Test drive Volvo S60 2000 - 2004 sedan

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At 4x4 on E-95
Presenting the new Volvo S60 sedan at the Moscow Motor Show, representatives of the Swedish company hinted that within two years it would be born and an all -wheel drive version of this car. However, the sixties with a 4x4 wheeled formula debuted a year earlier than the planned period for IAA 2001 in Frankfurt. There was the idea of \u200b\u200bthis test drive. The correspondent was invited to make a trip from St. Petersburg behind the wheel of an all -wheel drive S60, where it was planned to spend the Russian premiere of the car to Moscow.
Despite the fact that the S60 has been sold with us for more than a year, for many this car is still Terra Incognita. Meanwhile, in my opinion, this car is one of the most interesting in the modern Volvo model range. The sixtieth is often confused in a road stream with the flagship sedan S80. Cars are really similar, although to consider the S60 a reduced copy of the eighties would be a clear mistake. Unlike a large sedan, a muscular, squat body S60 looks emphasized by sports. In the lines of the roof, smoothly turning into a short trunk, the features of the Volvo C70 compartment are clearly visible, based on which a compact sedan was created.
A sports theme dominates in the interior S60. A three -spoke steering wheel covered in leather, a massive, tapering down a central console, gently flowing into a high box of a tunnel, demonstratively separating the driver's place from the front passenger chair, the seats themselves are harsh, but with a perfectly selected profile and developed lateral support, everything tunes in a sporting way, provoking an active one driving. Even the rear passengers of the S60 (performed by Dynamic) are sitting as if in individual chairs: the rear seat pillow is formed as in a sports compartment. By the way, despite the significant difference in the dimensions (S60 shorter S80 by 24 cm), the compact sedan is almost not inferior to the flagship in terms of convenience and significantly exceeds its predecessor model S70. The fact is that cars were created on one platform (the so -called large VOLVO front -wheel drive platform) and the sixties wheelbase is the least 7 cm.
As you know, a long wheelbase not only increases the space in the cabin, but also improves the smoothness of the course. And short overhangs that reduce the moment of inertia allow the S60 it is better to fit into a turn. Squeezing the sixties is also contributed to a more rigid suspension compared to the S80. By the way, its elements are attached to the body not directly, but through aluminum subframes, which significantly reduces vibration. Structurally, the chassis of both sedans are practically identical (McPherson front suspension, an independent multi-link Multi-Link). Moreover, the same details are used. However, the lighter S60 loads the suspension not so strongly that it provides it with a greater stiffness supply. Therefore, passing stressful turns, the sixty is much less. Positively affects controllability and wide track. By the way, the S60 has this indicator (155 cm in front and back) the largest in the class.
All of the foregoing, of course, refers to sixty with all -wheel drive. The only difference is that thanks to the support of the rear wheels of the S60 AWD clings to the road with a vengeance. Moreover, unlike the previous Volvian models with the AWD index, the engine torque is transmitted to the rear wheels not through traditional viscousyft, but using the Haldex electronically controlled friction clutch. This mechanism, developed by the Swedish company of the same name, is well known to Russian fans of all -wheel drive cars Volkswagen. As in cars with viscousyft, the distribution of torque along the axes occurs depending on the difference in the speed of rotation of the wheels: when the front slipping, the rear are turned on. The main difference is the speed of the system. If an activation of conventional visktta requires a significant difference in the speed of rotation of the wheels, then Haldex is almost instantly triggered. The operation of the all -wheel drive system is controlled by the Multiplex electronic system, combining engine control units, brakes and the coupling itself (see Fig.). In other words, at the right time, electronics not only involves the rear bridge, turning the car from the front -wheel drive into a full -wheel drive, but also strangle the engine or submarine the wheels, preventing the loss of exchange rate stability.
Fortunately, I never had a chance to check the work of a new system in extreme conditions: despite the disgusting weather (it rained or snow poured all the way), a trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow has passed, so to speak, in the standard mode. With its behavior, the car was absolutely no different from the usual front -wheel drive sixty. Frankly, at the end of the journey, I even wanted to drive the car to the overpass: to see if the leading rear axle and the Haldex coupon are really present under the bottom. However, in this case, the lack of news is good news.
S60 AWD sales are just beginning. The recommended price of a car with a 200-horsepower 2.4 liter turbo engine (so far only this engine is available to everyone) and a five-speed manual gearbox $ 34.7 thousand (in the basic configuration). The Moscow representative of Volvo believes that by the end of the year dealers will be able to find buyers for 100,150 cars. Considering that in nine months only 350 ordinary sixties have been sold, the Swedes do not occupy optimism. However, even if the Russian debut of the S60 AWD is much more modest, the appearance on the market of this car will not pass unnoticed either for Audi with its A4 Quattro (3l, 218 hp, from $ 36.5 thousand), nor for Bavarian The concern whose BMW 325xi (2.5 liters, 192 hp) costs the buyer $ 40.9 thousand today. Some of the customers will take sixty of the Jaguar, a former automotive Group, from the Forder Automotive Group. However, the British X-Type (2.5 liters, 194 hp, from $ 39 thousand), the sales of which began this summer, is still considered exotic in Russia.
Andrey Tsybulsky
 

Source: Wheel (company)