2011 Volvo S60

By Carol Hansen

Volvo has completely redesigned their flagship S60 sedan this year, and I was able to spend some time getting to know the new car. It was quite a departure from my usual cars, and it left some strong impressions with me.

Volvo is known for its industry-leading safety features. The new S60 has every safety feature in the book – airbags to cover every part of the passenger cabin, backup camera, blind spot indicators, stability control, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control that maintains following distance on the freeway, and even a warning displayed on the windshield if you start following another car too closely!

Volvo’s great new safety feature in the S60 is a forward-looking radar that actually recognizes people in front of the car. If you’re traveling at less than about 22 MPH, for example, in a parking lot or at slow city street speeds, the S60 will sense an imminent impact with a pedestrian and stop the car for you. For most of us, we hope we never need that feature, but it can save lives.

The S60 has a new exterior look – the bodywork uses a nice fastback design, and generally looks more aggressive than the previous generation. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I also thought that the doors felt a little less than solid, but that could just be the way they close. It is a Volvo, after all!

Inside, the S60 is as quiet as a library and the front seats are as comfortable as your favorite easy chair. The back seats felt a little small, and could be uncomfortable for larger adults. The fastback design limits headroom compared with a normal sedan. I also had a tendency to hit my knee on the steering column when I was getting in and out of the car.

As a luxury car, the Volvo comes with every modern convenience, including optional GPS navigation, AM/FM/Satellite radio with CD and MP3 attachments, advanced climate control, hands-free cell-phone support, and voice recognition for some commands. I loved the key, which is a little rectangular box that you insert into a slot on the dashboard, then press a button to start or stop the engine. The key has functions to remotely lock and unlock the doors, open the trunk, and turn on the car’s lights.

To tell the truth, all the configuration options for the car can be a bit bewildering. So I phoned the local Volvo dealer and found out that every buyer spends about an hour with a Volvo expert getting a guided tour of the car’s features, and then the car comes with an instructional DVD that again covers all the controls and functions. That’s good, because with all the different things to keep track of, you need a little education to get the most out of your new car.

The one safety feature I haven’t covered is the drivetrain. The new S60 comes with a turbocharged engine mated to a smooth 6-speed automatic transmission with all wheel drive. This is an important feature in the Pacific Northwest, where the kind of wet winter weather we’ve been experiencing lately can last 8 months of the year. The all wheel drive system keeps the car stable and in control no matter how much water is on the road.

The S60 is designed to compete with the Audi A4 and the AWD sedans in BMW’s 3-series, as well as the offerings from Infiniti, Acura, and Lexus. The S60 is attractively priced for the segment, starting at $37,700 and you can option up your S60 for well under $45,000.

On the road, the S60 delivers a pleasant performance driving experience very much in the mode of a European luxury/performance car. The transmission shifts smoothly and is well-geared for winding country roads. The Volvo offers brisk acceleration, but it’s not too much because of the car’s 3901-pound weight. That weight also delivers a silky-smooth ride, so it’s a fair tradeoff.

The thing to know about the 2011 Volvo S60 is simply this – if you’re shopping for European or Japanese luxury sport sedans, or the AWD Cadillac CTS, you should also consider Volvo. The S60 is worth a test drive, and you might find you like it.