The IT Nerd

So I’ve come to the end of this review. What are my final thoughts? I thought the V60 R-Design Platinum is a great sport wagon. It’s a great daily driver that has lots of cargo space. But if you want to have some fun, it’s got the handling and power to do that too. Plus it’s got a ton of technology that makes your life simpler and safer. It’s a very easy sell once you get behind the wheel and test drive it.

The final fuel economy that I got was 10.7 L/ 100 KM. That’s great as I really made liberal use of the 325 horsepower and 358 pound feet of torque that was available to my right foot. I have to admit that having that much power is fun to have. Though it will cost you at the gas pump as it prefers premium gas.

What is all this going to cost you? Well, the particular V60 R-Design Platinum had a lot of option boxes checked. Thus it came up to a grand total of $59,165. But if you want something at a lower price point, the S60 starts at just under $39,800 with FWD and a Drive-E 5 cylinder engine under the hood. I had difficulty cross shopping it as sport wagons are hard to come by. North Americans don’t really like them for whatever bizarre reason unlike Europe where there’s lots of choice. Thus I suspect you’ll be cross shopping it against the BMW 3 series Touring, the Audi Allroad which is closer to the Volvo XC70 in design but fits in terms of size and the Subaru Outback.

The bottom line is this. The Volvo V60 R-Design Platinum is a practical wagon that is an absolute rocketship to drive. You can carry people and stuff and drive like a hooligan on back roads with no cops around. On top of that, it’s an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ which makes it one of the safest vehicles out there. You seriously need to have a look at one at your local Volvo dealer. I really think you’ll be driving away with one with a big grin on your face.

The Volvo V60 R-Design is packed with all sorts of technology that does everything from navigate you from point A to B to potentially avoid an accident. Let me give you a rundown of what you get. I’ll start with actually driving the V60. You get keyless entry using Volvo’s Personal Car Communicator. You simply walk up to the car, grab the driver’s door handle, get in, hit the start button and drive away. You can customize this behavior to open one door or all doors. You can also tie the settings for the mirrors and the seats to the key fob. Plus each key fob can have it’s own unique settings. That way the car will automatically set itself up to that driver. The fob itself will lock or unlock the doors. Turn on the headlights to allow you to find the car in a parking lot, or confirm from a distance the car has been locked properly or the alarm was set off. Not to mention the always popular panic button along with rear hatch opening and closing functions. There’s one other thing. When you get out of the car, you close the door and simply touch an indent on the driver’s door. The car locks and you know it’s locked because it will beep and the side mirrors fold in if you have the latter set up to do that. Net result: You never actually have to take the key fob out of your pocket to get into, drive and lock the car.

Now there’s the safety features…. and there’s a lot of safety in this car:

