inline-five within a year. The six, designated T6, hooks up to a six-speed automatic with manual shift control but no shift paddles. It feeds power through a Haldex AWD system, which defaults to 95/5 front/rear torque distribution but can send all of its power to the rear in cases of extreme loss of front grip. The S60 uses its traction-control sensors and braking system to act as torque-vectoring hardware, clamping the inside wheels during hard cornering to help the outside wheels put more churn down. Unlike more-sophisticated mechanical systems such as the one in the BMW X6, this so-called Corner Traction Control only works under acceleration, but its goal is the same: negate understeer and help carve a tighter line through a turn.

Safety Second?

Don't worry: Volvo's protective impulses still fire away underneath, and safety systems abound. The big news for the 2011 S60 is the so-called Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake. It uses front-mounted cameras to pick out a person crossing in front of the car, and will slam on the brakes if the driver doesn't heed its warning. It's a novel concept, especially considering that about 10 percent of U.S. traffic fatalities involve a pedestrian, but the system hit us with a false positive. You can get it as part of the $2100 Technology package that also includes Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist, Distance Alert, Driver Alert Control, and Lane Departure Warning. We'd opt to skip all that and stick with the standard safety suite: City Safety-which mitigates low-speed collisions-plus inflatable side curtains, stability control, side-impact protection, and whiplash-protective seats.

Better than IKEA

It all comes wrapped in an undeniably handsome exterior, with a Swedish take on the "four-door coupe" envelope that has become so popular with European (and therefore Korean) carmakers. There's a welcome sense of Scandinavian simplicity and integration in the bodywork, as the shapes flow into each other. The C-pillars bend down to incorporate the taillamps; angled LEDs flank the grilles; and cursive shoulder lines connect the whole car and anchor its stance.

The new S60 is about an inch longer than the outgoing one-the track also is one inch wider in front and nearly two in the rear-but its wheelbase gets a 2.3-inch stretch, which translates into a little more rear-seat room.

According to Volvo, curb weight rings in at about 3900 pounds. That's a lot of lard relative to the rest of the segment, but its 300-hp engine provides a pounds-per-horsepower ratio of 13.0 that absolutely demolishes the 211-hp Audi A4 2.0T. Both are trounced by the 328-hp Infiniti G37, though.

Inside, the surprises are a welcome few. The waterfall center console and two round main gauges will be familiar to those who've been in Volvos of recent vintage. But the quality of the materials is better than before. Thick, pebbled leather is everywhere, and the seats are comfortable and supportive. And here's something we won't miss: the convoluted navigation system controlled alternately by a remote control or buttons on the back of the wheel. Both are gone, and the seven-inch central screen (standard with or without navigation) is simply operated by two round dials on the center console or redundant controls on steering wheel. These novel round things also grant access to the car's driver-selectable steering weights, in low, medium, and high effort.

Guess what? It's Kinda Sporty

Speaking of steering, all three weights are linear and accurate. There is little distinction between high and medium efforts, and the low setting didn't quite jibe with the heft of the body, but all modes returned very direct responses from even tiny inputs. Though the steering is not brimming with feedback, the car goes around corners very cleanly, helped immensely by the Corner Traction Control system that refuses to let the front end wash out. Ride is stable and composed, but wheel impacts can be a bit jarring. We drove a Dynamic-chassis car, and its transient behavior wasn't best-in-class-the S60 didn't rebound out of turns with the same finely calibrated sense of speed and control of the BMW 3-series or Audi A4. But it sure beats that of the old S60.

As does the engine. Full torque comes on at a low 2100 rpm and the inline-six pulls smoothly and sonorously to 5000 revs. It's a useful power band, but it never felt like it was making the same 300 hp as classmates such as the Lexus IS350 and the BMW 335i. Blame for this lies with the transmission. Although reprogrammed from its prior applications in the Y70 line, it is still power-sapping and clunky at step-off. The shifts aren't harsh, but they are a bit hesitant in some on-/off-throttle applications. Volvo has a dual-clutch transmission it uses in its European diesels, but it says that gearbox would be too coarse for this kind of car. While probably true that statement reveals something important about the 2011 S60: Though it's arguably the most fluid and poised Volvo of all time, it is not the sportiest. In its fine balance of comfort and sport, the bias is slightly toward the former.

When? And How Much?

The 2011 S60 goes on sale this September with a base price of $38,550, including all maintenance, service, and wear and tear for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Option packages are: the $1500 Premium package with a power sunroof, power front-passenger seat, and Xenon lights; the $800 Climate package with heated front seats, rain-sensing wipers, and heated windshield washers; the $2700 Multimedia package with Dolby ProLogic II and the distortion-canceling MultEQ system, navigation, and rear camera; and the $2100 Technology package as noted above. There are stand-alone options galore, but we've already covered the most significant one, the Four-C chassis. Figure a well-equipped S60 will ring in somewhere in the low-$40,000 range, which is a lot for a Volvo, but several grand less than a comparably kitted-out BMW 335i xDrive.

