Volvo made for the tuner crowd

“Only the 18-inch, five-spoke wheels serve to warn S4 and M3s of this Swede's brutal nature.”
When you think performance sedan you don’t usually nod your head towards Volvo, because you think well it’s a big box and it’s all about safety. This is very true, but over the years Volvo have created some seriously good rides and if you ask any Scandinavian it’s a top priority to turn one race worthy. During my youth my uncle’s father passed away leaving a small collection of pistols, rifles, planes, boats, and of course cars. When my uncle’s father was buried we decided to sell off the things that would not be wanted by the family. Looking through the house you could see the man was hell bent on always being outside a world map hung in the living your riddled with tacks of all shapes and sizes with small notes and inscriptions. In the yard two boats sat in prime condition covered and awaiting sale. In the garage sat a half finished plane a reconstructed jeep and a Volvo 850 T-5 R. My dad owning two 240 DL’s liked the vehicle immediately and asked my uncle for it he gave his blessing after an exchange of a few thousand dollars and the car was ours. To this day one of my favorite estates ever made, I believe it is because it is an in house hot rod, like a special car for the Volvo owners who have always craved more power and something to fight the Germans with. 10 years later under Ford ownership the R series rides again this time as a force created to fight the good fight against the Germans.
Volvo said that the S60 type R was a rival for BMW’s M3 well that is well utter crap; they tried to sell it to the wrong crowd. BMW M3 drivers are #$@%^&’s and @!#$^)&P*’s. This car is a rival to the softer performers of the era like the BMW 545 M edition, the Audi A6 4.2 and the Mercedes C32 AMG. Basically this car is a good performer, but what it really is, is a different animal. This is a car that you can take to work in soft comfort and take it home in break neck speed. The S60R is actually two completely different cars. A split personality if you will; it’s the best of both worlds. When I took the S60 R for my first test drive back in 2004 it was something that made my mouth water. I loved the way it looked, it is probably from seeing so many 240’s with LS1 swaps, but something about this car was perfect the Hot Rod was back.
The car is understated and safe, simple and yet complex, but only with its electronics nothing from the outside would ever give away its PhD in physics. with the beefed up electronic damping system the s60 becomes the perfect all around daily driver with the ummph you need on the weekends. The classic box look of the Volvo is still there, but with beautiful 18inch 5 spoke brushed aluminum rims with the silver Brembo calipers leaking through the chopped holes of the spokes. Looking around the rear the slight curves of the body kit gives hint of what lurks under the hood of this sleeper, as does the dual tip exhaust that exits through a gap in the rear of the body kit. This is probably the first time I have looked at a mid-level performance car and gone “I will not touch those rims, they look perfect on this car.” That just does not happen. All in all, this entire car is just perfect from the exterior, now its time to see if the interior and engine can keep up with the exteriors subtle good looks.After the keys were passed to me (by a slightly reluctant car salesmen) I peaked inside at the lush interior. The Buckets draped in light brown leather sown together by 3 cord stitching. As I sat down in the cockpit two things jump at you the very interesting manual trans that has replaced the way we all look at the manual transmission. It looks like a ball joint. Instead of the usual jumble of stitched leather there is a seamless brushed aluminum ball (at first look I thought the car was an automatic) it looks beautiful and I am a big fan. The next thing you notice is the dash, the gauge cluster looks like the face of a man’s watch. Its bold and masculine and it’s the loudest part of the car and it screams, “I go fast!” which is perfect, the interior is fantastic it makes into a true sleeper simple on the outside and boisterous and aggressive on the inside. Turing the key the T5 grumbles to life and driving it off the lot I was initially happy with the soft ride and simply brilliant turning radius. Running into my first stoplight I decided to try to discover what this little machine was all about starting by punching the active chassis settings buttons. Three little buttons that live above the air vents marked Comfort, Sport, and Advanced. These buttons supposedly unlock the secret to the performance of this uber Swede. Putting the suspension into advanced changed the feel of the car significantly it did not feel overly stiff, but it did not feel like a Cadillac anymore. Checking my foot placement I decided that “slamming the loud pedal down”, was probably the best thing to do. When the light turned green I sped off leaving only a small of dust considering that the AWD kept me firm and planted on the road, but even though the engine is small a 2.5 liter turbocharged 5 cylinder the car had absolutely no turbo lag a strange and wonderful occurrence hitting 60 in 6 ain't bad either. I figured now is a good as any to find out how the car holds up as a highway cruiser. My observation, its fantastic its not going to be a track monster and it will not beat an m3 in a straight line but as an everyday driver it is just perfect. And as a vehicle of self expression the performance company Evolve welcomes you to it personalized and customized parts turning your 300 horsepower Volvo into a 456 horsepower beast. boosting this sucker to 4.6 sec 60 run making this little sleeper a M3 spanker fulfilling what Volvo and Ford could not. And if your a husband and father the S70 R the S60's avant brother might be a little bit more your speed giving you the 7seater option to take the kids to school and with 300 horsepower and AWD you can get to work twice as fast. then in your wife's town and country.