• Adaptive Cruise Control: When you turn this on the car will not only maintain a set speed, it will adjust the speed relative to the cars in front of you and keep a distance that you can choose between the two of you. If the car in front of you slows down, the Volvo will slow down. If the car in front of you speeds up, the Volvo will speed up.
• Distance Alert: You pre-set a distance that you consider “safe” for you to be following another car. If you drive closer than that distance, a red light will appear in bottom of the windshield within your line of sight (in other words, your passenger will not see this) and the red light will become more intense the closer you get. That’s a hint that you’re too close and you need to back off a bit. If it thinks that there’s a potential for an avoidable collision, the red light will flash and you’ll hear beeping. I had this happen to me and it does really get your attention. If it thinks a crash is unavoidable, the brakes will activate.
• Blind Spot Information System: It will warn you when there’s something in your blind spot by turning on an amber light inside the car. As I noted in part 3 of this review, the light is well placed inside the car so that you are always aware of what is around you.
• Cross Traffic Alert: You will find this handy if you’re backing out of a space and you cannot see what is on either side of you. It’s handy for trips to the mall and to Home Depot. When I tried this, it not only picked up cars, but it also picked up a cyclist that I didn’t see. Nice!
• Lane Departure Warning: The cameras in the windshield constantly monitor where the V60 is relative to the lane you’re currently in. If you start to stray outside that lane, you get a warning. If you continue to wander across lanes and you have the cruise control on, the car will disable the cruise control. That of course slows the car down if you don’t have your foot on the pedal which forces you to take control. You then have to turn off the car and turn it on to re-enable cruise control. All of that is part of the Driver Alert System which is invaluable on long drives.
• Road Sign Information: The camera in the windshield will read the speed limit signs and display them in the gauge cluster. If you go more than 10% faster than the speed limit. The display will flash. Handy for avoiding speeding tickets.
• City Safety With Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection: Now I wrote up an explanation of City Safety With Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection a while back and videotaped how it worked when I tested the 2013 S60. But it’s been enhanced to detect cyclists. In a city like Toronto, that is a very welcome improvement.
• There’s dual xenon headlights that turn in the direction that you turn the wheel. That way you can virtually see around corners. Also worth noting, the headlights and taillights are of the automatic variety. Thus you never have to worry about when to turn them on or off, or if you’ve left them on by accident.
• In the event a frontal impact, the engine is designed to slide under the passenger compartment and the steering column is designed to collapse. That way the driver will not be crushed by either.
• In the event of a side collision, the occupants are protected by Volvo’s unique Side Impact Protection System. The steel framework of the car – including the front seats – is designed and reinforced to help displace the impact of a side-collision away from the occupants to other parts of the car body and help prevent intrusion into the cabin.
• In terms of airbags, you get 6. Front airbags for driver and passenger along with side impact airbags. Plus you get head curtain airbags.
• There’s whiplash protection called WHIPS included to protect you from the negative effects of a rear impact.
• The hood of the V60 is designed to lessen the impact forces on a pedestrian if you are unlucky enough to hit a pedestrian.
• There’s a backup camera included in the 7″ screen. It works quite well as you can zoom in on objects and helps guide you into parking spaces. As you approach objects such as other cars or curbs, it will let you know where they are so you can avoid hitting them both visually and audibly. It picked up low curbs as little as a couple of inches in height which is the best that I’ve seen from a system like this. There is a CAM button on the center console that allows you to activate the camera at will. I used it a few times while parking to confirm that I was fully in a parking space. One thing to note is that the camera is exposed to the elements, so one wonders how well it will work in winter.

All of these features mean that the Volvo V60 gets a (IIHS) Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick+ award.

The included audio system is called Volvo Premium Sound System and it is nothing short of impressive. Those I shuttled around all week long commented was the best car audio system they’ve heard. You get USB and 1/8″ audio inputs. That’s tied to the infotainment system called Sensus which among other things allows you to pair your phone via Bluetooth (which is an easy process) for hands free calling and connect your iPod or iPhone via the USB ports to play music. In the case of the latter, I simply plugged my iPhone 5 into the USB port and I had complete access to my playlists and everything else. Any song be it a MP3 or a AAC file purchased from the iTunes store worked. Plus I got the track info from each song displayed on the 7″ screen located in the center console. I could also stream music via Bluetooth and get the track info displayed on the screen. But I would have to select the song or songs I wanted to play from the iPhone which is typical for these systems.

The 7″ screen isn’t a touchscreen. Instead, you control it via a scroll wheel which is similar to one that you find on a mouse along with an exit button on the steering wheel. There’s a redundant knob with buttons on the center console as well. You use the wheel or the knob to highlight the option you want and then you either click the wheel or press OK on the knob to choose it. To back out of a menu option, hit the exit button in either case. The menus are logically laid out and it will only take you a few minutes to figure out where everything is.

The infotainment system also allows you to use voice commands to control it. Now there are two things that stood out for me when it comes to that. First there’s a brief tutorial that explains how the system works. That saves you having to crack open the manual (which is a very good one by the way and as usual, I do recommend you read it). One note, it only works while the vehicle is in park. That’s a very nice touch. The other thing is that there is voice training that allows up to two people to train the system to better recognize their voices. That helps to improve the accuracy of the voice recognition and accounts for accents. Speaking of that, I found it easy to use the voice navigation. For example I could enter addresses into the navigation system, though you have to do it the way the system wants you to do it. For example if you want to go to 1234 Main Street, you have to say 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 for the street number. That’s not a bad thing as it guarantees a high accuracy rate. Another thing to note is that as you use your voice, the screen as well as audio will provide you with suggested choices. If you use it enough times, you’ll be able to eventually use it as your main way to control the infotainment system. My advice, spend an hour or two in your garage playing with it until you get comfortable with it before trying to use it on the road.