The company wants to sell 90,000 of these things a year, with volumes split evenly between America, Europe, and Asia. That means that Volvo will have to essentially double its mid-size car volumes from last year. The S60 looks good enough to sell that strongly-and just wait for the S60 wagon in 2012-and it finally drives well enough to appeal to that segment of European-car buyers for whom pretty sporty is just perfect.

We are very pleased to announce that for the 3rd consecutive year IntelliChoice.com has awarded Volvo the Best Certified Pre-Owned Automotive Program among Luxury Brands for 2010!

The top 5 ranked luxury manufacturers as recognized by IntelliChoice.com:
1. Volvo
2. Saab
3. Cadillac    
4. Jaguar      
5. Hummer/Lincoln/Audi (tie)

IntelliChoice.com is the industry's only report card for Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle programs and is a trusted source for non biased information among consumers.

IntelliChoice.com initiated its Certified Pre-Owned awards program eleven years ago to address the significant growth of the CPO offering and consumer demand for comprehensive analysis.  Programs are rated on a set of eight criteria that consumers identify as having the most value:

• Extended manufacturer warranties
• Title verification
• Certification inspection process
• Roadside assistance-Special Financing
• Return exchange policies
• Program/Dealer compliance
• Brand Value

 

Among the various criteria Volvo scored 100% on the Certification Inspection process.  This combined with competitive scores in all metrics gave Volvo the overall award among Luxury makes.

Volvo's CPO program, with its award-winning value has been ranked among the top three in the IntelliChoice.com CPO Awards every year since 2001! 

Here are the first official pictures of the all-new Volvo S60 - sportier and more dynamic than any previous Volvo car.

"The all-new Volvo S60 is sculpted to move you. It looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car's technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel," says Stephen Odell, President and CEO at Volvo Cars.

The Volvo S60 can be equipped with Pedestrian Detection - a groundbreaking safety feature that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver doesn't react in time.

The all-new Volvo S60 will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March next year. Production of the sporty saloon will start early summer 2010 at Volvo Cars' plant in Gent, Belgium.

"The customers in this segment want emotional appeal, sporty design and dynamic driving properties. The S60 has it all. We are convinced that it will be one of the strongest contenders around," says Stephen Odell.









Source: Swedespeed.com

ROCKLEIGH, NJ - On a small test course adjacent to its headquarters here, Volvo Cars of North America LLC demonstrates its new pedestrian-protection technology with full autonomous braking.

The new system, which is engineered to automatically stop cars from hitting pedestrians at speeds of up to 16 mph (25 km/h), will be introduced in the 2011 Volvo S60 sedan that goes on sale in September.

The system consists of a camera behind the rearview mirror and a radar unit installed behind the front grille of the car. Camera optics are similar to the human eye.

"If you can see it, the camera can see it," says Adam Kopstein, manager, automotive safety and compliance for VCNA. The camera detects objects 164 ft. (50 m) ahead of the vehicle and has a 45-degree field of view.

The radar has a 60-degree field of view and can "see" 500-650 ft. (150-200 m) down the road.

Both the camera and radar are always on when the S60 is moving. Volvo engineers worked for a decade with Delphi Corp. to create the system. Algorithms were devised to recognize human head, neck, legs and shoulders of all sizes and shapes.

In a test drive, the system works as advertised - ultimately. That's because it's difficult to restrain reflexive braking when approaching an obstacle - even a dummy - in the road ahead.

Volvo's pedestrian safety system.

The new pedestrian safety system stops the vehicle without the driver stepping on the brake. In the test at 16 mph, full braking force is applied to stop the vehicle about 4 ft. (1.2 m) in front of the dummy.

Kopstein says that the new system will reduce speed by 16 mph, regardless of how fast the vehicle is traveling. But it will only fully stop the vehicle from 2 to 16 mph.

The pedestrian-detection system differs from Volvo's City Safety System that's available only in the XC60 model at this time. City Safety applies 50% of braking force to prevent frontal collisions with another vehicle. It is not capable of recognizing and stopping for pedestrians.

Volvo says there shouldn't be concerns about potentially adverse effects from the radiation emitted by the radar unit in the pedestrian system.

"The emitted power from the radar is significantly below the legal thresholds of any region of the world," says Thomas Brobeg of the Volvo Safety Center in Gothenburg, Sweden. "Vehicle and pedestrian detection in the 76 GHz band requires only little radio power output.

"The radar that is used for pedestrian detection in the coming S60 puts out significantly less power than a standard Bluetooth headset. A hundred Volvo S60s with pedestrian detection will emit less radio power than one cell phone."

The pedestrian safety system brings Volvo a step closer to its announced goal of preventing auto fatalities completely in any Volvo by 2020.

Kopstein says 4,700 pedestrians were killed in the U.S. by motor vehicles in 2007, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. data.

In many urban areas, pedestrian fatalities occur in collisions with vehicles traveling at relatively slow speeds, the auto maker says.

Source: Wardsauto.com