UPDATED! READ OUR FULL REVIEW OF THE VOLVO S60 HERE:
The Swedish company is continuing its onslaught of new cars for India and just three months after the launch of the XC60 SUV comes the S60 saloon. Volvo's newest and arguably boldest design in a long while, the S60 will also be the cheapest car on offer in India by far.
The prices are as follows –
S60 D5 Kinetic is priced at Rs. 27 lakh
D5 Summun – 32 lakhs
T6 Petrol – 34 lakhs
(ex-showroom, Delhi)
It comes loaded with safety, technology and lots of features. Deliveries start in a month with booking open immediately.
The D5 is the same unit found on the S80 saloon and XC60/XC90 SUVs in India and is powered by a 2.4-litre twin-turbo, straight-five diesel motor with 205 bhp@4000 rpm on offer and a massive 42 kgm@1500-3240 rpm. Performance from this car is pretty good - the standing start to 100 kph coming up in just 7.8 seconds with a top speed of 230 kph. That should place it somewhere between the BMW 320d and the Audi A4 3.0 TDI on the figures count. Expect it to be the largest selling S60 engine model for the time being.
The other engine model on offer will be the T6 twin-turbo petrol with a stonking 304 bhp@5600 rpm and a fruity 44.6 kgm from just 2100 rpm. Being the only turbo petrol six-cylinder offering in its segment, expect the T6 to leave the competition in its wake. Standing start numbers of 6.5 seconds to 100 kph and a top speed of 250 kph should make its job easy of keeping cars like the BMW 330i and the A4 3.2 V6 in its sights. The T6 will be offered with all-wheel drive as well as a six-speed automatic gearbox as standard.
Globally, the S60 comes with two chassis options - a dynamic chassis and comfort chassis. The dynamic chassis is likely to be offered as an option for India with the comfort chassis as standard. The difference lies in the damper settings and the front and rear subframes with the comfort chassis boasting of a softer setup. Four-C chassis setup is also available as standard on the S60 with the option of selecting between comfort and sport setups which alter gearbox, throttle and steering setups on the go. Advanced Stability Control and Cornering Traction Control are also standard.
Like the XC60, the S60 too will be offered with the whole raft of safety features - including City Safety as standard, Pedestrian detection with auto-brake - the first car in the world to have it as well as blind lane information system (BLIS), lane departure control, adaptive cruise control and cameras around corners.
On the features front, expect a five or seven inch screen for the infotainment system, GPS as standard, a Premium Surround sound system or a choice of three other audio systems and various choices in terms of interior trim colours and materials as well as dashboard inserts.
