… Volvo S60 D4 R-Design …
Volvo cars are no longer the slab sided, utilitarian lumps of iron that once graced the highways and byways of 30 years ago. They shrugged off high mileages and laughed with disdain as they cruised past scrapyards, sorry, recycling centres, where many of their much newer rivals ended their days rather sooner than owners hoped!
With those sort of expectations, any new arrival from Volvo starts off a lot of goodwill, especially from me. So I thought this would be ideal transport to attend the Granite City Rally
The chosen route headed north up the A80 and M80 to Perth then on to the A90 for the trip to Dundee and the north east. So far, so ordinary, then I opted for a run over the Cairn O’ Mount to Banchory. Wrong move. This is a car best suited to smooth pave and motorways and not the sort of thing you want to hustle around winding roads or over poor winter ravaged surfaces.
This was R-Design model with its rebel blue paintwork, 19 inch alloys and 8 speed Geartronic gearbox, and the wrong car for this terrain. The suspension and the wheels couldn’t cope with the cambers and the subsidence, pitching and thumping over pot holes and ripples. Coupled with the hesitant gearbox changes, it made for a less than enjoyable trip.
Once back on ‘main’ roads, things improved, but the auto gearbox still wasn’t the perfect driving partner. Apart from its hesitancy to change down on the approach to roundabouts and junctions, it had an equally indecisive approach to accelerating away from them.
On the approach to such situations, the gearbox would be a bit slow to select a lower gear. Once stopped it would again be a bit hesitant before selecting another gear to move off and heaven forbid if you spotted a gap in the traffic and then got back on the gas quickly. That only served to further confuse the ECU that controls the gearshifts. Even using the steering wheel paddles failed to elicit quicker shifts.
There were times when I felt sure I could hear a wee voice inside the ECU wondering what the hell its indecisive driver was up to – “First he wants me to slow down, and come to a stop, then all of a sudden he wants more speed and instant acceleration. I wish he’d make up his mind.”
But seriously, modern drivers expect a bit more feel and a quicker response from their mechanicals these days and given the fact that my old 740 had a better auto ‘box than this I would have expected more from Volvo.
On this basis I would have preferred the manual gearbox and probably a set of 17 inch wheels with proper tyres as opposed to the 235/40 Bridgestones that were on it. Not having those two ‘luxury’ accessories might have made all the difference. Which is a pity. The 179 bhp two litre turbodiesel has the potential to offer a bit more pace and response if not hampered by the recalcitrant ‘box.
This is a roomy and comfy four seater and had nearly ten grandsworth of extras added to its £33,395 base price. These included the 8 spd Geartronic (£1550), 19 inch alloys (£550), digital TV (£800), Sensus Connect with Premium Sound (£400), winter pack and active turning lights (£375) and rear parking camera (£375) plus Park Assist (£525) and an additional security pack (£700). Leather trim and a heated steering wheel added a few more quid making the interior a nice place to be and spend some quality time, but it’s not a driver’s car.
This is a car for someone who just wants to get from A to B and has little regard for driving pleasure. If the car is to be considered first and foremost as a transport tool, then the S60 D4 will do the job with an efficient and fairly frugal diesel engine, but if you want to have a bit of fun while you’re at it, then consider the options or look elsewhere.