The navigation system was very competent in terms of it’s routing and it even displayed traffic and construction ahead of me. It is capable of displaying accidents as well. That allows the system to quickly re-route you if required. I noted that quite a few times, it would offer up a route change on the 7″ screen and if I was smart enough to take it, it would usually save me time. The navigation system is also highly customizable. You can set up a single screen, or split screens with their own views and zoom levels. It should be noted that Volvo owners get two free updates for the maps. I must admit that the navigation systems inside the Volvo cars I’ve tested are quickly growing on me.

One thing I should note is that this is likely the last time I will be writing about Sensus as Volvo will be putting Android Auto and Carplay into their cars going forward.

The safety technology is nothing short of cutting edge and impressive. If you want a car that will keep you safe, look no further. As for the infotainment system, it’s great at what it does and is well executed. If you put in the time to learn how to use it, you’ll find that it works very well for you. Other technology is there to make your life easier. It’s all put together very well.

The final part of this review will tie up some loose ends and I’ll give you my final verdict.

Volvo interiors have always impressed me because they are well crafted, simple, and functional. The interior in the 2014 V60 R-Design Platinum is no exception. Let me hit the highlights:

The drivers seat, which I’ve raved about in every Volvo I’ve driven, held me in place during spirited driving and it is highly adjustable, including having knee bolstering for comfort during long drives. Put in the time to adjust the seat to suit you and you will never complain about long drives again. The seat also has three memory settings so that once you have that perfect position, you can make sure it’s always available. As a bonus, the front seats have pockets which is a nice touch. The front seats are heated. One thing to note, I found getting in and out to be a bit of a challenge because of the low roofline. Your mileage may vary on that front.

All the window and mirror controls are on the driver’s side door.

The indicators for the blind spot information system is INSIDE the car rather than being located on the side mirror. That allows it to be within your field of vision which I really like and I think you’ll like as well.

Next to the steering wheel are the controls for the lights, gas door, trunk, the electronic parking brake.

You get metal sport pedals. Though the dead pedal isn’t metal. I would argue that it should be as it would look really cool.

The leather wrapped steering wheel feels nice in your hands and is heated as well. It has redundant controls on it for infotainment and other systems.

The gauges are easy to read and can be customized. What you see above is the performance setting that includes a power gauge.

This is the elegant setting that looks very simple and clean.

This is the eco setting that can help you save gas. Though that seems to be an oxymoron given this is a performance car.

When you get in and out of the car, it won’t let you forget that this V60 has had the R-Design treatment.

You get push button start along with a place to put your key in if you so choose.

The centre stack has the 7″ screen as well as the HVAC and infotainment controls. The gearshift looks nice as well trimmed in leather.

The centre console is Volvo’s signature floating console that has a space to pop your phone.

You get a lit glovebox.

You get two cup holders with a 12V outlet in between them. When not in use, the panel to the left can be used to cover them.

As you can see, they hold a Short and a Venti coffee from Starbucks. The former is hard to get to though.

The centre console is very deep and is lined as well. You also get a 1/8″ jack and USB port as well.

Above the occupants is a rather large moonroof.

The rear seats have adequate room for my six foot frame. If you’re any taller, you might find this to be a very tight fit. Getting into the back is also a slight challenge because of the low roofline. It can seat three if you’re all friends and the seats are heated. Though the person in the middle will have to deal with the tunnel for the rear driveshaft.

The middle seat has a pop up headrest. The outboard headrests can also be flipped down via a button on the centre console.

If you don’t need to seat someone in the middle seat, they cup holders and a tray can be put into use.

The V60 has 40-20-40 fold down seats which give you maximum flexibility for carrying different types of cargo. For example, I flipped down the middle section to show that you can carry long thin objects like skis.

A unique feature in Volvo vehicles is the fact that the HVAC vents in the rear are on the B-pillars. Other vehicles have them on the floor which means that your feet either roast or freeze.

The V60 has a ton of storage in the back and a low lift over height makes it easy to load your stuff.

As you can see from our usual shot of groceries, there’s a ton of space left over. Note the privacy cover just above the groceries. Plus the cargo area has a few neat features….

