[s-cars] Volvo S60R as UrS4 replacement?

[Taka Mizutani]

Joe-
We have an '04 V70R slushbox. After about 5k miles, I can say that the
car is really comfortable, good fit and finish, nice power on the
highway. My complaints are that the car has little off-the-line ooomph
considering it's a 2.5L fairly high-compression engine and the
slushbox kind of kills throttle response. Also, if you pay anywhere
near the sticker price, the car's interior is lacking compared to
Lexus and Infiniti, definitely lacking compared to say an Audi A6.

The brakes are awesome, Porsche sized calipers and rotors all around.
The handling is quite good, although it drives like a big car (doesn't
FEEL nimble). Has decent moves, though- it's not as big as it feels.
Power is more than adequate, but with the slushbox, torque is limited
to 270lb-ft. in the lower gears, which hurts. The 6-speed manual is
something like 1.5s faster to 60, making it about a 5.3-5.5s to 60mph
car.

The stereo is not bad, the navigation system is great. As long as
you're not expecting sports-car like response and handling, I think
you would be more than happy with the car.

I have not had any issues with the suspension.

The Haldex AWD system does keep the car in FWD mode until the wheels
slip, although it's something like a quarter revolution for it to
engage. Engagement is seamless except on low-traction uphill hard
launches, which feel weird.

As for brakes- George, you have to have driven the older version. The
current version with Brembos on all four corners has bigger brakes
than everything except for pure sports cars- 332x32 front, 320x30
rear. The car has the ability to easily scrub speeds and no heat
issues at all- I've done 100 to 55 repeatedly on one stretch of road
with zero brake fade, zero change in pedal feel.

The seats?!? You have to be kidding- these Volvo seats are cushy. The
very definition of cushy- no issues at all with long road trips, I've
done 4 hour stints without issues, although it took me some tweaking
to get the position just right.

Yes, the interior is very plasticky compared to the current A6. The
car was NOT my choice- I would have chosen a low-mileage '03 S6 Avant
or the Infiniti FX45 with tech package.

Any further questions about the car, please ask.

Taka