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Volvo S60. New dimension

Volvo S60. Price: Not defined. On sale: since September 2010

With the entering the market of the updated sedan, the S60 Volvo opens a new dimension for fans of the brand. The Swedes are sure that the most sports car in the history of the brand will be able to serious competition to recognized segment leaders: BMW 3 of the series and Audi A4. To correlate Swedish ambitions with realities, we went to the premiere test S60

Test pilot
Vladimir Makkaveev, 32 years old, automobile journalist, driving experience of 14 years, personal car - Volvo C30

For eight years, the era of the previous sixtieth lasted. At a modern rate of evolution of cars, the term is simply giant. Therefore, with all the charm of the previous S60, the birth of the heiress was expected with special impatience. And, I must say, she more than met expectations.

Even during the world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, many intrigued a new bold and ultra -growing face of Volvo. Pigging, a little with a hump, the hood makes a new S60 similar either to a dolphin, or an overwhelming water cow. But the appearance is deceptive!

Together with the design, Volvo S60 changed orientation, but already in a slightly different plane. From the former impressiveness, the S60 has no trace. The new chassis is so hard, and the car is so tight on the road that it seems like you are at least 2.5 tons of living weight under you. But no, inertiality on braking in fact is completely small, and in the turns the Swede suddenly also shows the sharpness of reactions unexpected in comparison with the last version of the S60. The new powerful pipe of the steering column and rigid bushings allowed to double the stiffness for twisting, and the reduction by 10% of the gear ratio of the steering system made the steering wheel significantly more acutely than the other Volvo models. Unlike the previous sixty, in the power supply of the new S60, a three -position system of adjusting the steering density is already familiar to fans of the brand. Only in the softest mode is the steering wheel of the new S60 similar to the one that her older sister had. The most acute setting in combination with an almost sports chassis evoke very unequivocal associations on the stiffness and severity of reactions, the Swedish sedan unexpectedly clung into a German between the landscape: somewhere between the BMW 3 series and the Audi A4. We managed to reach a new level, previously unattainable, proudly states the chief designer of the S60 chassis S60 Stefan Selvist.

As Stefan accurately noted, Volvo stepped into a new dimension for herself. This transition, in fact, is subordinated to the entire transformation of the model. By and large, comparing a new S60 with a morally obsolete older sister is useless. Comparisons are more appropriate with more modern brand models, like an updated year ago S80. But here the sixties have something to trump. Even compared with the S80 sports chassis, powerful piston curtains increased the rigidity of the front racks by 47%, which significantly increased resistance to transverse loads. Swedes suspension springs made even tougher and shorter. At the same time, to protect against resonance, the frequency of its own fluctuations increased by 10%.

Naturally, the transformation of the Swedish sedan was not limited to one bulkhead of iron. Software also underwent a number of updates, which finally took the S60 to the cohort of sports sedanov. Almost the entire control electronics is new: from the monitoring rolling of the Advanced Stability Control stabilization system to all -wheel drive AWD and the traction control system, which is noticeably laminating movement of the car in corners.

Top engines 205-horsepower D5 diesel with a maximum torque of 420 nm and 304-horsepower gasoline T6 with a moment of 440 nm from a consumer point of view in terms of characteristics are basically equivalent. However, these two engines will probably not be limited to: the Volvo S60 clip has six more ambitious and more economical engines with a capacity of 115 to 240 forces, including a new 2-liter diesel. Some of them will probably appear in Russia over time.

Sales of the new S60 in the Russian market will begin immediately after the presentation of the model at the Moscow Motor Show in August. The exact price is still unknown. In all likelihood, as is usually the case after the update, the model will rise in price by 5-10%. However, at first, the rise in price is unlikely to somehow affect the volume of sales. In 2010, the Swedes will put less than a thousand new sixties to Russia, and almost all of them are already dismantled by dealers.

Tre Kronor
Like three Swedish crowns in the field of security, the main highlight of the new version of the S60 was an unprecedented set in a serial automotive, a set of means of preventing clashes. In addition to the Volvo XC60 debting on the City Safety automatic stop, S60 received adaptive cruise control of the new generation and a system for preventing pedestrians. Working on the same principle as the City Safety, the new system scans the space in front of the car and when a person is detected or a similar obstacle is inhibited by the S60 to a complete stop in the speed range from 0 to 35 km/h. It is very effective, given that half of all cases of pedestrian collision occurs at speeds up to 25 km/h.


We do not love
The pedestrian detection system automatically stops the S60 at a speed of up to 30 km/h. Safely

In addition to the buttons to control adaptive cruise control, joysticks appeared on the steering wheel. Comfortable

The S60 is equipped with a front camera with a viewing angle of 180, which allows you to look around the corner. Unusual


Driving
The acute controllability in the Volvo lineup. Wide variability allows the driver to independently configure the density of the steering wheel and suspension.

Salon
A bit updated compared to other Volvo models.

Comfort
A dense suspension no longer allows you to practice irregularities with the previous softness.

Safety
Volvo continues to set all new heights in the field of security.

Price
Not determined.


Advantages and disadvantages
+ Acute controllability, variability of settings, a huge set of auxiliary electronics.
- On the slope, Hill Holder holds the S60 C automatic transmission for only a couple of seconds, after which Volvo begins to slide.


Specifications
Mark and model - Volvo S60
Dimensions - 4628x1899x1484 mm
Engine - gasoline, 2953 cm3, 304 l. S./5600 min-1
Transmission - automatic, 6 -speed
Dynamics - Max 250 km/h; 6.5 s to 100 km/h
Competitors - Audi A4, BMW 3 -Series
 

Our opinion
With the new S60 Volvo, she invaded one of the most capricious, from the point of view of the claims of the public, segments of the automotive market. Despite all the advantages of the model, BMW is unlikely to be able to pull the fans of the three -tires on their side. But with the Audi A4 S60 it really will fight. Nevertheless, the main purpose of the model to increase the prestige of the brand in the ranks of the youth audience.


Author: Vladimir Makkaveev
 
 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [July 2010]