The sportiest Volvo ever

MANILA, Philippines - “Build the sportiest Volvo ever.” That was it. That was all that was on power point slide number 1, written in all caps in Volvo’s exclusive font. We sat there staring for a bit, waiting for the flowery bits, like the usual, ‘we-were-challenged-to-design-a-living-vehicle-that-harmonizes-with-our-central-being-and-fornicates-with-our-subconscious-to-mate-with-our-impregnable-desire-for-freedom’ crap that seems to come out of many car designers’ mouths these days. But no. That was the entire design brief. The rest of the seven-minute presentation was spent explaining a couple of key features as well as a few housekeeping rules.

There was silence. Most of us were still waiting. It was as if we had all just attended a press conference from Tupperware announcing that it will start building weapons. Where was the punch line? As refreshing as it was, the irony here is that of all companies that we expected a press release from that sounds like it was written by someone who swallowed a thesaurus, it would be Volvo. No offense.

Yet it was direct and clear, with no room for misinterpretation. Volvo is going straight for BMW and Mercedes’ jugular with this one. They are like the exchange student that hung out in the library all throughout grade school only to come out into the playground on the first day of high school, walk up to the school bully and give him a swift kick in the groin.

But despite our reaction, not a lot more was said in the morning presentation, which is strange enough as it is, but it started to make even less sense once we were given our car keys with an itinerary that said that there would be a second presentation in the evening. I was concerned, but then again, I comforted myself with the fact that stranger things have come out of Sweden. Insert ABBA joke here.

I was tossed the keys to a vibrant copper T6, a road book, a bottle of water and told to be back by 6pm. Now I’ve always appreciated the freedom to do our work without the patronizing restrictions that more and more car companies seem to be imposing on journalists, but I’ll admit that Volvo’s economy of words during this event was really starting to worry me.

And then I started driving, and everything started to make sense.

After all, some things just cannot be explained well in words. How do you describe color, or water, or a raw oyster? You can’t. You need to experience it. And that’s what Volvo wanted us to do and then decide for ourselves. Listening to a presentation that explains how the steering gear ratio has been increased by 10% while using a new column that has thicker tubing and stiffer bushing that doubles the torsional stiffness is just a bunch of geeky words strung together until you dial in that new 3-spoke sports steering wheel into a bend and get an immediate, crisp and connected response. All of a sudden, it’s tangible. Relevant.

Had the PR folk stood on their soapbox early in the day and tried to out-drive the BMW 3-series on paper, they would need to spend a lot more than 15 minutes to recondition over 80 years of stereotypes that Volvo has been associated since Gustav Larson and Assar Gabrielsson founded the company back in 1927. Yet just one hour into the drive, and most of us were doing their work for them.

This is my second international launch for Volvo, the first one being the S80 V8 in Sweden, and already I was starting to notice the difference in confidence and attitude in the staff. No longer do they try to peddle their products in those little gaps that exist between their competitors’ products, “Think of it as a 4 series”. No. Not just have they have moved up in weight class, but they all look like they’re going for the belt, too.

The first thing you will notice is the directness of the steering and the chassis. Everything is stiffer, yet not harsh. It may have lost a lot of that wallowing that made it so popular in the US, but the adaptive 4C chassis does wonders to keep things firm, yet still give it a compliant and responsive ride. There is a trade off for those who fell in love with that softness of previous S60s, but its like giving up one setting to get three back.

There are three modes to choose from: sport, comfort and advanced, and each have their own distinct personalities. Steering can be adjusted for greater response, which is a terrific feature, although bundling it in with a one touch sport button that clinched up all the wiggly bits like transmission, suspension and steering would be greatly appreciated. As it is, you need to go into the menu to select steering settings, which could just about be the deal breaker when you approach a nice set of curves and want to get sporty on impulse.

Power from the twin-scroll turbocharged six is as urgent as is morally allowed in Sweden, and winds out a healthy 304 horsepower and 325 foot pounds of torque. It comes in smoother than a Swedish ballad, although it peaks out at a very modest 5,600 rpm. Now it may run out of ideas a little early on in the rev band, but don’t get me wrong, there’s more than enough to get you into trouble, which is why Volvo has introduced enough countermeasures to get you out of it.

Aside from the blind side warning system, lane departure warning, fatigue monitoring, a 180 degree field of vision front camera to see around blind spots, a new adaptive cruise control that can now bring the car to a full standstill from any speed, Volvo has introduced a new version of City Safe that takes safety to a new level altogether. Using military technology in a rear-view mirror mounted, forward-facing camera that can detect the behavioral patterns and shapes of people, the new S60 is able to automatically bring the car to a complete emergency stop from 35 kilometers an hour once it senses that a collision with a pedestrian is imminent. Beyond this speed, the system is still able to wash off most of the momentum, which should significantly reduce the impact and the chances of fatalities.

So its safe, sexy and Swedish… but is it sporty? After tackling the mountain roads of Portugal just outside of Cascais for the best part of 250 kilometers, the S60 had made a pretty convincing closing argument. I have to admit, it behaves like a proper sports sedan, and a very fine one at that, but stealing the crown may require a rear-wheel drive set up – something which several millions of dollars of platform investment will not allow them to do. But in fairness, the all-wheel drive version that I had been given, comes pretty damn close, and should fire a pretty loud warning shot over to Audi and Benz.

There’s plenty of grip, loads of feedback, and a torque vectoring system (similar to the one in the 911 Turbo), that can apply the brakes to the inner wheel while feeding power to the outer wheel in extreme cornering, that manages to dial out most of the unwanted understeer, while a new roll angle sensor identifies any skidding tendencies at the earliest stage and provides stability by stepping in just that fraction earlier and with greater precision.

What you get is a tight, taut and angry Volvo that means business. It’s more extroverted than any other Volvo before it, but has not lost any of its Scandinavian roots – especially on the inside. Standard sports seats front and rear may send mixed messages to traditional Volvo owners, but the flowing lines, understated, yet premium materials and floating console with the familiar dials and clear, bright instrumentation with soothing fonts remind you that despite its recent custody battle between the Americans and its new Chinese parents, you may take the car out of Sweden, but never Sweden out of the car.

The Good

• Sportiest Volvo ever

•. Pedestrian safety feature.

• Great steering.

The Bad

• Needs paddle shifters.

• Interior shares a bit too much with previous models.

The Verdict

• The safest, sportiest Volvo ever. The playground just got a little more crowded.