Review: 2013 Volvo S60 T6 R-Design Platinum – Part 2
Meet the engine that powers the 2013 Volvo S60 T6 R-Design Platinum. It is a turbocharged 3 litre inline six cylinder that starts out life generating 300 HP and 325 pound feet of torque. Not too shabby. But thanks to some software from Polestar, this same engine now puts out 325 HP and 354 pound feet of torque. How does it do that you ask? The Polestar software upgrade delivers host of tweaks to the engine control unit that delivers a lot more speed and torque without having to swap engine parts and it maintains your fuel economy. Upgrades are done at your local Volvo dealer and will not void your car’s warranty unlike the software upgrades you get from your local speed shop. I should also mention that if you take a visit to Polestar’s website or to your local Volvo dealer, you can likely find upgrade options for your Volvo that your dealer can install. That way existing Volvo owners can get in on the action too. Now if you don’t think that you’ll get anything out of a Polestar software upgrade, there is a 14 day money back guarantee. But only for a limited time. Let me tell you what my wife thinks of that:
“It’s like crack. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked.”
Need I say more?
Now, someone reading this is going to say something like “<insert car make and model here> puts out way more horsepower.” That’s great, but this Volvo will likely be competitive because it has one other trick up it’s sleeve. It has an all-wheel-drive system called Instant Traction All-Wheel-Drive. I’ll come back to that in more detail in a bit. The all-wheel-drive system and the Polestar tricks conspires to give this car a 0 – 60 time of 5.5 seconds according to the spec sheet. That’s likely conservative because I did some test runs on a flat deserted road north of Toronto using an app called Dynolicious which is what all the cool kids use to test 0 – 60 times and I got times as fast as 5.2 seconds from 0 – 60.
Needless to say, that’s quick.
The fact that there’s almost no turbo lag and torque that is available all over the rev range makes this car incredibly potent. For example, on the way home from picking the car up I had to pass a transport truck on the Queen Elizabeth Way that was 10 KM/H under the speed limit. After checking to make sure there was nothing in the lane to the left or in my blind spot, I put my foot to the floor. After one second of hesitation, the car rocketed forward and pinned me to the seat. A simple flick of the steering wheel allowed me to change lanes and pass the truck almost instantly. Another flick of the wheel put me back to the lane I started from. After I completed the pass and returned to normal highway cruising speed, a Corvette C5 convertible pulled up beside me. The driver looked at the car and gave me a quick nod of his head. I returned the nod.
Clearly I had earned some instant respect.
All the power goes right to the wheels thanks to the Instant Traction All-Wheel-Drive system which can alter the torque from front to rear to make the car go forward as fast as possible and eliminate torque steer. It also includes torque vectoring which shunts power from side to side to almost eliminate understeer. To test this, I took an on-ramp that had a posted suggested speed of 50 KM/H at 90 KM/H without upsetting the car or forcing me to alter my line on the on-ramp. While you shouldn’t do this in normal everyday driving, it’s nice to know that this Volvo has a few tricks up it’s sleeve to keep you “shiny side up” as they say if you take an on-ramp too fast. I also took the liberty of going on a gravel road in Belfountain which is north west of Toronto that had very steep uphills, downhills and sharp turns. It’s usually frequented by the pickup trucks and SUVs that are owned by the farmers in the area so it was full of ruts and shallow depressions. The top speed on this road is 60 KM/H with a lower limit of 20 KM/H in the sharp 90 degree turns. On the uphill sections, my wife and I could really feel the Volvo adjust the torque from front to rear and it felt completely stable the entire time. The turns were flat and I never felt the back end step out nor did I suffer any loss of control. You can bet that this S60 will prove to be a great all conditions car. Snow, rain, and poor roads won’t stop it.
The S60 T6 R-Design Titanium has a six speed automatic transmission that can be run in three modes:
- Shift it to “D” and the transmission is unbelievably smooth. I could not feel it shift with the exception of once feeling the transmission kick down when I was going uphill at 50 KM/H.
- If you slide the gear shift left so that it is set in “S” mode and leave it there, the transmission shifts on its own more aggressively which can be fun if you’re on some back roads with no police around. In this mode, you can feel the car shift gears.
- In that left most position, you can shift it yourself by pushing the gear shift up or down. But I would not bother shifting gears yourself unless you need to hold a gear in a turn during a track day.
I will ask one question to Volvo. Where are the paddle shifters? The car seems strangely incomplete without them.
Now, if you really want to have lots of fun on a track day, fish through the infotainment system to turn off DTSC (Dynamic Traction and Stability Control) which makes this car even more fun. Though I would only suggest this if you have the required driving skill to control the car without crashing it. Despite the fact that I do have substantial amounts of driver training, I did not try this as I did not think it prudent. When it’s time to bring the car to a stop, you’ll find that the braking is smooth, precise and linear. The fact that they’re bigger than the “normal” S60 (13.2″ for those who want the precise size) likely helps with this.
Other than tire noise and occasional wind noise, there’s nothing that makes it way into the cabin in terms of sound. Now some might want to hear more engine noise. If you put your foot down on the go pedal, you’ll hear engine noise. If you have the gear shift set to the left in “S” mode, you’ll hear a bit more engine noise. But if you’re expecting an experience similar to something like an Infiniti G37 coupe where the sound of the engine is always present, you won’t get it here. Is that a letdown? Not for me it isn’t. I’m way past the need to prove my automotive manhood by having a loud car. Thus the fact that this car is quiet is just fine for me.
Now the Volvo S60 R-Design Platinum handles exceptionally well. It has a firm suspension that does an great job of controlling body roll and making it really easy to switch lanes with minimal steering input. Speaking of steering, you can adjust the amount of steering input using one of three settings. That makes it easy to allow you to set the car up for a downtown environment, or a track day. I had it set as medium which was a good setup for me as it gave me the right amount of steering input in any situation. Another thing to note, the turning radius is incredibly tight. My wife was impressed with that when we negotiated some tight switchbacks on the roads of Belfountain. Now the suspension does have a downside. You’ll feel bumps on really rough roads, though I’m guessing that the low profile tires and the lower ride height (compared to a “normal” S60) contribute to this. It won’t upset the car though which is good. As an aside, I strongly recommend that you take speed bumps as slow as possible as this car will not like you if you don’t. Now, none of this is objectionable to me. But if you’re looking for a car that completely insulates you from the road, Volvo has a “regular” T5 or T6 S60 for you. Having said that, Volvo might want to consider something similar to the magnetic ride suspension used in many GM, Audi and Acura products as I think that would broaden the appeal of this car.
One other thing to note. This car prefers premium gas, but you’re not forced to use it. You can use regular if you don’t mind taking a bit of a performance hit. Choice is good as it will save you gas money. But I’ll choose premium as I like to work all 325 of those horses. Speaking of gas, so far I’m getting an average of 10.9 L/100 KM and I’m not exactly driving in a way that encourages fuel economy. That was something that I wasn’t expecting as performance cars aren’t known for fuel economy. Color me surprised.
The S6 T6 R-Design Platinum seems to be a good balance between performance and the need to drive it every day. That’s a good thing in my books as I’ve driven performance cars that are heavily slanted towards the track at the expense of being able to use this car as your daily driver. So far, this Volvo is impressing me.
In the next part of this review, I will look at the interior. I’ll give you a hint. It’s a very nice place to live.
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