Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Volvo
HAVE always had a soft spot for Volvo’s S60. While everyone else ignores it in favour of its German premium rivals, for a long time I’ve admired its svelte body, long- legged nature and the supreme level of comfort it offers. car rental uk
But it is no sports saloon in the mould of BMW’s 3-series. It lacks the involving steering and supple chassis which its German rival majors on. But I defy anyone to name a more comfortable car in this class. car rental uk
The seats are something else – generously padded, they make long distance work a treat.
But as soon as you corner enthusiastically you slide off the side – it’s then that you realise they are designed to cosset rather than grip you. So instead of thinking of the S60 as a sports saloon, I prefer to call it a GT. It has that loping gait which suits the grand tourer title down to a tee.
Even the gear change has a long, lazy feel about it. car rental uk
But this doesn’t matter too much, because such are the reserves of power on offer from this new D5 diesel engine that even a lazy gearchange doesn’t blunt your progress.
This engine is something else. At 185bhp it rockets the S60 to the top of the sub-3.0-litre diesel premium upper-medium power charts.
But it doesn’t feel like a diesel because it revs keenly and cleanly all the way up to the red line, all the while emitting that unusual Volvo five-cylinder howl which has become the firm’s trademark.
Mid-range power is very strong, which makes overtaking anything between the 50-70mph mark so easy that it doesn’t even need you to change down into fourth gear. Leave it in fifth, roll on the throttle and the S60 picks up its skirt and surges forward. The ride is biased towards comfort, although this can be changed by pressing the 4C button and switching from Comfort to Sport. car rental uk
This firms up the ride, but to be honest there’s little point as it just turns the S60 into a hard-riding car rather than a more toned sports saloon.
And the steering is nothing to write home about either. The actual turn-in is quite direct, but there’s none of the feedback you get from a 3-series. And while we’re talking steering, the turning circle on the S60 is poor. Several times while driving the car I went to park in a space and completely missed it as there’s not enough turn on the wheels.
But on the plus side, the interior is a triumph, with a sloping centre console mounted slightly towards you and fairly high up, meaning most controls are within your eye line. car rental uk
But it is no sports saloon in the mould of BMW’s 3-series. It lacks the involving steering and supple chassis which its German rival majors on. But I defy anyone to name a more comfortable car in this class. car rental uk
The seats are something else – generously padded, they make long distance work a treat.
But as soon as you corner enthusiastically you slide off the side – it’s then that you realise they are designed to cosset rather than grip you. So instead of thinking of the S60 as a sports saloon, I prefer to call it a GT. It has that loping gait which suits the grand tourer title down to a tee.
Even the gear change has a long, lazy feel about it. car rental uk
But this doesn’t matter too much, because such are the reserves of power on offer from this new D5 diesel engine that even a lazy gearchange doesn’t blunt your progress.
This engine is something else. At 185bhp it rockets the S60 to the top of the sub-3.0-litre diesel premium upper-medium power charts.
But it doesn’t feel like a diesel because it revs keenly and cleanly all the way up to the red line, all the while emitting that unusual Volvo five-cylinder howl which has become the firm’s trademark.
Mid-range power is very strong, which makes overtaking anything between the 50-70mph mark so easy that it doesn’t even need you to change down into fourth gear. Leave it in fifth, roll on the throttle and the S60 picks up its skirt and surges forward. The ride is biased towards comfort, although this can be changed by pressing the 4C button and switching from Comfort to Sport. car rental uk
This firms up the ride, but to be honest there’s little point as it just turns the S60 into a hard-riding car rather than a more toned sports saloon.
And the steering is nothing to write home about either. The actual turn-in is quite direct, but there’s none of the feedback you get from a 3-series. And while we’re talking steering, the turning circle on the S60 is poor. Several times while driving the car I went to park in a space and completely missed it as there’s not enough turn on the wheels.
But on the plus side, the interior is a triumph, with a sloping centre console mounted slightly towards you and fairly high up, meaning most controls are within your eye line. car rental uk