For example, you get a grocery bag holder to keep your shopping bags from flying around the back…..

Plust there’s storage under the floor.

There’s a handle to allow you to close the hatch without getting your hands dirty. Though I found it to be in an awkward  position.

Notes:

• The visibility is great for the most part. I can see in any direction very well and there are no blind spots. Combined with properly adjusted mirrors, there should never be any reason why you can’t see what’s around you. The headrests can block rear vision. But as I mentioned earlier, there’s a button on the centre console that can remotely flip them down if that bothers you.
• Headroom is acceptable with the moonroof. That’s important to me as headroom in vehicles equipped with moonroofs is often an issue for me.
• All the surfaces have some sort of low gloss soft touch material. It feels like it will stand up over time.
• The build quality of the interior is top notch. No gaps, no rattles, nothing that could be considered a negative was found during my examination of it.

The interior in this V60 R-Design is a great place to live. It is well put together and it’s a great place to take a long drive in. It oozes quality from every aspect and is well executed for the most part. The interior is a win for Volvo.

In part four, I’ll cover the technology which is very extensive. Stay tuned.

The Volvo V60 is powered by a a turbocharged 3 litre inline six cylinder that starts out life generating 300 HP and 325 pound feet of torque. But thanks to some software from Polestar, this same engine now puts out 325 HP and 354 pound feet of torque. 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. It works exceptionally well to motivate this the V60 from 0 to 6 in 5.3 seconds according to Dynolicious which is what all the cool kids use to test 0 – 60 times. I also should mention, that I felt no discernible turbo lag. That’s a very good thing.

The V60 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 at all. It was incredibly smooth.
• 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 a more aggressively. In this mode, you can feel the car shift gears, but it is not objectionable.
• In that left most position, you can shift it yourself by pushing the gear shift up or down, or by using the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Unlike some other vehicles that shifted gears slowly or didn’t let me shift at all (because I was never really in full control of the transmission), this transmission shifted the instant that I pulled on the paddle shifters. The reason being that Volvo tweaked the software that controls the transmission to deliver up to 30% faster shifts in gears 3 to 6 and up to 50% faster shifts in gears 1 – 2. It’s very impressive for those who like to shift gears themselves. Another note, the paddle shifters work regardless of what position the gear shift lever is in which is something that you can’t do in every vehicle that has paddle shifters. That way you can hold a gear when you need it.

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. That combined with the firm suspension that does an great job of controlling body roll and making it really easy to switch lanes with minimal steering input makes the V60 a joy to drive. You’ll feel bumps on really rough roads, though I’m guessing that the low profile tires and the low ride height 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. I’m not bothered by this as Volvo is close to having the perfect balance between comfort and performance handling. But if you want a more cushioned feel, you might want to look at a “normal” V60 at your local Volvo dealer.

Now you can adjust the amount of steering input via the infotainment system 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 on the V60.  Also via the infotainment system, you can 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.

In terms of noise, there’s only minimal tire noise and no wind noise to speak of, and you only hear the engine when you floor it (and it sounds really nice I must say). That’s very good.  When it comes to gas consumption, I’m currently getting an average of 10.5 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.

Bottom line? The Volvo V60 is a great daily driver that handles performance driving well.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the interior which is exceptional in almost every way. Stay tuned for that.

The station wagon is alive and well and you want the one that I am writing about this week. No that’s not a misprint. By the time you read all five parts of this review, you’ll be wanting to go to your local Volvo dealer and get yourself a Volvo V60 R-Design Platinum sport wagon. If you’re still skeptical, let me start with how it looks:

From the front it looks good but it really doesn’t give away its sporting intentions. Though it does have a very unique look that isn’t polarizing.

Those in the know will make note of the R-Design badge on the grille.

From the site it looks very sleek.

And these wheels when combined with the shade of red really make this Volvo stand out from the crowd.

So does the aluminium trim on the side mirrors.

Dual tailpipes and a rear diffuser make it clear that this isn’t your dad’s Volvo.

And those in the know will note the blue Polestar badge which signifies the fact that this is the successor to legendary Volvo wagons such as the 850R and the V70R.

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

Tune in tomorrow to see how the engine in this Volvo puts this wagon to the front of the class.