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(Tue 09 Feb 10) Just under a month before its official debut at the Geneva Show, Volvo has issued more details about the new S60. The company, not noted for its sporty models despite a few high-powered examples over the years, has been saying for some time that the S60 will be "sportier and more dynamic" than anything it has produced in the past, and it certainly seems to have put a lot of work into that aspect, not least by fine-tuning the dampers during weeks of testing on UK roads.
Full specification details for S60s sold in this country have not been confirmed, but Volvo is saying that to begin with there will be a choice of three engines - the familiar 204bhp 2.4-litre D5 turbo diesel, a similar two-litre unit called D3 and producing a maximum of 163bhp, and the 304bhp three-litre petrol T6, which is available exclusively with four-wheel drive rather than the front-wheel drive of other models. In the first year of production, Volvo plans to add three more turbocharged petrol engines called T3 (1.6 litres, 150bhp), T4 (1.6 litres, 180bhp) and T5 (two litres, 240bhp), plus - for the DRIVe model - a 115bhp 1.6-litre turbo diesel which has predicted combined economy and CO2 emissions of 65.7mpg and around 115g/km respectively.
Typically, this Volvo is bristling with safety features, including Pedestrian Detection (which can recognise the presence of anyone more than 80cm tall), Full Auto Brake, City Safety (as introduced on the XC60), Driver Alert Control, Lane Departure Warning and much else. The S60 will be built in Belgium, but its largest markets are expected to be the UK, the US, China, Russia and Sweden. Customer deliveries are expected to start in early summer this year. |
