Re: Volvo S60R - Hit or Miss? (GruvenVR6)
Unlike the people who have responded here, I own a V70R.
Likes:
--Seats (best seats ever, anywhere, anytime)
--Power is impressive, turbo hooliganism
-- Hauling capacity
-- Q-ship
-- looks
-- stereo system is fantastic
-- blue chrono dials
-- comfortable
-- ability to modify suspension settings
-- AWD for winter fun
-- loaded with all the luxury trimmings
-- definitely feels, looks and smells like a Swedish car
-- safety ratings are great
-- car feels like a brick, substantial, doors are pleasingly chunky
-- nice 6-speed manual shifter
Dislikes:
-- too big and heavy for real fun in the twisties
-- steering lacks feel, overboosted
-- turning radius wider than many full size SUV's, makes for difficult parking in most urban parking lots and garages
-- suspension feels wrong (jiggly damping picks up every bump in the road but floaty suspension in "comfort" mode, search swedespeed for "sidehop" or "sidestep" problem)
-- common problem is a retaining bracket under the exhaust hangs low and can get bent upwards on a speedbump, forcing the exhaust into the driveshaft. = expen$ive repair.
-- bi-xenon headlights are embarrassingly bad especially on high beam, worse than many halogens
-- torque listing of 295 lb-ft at 1950 rpm is optimistic; full engine torque doesn't feel like it cuts in until 2500 and up; Haldex AWD plus turbo magnifies turbo lag as the AWD system causes it to bog a little bit.
The V70R is a great "total package" -- speed, hauling, comfort, luxury, looks. There are few if any real competitors to the V70R at its price point (S4 Avant is smaller and much pricier; Dodge Magnum SRT-8 is interesting but lacks the hauling capacity; Legacy GT wagon is a cheaper alternative but nowadays you can't get it in a stick; SUV's might factor into it but if you don't like SUV's, then there's not much there).
BUT, an S60R seems like a good value only on heavy discount, as there are dozens more viable competitors that could present you with similar performance and attractiveness. But if you must have AWD, you don't have a lot of choice.
And those seats. Sweet jesus, they are like the Throne's of God Himself.