The IT Nerd

If you’re of those who thinks that Volvo cars are exactly what was portrayed in Crazy People which is “boxy but good,” I’m about to change that perception. Meet the 2013 Volvo S60 T6 R-Design Platinum:

It’s safe, but it’s anything but boxy. In fact it’s extremely stylish. It’s also very fast. But it doesn’t scream fast. There are just subtle but useful touches that suggest that this is more than your average Volvo S60:

At the rear end of the car, there’s this blue square. It’s a sign that this car has had software from Polestar installed. Who are they? Polestar was founded in 1996 in collaboration with Volvo in order to drive forward Volvo’s investment in racing. But they also make all sorts of cool things to make your Volvo go faster. I’ll cover the Polestar software and how it makes this car better in part 2 of this review. As you can see it also has all-wheel-drive. I’ll cover that in part 2 as well.

You get low profile tires with unique R-Design wheels. And they do look cool.

If you look on the grille, you’ll see a R-Design logo

There’s a trunklid spoiler to add downforce to the rear end.

The back end is the only thing that gives you a hint that this car has any sporting aspirations. Note the dual tailpipes and the rear diffuser.

Its mission in life is to take on the Audi S and BMW M crowd while giving you a nicely appointed car that has a ton of unique technology that will keep you comfortable and safe. The question is, does it succeed? Let’s find out.

As usual, I’ll be posting a multi-part review that will cover the following sections:

• Engine, transmission, handling, fuel economy, and driving comfort
• Interior
• Technology in the vehicle
• Wrap up

I think it’s safe to say that this review is going to be very fun.

This entry was posted on July 22, 2013 at 8:51 am and is filed under Products with tags Volvo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.