Introducing the all-new S60 R-Design — designed with true sports-car feel and featuring a specially developed chassis to ensure that the driving experience matches the car’s appearance.
With R-Design it becomes even sharper. They’re the natural choice for true connoisseurs,” said Paul Welander, Senior Vice President Product Development at Volvo Cars.
Sporty, sportier, sportiest — in order to keep the superlatives in check Volvo Cars has taken an holistic view of the all-new S60 R-Design, with the design and chassis being developed in parallel into a single cohesive offer.
Distinctive twin exhaust tailpipes and unique five-spoke 18-inch Diamond cut wheels emphasize the sporty overall appeal.
The Volvo S60 saloon has been winning Volvo praise thanks to its good looks, comfort and enjoyable handling. Now Volvo has added its R-Design package to the range, and we’ve tested it.
The chassis has been comprehensively honed to improve the precision of each wheel’s movements--Inside there’s a three-spoke steering wheel, blue instrument dials, sports gear knob and bucket seats with increased side support to further hold occupants in place.
It’s not as involving as the lively rear-wheel drive BMW 3 Series coupe, but on a par with the front or four-wheel drive Audi A5.
Actually it's a more advanced form of an existing Volvo active safety system called City Safety, which automatically stops a Volvo if another vehicle gets in its way.
It's a radar-and camera-based system that can detect pedestrians in front of the car.
In a nutshell, it gives a warning signal if someone walks into its detection field and automatically activates the car's full braking power if the driver fails to respond in time.
Half of all pedestrian accidents occur at speeds below 25 km/h. Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake can avoid a collision with a pedestrian at speeds up to 35 km/h, even if the driver is distracted and does not react in time. At higher speeds, the focus is on warning and reducing the car's speed as much as possible prior to the impact.
The all-wheel-drive technology now includes a torque-vectoring feature, which can increase torque to the outside wheel and help steer the car around a turn with more stability.
SAFETY
In addition to the Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake system, the S60 offers a selection of other advanced active safety features. n Lane Departure Warning is a system that alerts the driver if the vehicle is drifting into another lane. THE DRIVE
We drove like normal and it was almost completely uneventful other than some minor warning light episodes -- people walking in front while stopped (in drive).
Even with its battery of safety systems, the S60 is probably the sportiest Volvo sedan we've driven. Overall it's a nicely balanced car with a first-class engine.
