New Volvo S60

But it is not just about looks. The car also delivers real driving enjoyment because the chassis team at the Swedish car maker have fine-tuned the S60 to offer the most dynamic driving characteristics ever seen before on one of their cars.

The S60 has crisp steering, decent cornering ability, a well controlled body and excellent brakes. The twin-turbo D5 power-plant, on test here, mated with a six-speed manual transmission, is punchy – delivering brisk acceleration from low revs, no matter where you are in the gear range. It produces 205hp and 420Nm of torque, accelerates from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds and returns a brilliant average fuel consumption of 53.3mpg.

The S60 certainly manages to combine composure, performance and economy with comfort as well, because inside the Volvo there are first-rate materials and, in SE Lux trim, luxurious leather seats. The car also benefits from standard features including electronic climate control, cruise control, information centre, remote audio controls, and a leather steering wheel and gear stick. The S60 is practical too, with bags of room in the front and the back, and a boot big enough to gobble up all you could expect to load into a saloon.

Of course, safety is woven into Volvo’s DNA and the all-new S60 features the Swedish company’s ground-breaking Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake system. Pedestrian Detection consists of a radar unit integrated into the car’s grille, a camera fitted in front of the interior rear-view mirror, and a central control unit. The radar’s task is to detect any object in front of the car and to determine the distance to it. The camera’s role is to determine what type of object it is. The full auto brake part of the technology also responds to vehicles in front of the S60 that are at a standstill or moving in the same direction. In an emergency situation, you first receive an audible warning combined with a flashing light in the windscreen’s head-up display. In order to generate an immediate, intuitive reaction, this warning resembles a brake light. At the same time, the car’s brakes are pre-charged. If you don’t react to the warning and an accident is imminent, full braking power is automatically applied. Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake can avoid a collision with a pedestrian at speeds of up to 21mph. At higher vehicle speeds, the system’s focus is on reducing the car’s speed as much as possible prior to the impact, with the speed falling by up to 21mph. Awesome technology, or what?

Overall the new Volvo S60 is a well designed, comfortable, classy and good to drive car. The range certainly offers something different from the major executive saloons and its list prices are a lot lower than those cars too!

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