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The earlier days of Volvo's special R editions meant some pretty uncharacteristic remakes of that typically staid and happily still-in-business Nordic carmaker. Those, if you remember, included the V70R and its purple leather seats — not unlike a pair of Prince's dungarees — and an overall rocket-ship power upgrade.
Nowadays, Volvo's been trying hard to sex up its entire line, rather successfully. So the extra massaging that went into the R-Design edition of the already-impressive S60 sedan serves to add some fearsome character to that automobile, far more than just a load of cosmetic work (though there is, for the record, an ample amount of that, including an F1-racer styled air splitter on the lower lip).
Most importantly, the car's six-cylinder turbo is tweaked to 325 horsepower and 354 lb.-ft. of torque, and the optionally lipstick red-colored Swede can effectively roll like a bat out of hell. Some Norse hell, I imagine.
All of this sounded a bit precarious considering the fact that almost exactly a year ago, I managed to get the standard S60 into a substantial wintertime accident, which left me a little gun-shy. Especially as I pass the accident spot about six times a day.
The best news was that the speedy S60 R-Design not only features all-wheel drive but came equipped with high-performance winter tires, which meant it was as feisty on pavement as it was in the snow.
Ah, snow. We can dream, right?
On the tarmac, a resolute tap on the accelerator engages boost like you wouldn't believe, hitting 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds; the turbo means the power is also fully accessible at even the highest altitude roads in the county. Mileage, miraculously, remains unchanged with the extra power.
Roll around on dry roads and you'll be impressed by the S60's flat cornering and its almost eerily silent ride; physical tweaks made to the R-Design edition include a strut brace under the hood, improved dampers and shortened springs. Corner traction control means torque vectoring, and that means superb cornering control, with less under-steer.
There's some palpable whooshing as the turbo gets repeatedly fired up, but it's not as ridiculous as one of those racer-boy Subaru WRXs. And man, does it go.
As mentioned, the aero treatment is also different, with cool twin exhaust pipes, rear-end airflow diffusers, custom 18-inch wheels and a rear spoiler. All on a Volvo. Those wheels, by the way, are extremely low-profile, and evidently everyone who'd driven the car before me had managed to curb-rash them at one point or another.
The inside has also been given an impressive makeover, including hyper-sporty race seats with bright, contrasting stitching, a swath of aluminum-look cladding on the console and those distinctive R instruments, not unlike a Rolex Submariner.
There is, sadly, just a little bit of an inorganic feel to the whole package, mostly stemming from its quiet and well-built character. A Dodge Challenger still squeaks and sags and then thunders crazily when gassed; the Volvo comes off as being almost too perfect in its execution. That is probably not the worst thing in the world.
Audio, by the way, is astounding, with the 650-watt, 12-speaker surround sound system perfected with MultiEQ, like one of those Bachelor Gulch personal movie theaters.
The S60's navigation system, while impressive, operates with considerably different logic than systems found even on other European automobiles, so it takes a while to figure things out. There's also no external knob or joystick for input, so map scrolling uses the keyboard, somewhat awkwardly. But, thank goodness, the voice control works especially well, and will also take navigation and control inputs while you're rolling along.
Underneath it all, there's a load of safety systems, from the low-speed instant stop feature to an optional technology package that adds adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and more.
Nowadays, Volvo's been trying hard to sex up its entire line, rather successfully. So the extra massaging that went into the R-Design edition of the already-impressive S60 sedan serves to add some fearsome character to that automobile, far more than just a load of cosmetic work (though there is, for the record, an ample amount of that, including an F1-racer styled air splitter on the lower lip).
Most importantly, the car's six-cylinder turbo is tweaked to 325 horsepower and 354 lb.-ft. of torque, and the optionally lipstick red-colored Swede can effectively roll like a bat out of hell. Some Norse hell, I imagine.
All of this sounded a bit precarious considering the fact that almost exactly a year ago, I managed to get the standard S60 into a substantial wintertime accident, which left me a little gun-shy. Especially as I pass the accident spot about six times a day.
The best news was that the speedy S60 R-Design not only features all-wheel drive but came equipped with high-performance winter tires, which meant it was as feisty on pavement as it was in the snow.
Ah, snow. We can dream, right?
On the tarmac, a resolute tap on the accelerator engages boost like you wouldn't believe, hitting 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds; the turbo means the power is also fully accessible at even the highest altitude roads in the county. Mileage, miraculously, remains unchanged with the extra power.
Roll around on dry roads and you'll be impressed by the S60's flat cornering and its almost eerily silent ride; physical tweaks made to the R-Design edition include a strut brace under the hood, improved dampers and shortened springs. Corner traction control means torque vectoring, and that means superb cornering control, with less under-steer.
There's some palpable whooshing as the turbo gets repeatedly fired up, but it's not as ridiculous as one of those racer-boy Subaru WRXs. And man, does it go.
As mentioned, the aero treatment is also different, with cool twin exhaust pipes, rear-end airflow diffusers, custom 18-inch wheels and a rear spoiler. All on a Volvo. Those wheels, by the way, are extremely low-profile, and evidently everyone who'd driven the car before me had managed to curb-rash them at one point or another.
The inside has also been given an impressive makeover, including hyper-sporty race seats with bright, contrasting stitching, a swath of aluminum-look cladding on the console and those distinctive R instruments, not unlike a Rolex Submariner.
There is, sadly, just a little bit of an inorganic feel to the whole package, mostly stemming from its quiet and well-built character. A Dodge Challenger still squeaks and sags and then thunders crazily when gassed; the Volvo comes off as being almost too perfect in its execution. That is probably not the worst thing in the world.
Audio, by the way, is astounding, with the 650-watt, 12-speaker surround sound system perfected with MultiEQ, like one of those Bachelor Gulch personal movie theaters.
The S60's navigation system, while impressive, operates with considerably different logic than systems found even on other European automobiles, so it takes a while to figure things out. There's also no external knob or joystick for input, so map scrolling uses the keyboard, somewhat awkwardly. But, thank goodness, the voice control works especially well, and will also take navigation and control inputs while you're rolling along.
Underneath it all, there's a load of safety systems, from the low-speed instant stop feature to an optional technology package that adds adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and more.
