2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD R-Design - First Drive

Just ask Porsche, Audi or BMW…it’s great to have your production cars bask in the warm afterglow of a successful competition effort. And Volvo’s feeling downright toasty recently, with Randy Pobst, Alex Figge and Andy Pilgrim starting to make a real dent in the SCCA Pirelli World Challenge Series, driving the K-PAX S60 that, as of the Mid-Ohio round, is clad with the new S60 bodywork. Or a reasonable facsimile thereof; it’s a race car, after all.

As if to commemorate the occasion, Volvo has introduced the new S60 T6 AWD R-Design, a car that has noticeable extra helpings of power and style, and at least an additional child’s portion of handling goodness.

On the power side of the equation, Volvo has called on Swedish motorsports firm Polestar Racing, a collaborator since 1996, to work its magic on the S60’s turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6. While no internal changes were made (and intercooler and injector sizes remain status quo), boost pressure rises from 13.0 psi to 14.5, resulting in 325 bhp (up from 300 bhp, and peaking 200 rpm lower at 5400 revs). Torque climbs from 325 lb.-ft. to 354, not giving away anything down low yet gaining a healthy bump in the 2000–4000 rev range. As before, the engine’s paired with an Aisin/Warner Geartronic 6-speed automatic driving through a Haldex all-wheel-drive system than normally apportions torque 90/10 front/rear, yet can send the Full Monty rearward if necessary. Additionally, on hard acceleration from standstill, a premeasured slug of 79 lb.-ft. goes to the rear wheels for a crisp launch. Volvo claims a 5.5-sec. dash to 60 mph.
Chassis changes do firm up the suspension in a positive way. Springs are 15 percent stiffer and lower the car 15 mm, the front anti-roll bar grows from 21 mm to 23, the rear subframe bushings are 20 percent stiffer, and the rear suspension’s trailing links now have a chassis attachment bushing that’s four times(!) stiffer. Additionally, the rear shocks are now a quicker-reacting monotube design. While we’d hoped for an upsized wheel/tire package, the R-Design’s are equivalent to those on the Dynamic Package offered on lesser S60s…235/40R-18s on 18 x 8-in. wheels. The rolling stock looks especially handsome, the wheels a unique cranked-spoke design with a machined face, fitted with nicely grippy ContiSportContact 3s, the optional summer-only tire.

How does it all work? Quite nicely, as we found on our road drive north of Yountville, California, and on several laps around Thunderhill Raceway just outside the town of Willows. The Geartronic 6-speed downshifts quickly and decisively, and the natural-feeling electric-assist steering weights up in a linear fashion with increasing lock and cornering loads. The Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DTSC) is partially defeatable (a three button-push process through a menu system; a single dedicated button would be a better solution), but when in Sport Mode, it intervenes only when you’ve utterly botched the corner, as we found on the track. At the limit, there’s steady mild to moderate understeer, but the rear tires can be coaxed into participating with some slight lift-throttle yaw. Sport mode also bumps the shift points.
Smoking and fading brakes after two laps made it clear that this isn’t a track car, nor was it designed to be. They’re perfectly fine for any reasonably aggressive road driving, and the suspension offers up increased precision without any Draconian penalties to ride quality, although those stiffer rear bushings do transmit a bit more tire noise/road sizzle to the interior.

Cosmetically, it’s all good. Those wheels and lowered stance complement a bolder rear diffuser, trunklid spoiler and big stainless exhaust tips, and the new edgier front fascia glowers with appropriate meanness. Inside, the already excellent S60 seats get enhanced body-grabbing bolsters and contrasting stitching. The center stack gets a special ridged aluminum trim that looks a little like a giant fingerprint, and a unique perforated leather shift lever and matching steering wheel treatment round out the changes. Some journalists groused at the lack of paddle shifters on the wheel (the console lever has a dedicated sequential slot), but I found the kickdown reaction speedy enough to be satisfying, even for our track laps.
On sale now, the S60 R-Design is a well-executed, sporty addition to the Volvo lineup, at a price ($42,500 to start) that undercuts comparably powered BMW 335s and Audi A4s. And in these tight economic times, it’s good to know the R-Design uses regular grade fuel, and maintains the same 18/26 EPA numbers of its less powerful S60 T6 stablemate.