irishcar.com - Volvo S60 first view

Well, if you've got it, make the most of it. And with the platform used for the S80, Volvo have been very busy making the most of what has become a very useful base. The latest V70, and the C70 coupe are two derivatives. And soon in the Irish market will be the S60.

It's partly a case of filling gaps. With the 40 series cars, recently updated, we saw a new and unusually svelte smaller Volvo. The 80 series and the (oddly numbered) upgraded 70 series versions moved us on in the larger segments. Now, efficiently because the base is the same, we have something in between that Volvo has never had.

Now this is a seriously stylish car in the segment it targets ... with the key competition being BMW's 3-series. And even with the soon-to-be-upgraded version of that BMW, the latest Volvo will be a serious competitor.

It will certainly have more class, in this writer's view. Look at the pictures: this is much more style, mein herr.

The S60 is a full saloon in capacity, but with the style and sense of a coupe as probably best exemplified by some Lancias in recent years (but never available in the Irish market). The designer, though, is British - Peter Horbury. What he has come up with is a car nine inches shorter than the S80, with a steeply-raked rear window area contributing to the coupe saloon that was in the brief. Front and side views are strongly sculpted, with a pronounced shoulder running all the way from the grille to the highly-styled rear light clusters.

Inside, there's a neat and uncluttered general instrument area, and a centre stack for radio and heating that is equally user-friendly. Like the S80, there's an inbuilt phone pad module available for beside the radio.

Seats, depending on the specification selected - Comfort or Dynamic - are comfortable, as we've come to expect from the marque. The Dynamic ones are more sporty and supportive, but don't allow for more than two people in the rear, really. And, because of the roofline, very tall passengers won't find all that much space in the back.

There are two suspension specifications on offer, standard or sporting, the latter is standard on the T5 version powered by a 250bhp 2.3-litre engine. Other engines in the range are 2- and 2.4-litre petrol (no diesel option on the horizon yet) putting out 180- and 200bhp respectively. All the S60s are swift - doing the 0-62 between 8.8secs and 7secs depending on model. All return just over 30mpg.

From the safety perspective, we're not surprised to see that all the usual Volvo technology is used, including side-impact airbags, and the WHIPS safety curtains that protect against head injuries in a side-on crash. ABS and electronic brake distribution is also standard.

Thought has been put to interior details, such as a coat-hanger on the passenger head restraint, and a waste bag holder in the back.

All in all, this latest offering from what owner Ford is promoting as one of its important prestige brands represents a serious step forward, in a segment where both image and performance are equally important for success.

A segment made even more competitive by the latest from Mercedes-Benz and BMW, renowned equally for their image and engineering. How the S60 performs marketwise against them will be very interesting.

by Brian Byrne.

New S60 extends Volvo base