Getting your player ready...
Breezing through Eastern Colorado on a warm Saturday afternoon, we pulled the 2012 Volvo S60 R sport sedan in to Anton at the crossroads of Colo. 63 and U.S. 36, 100 miles straight east of Denver. The streets were deserted (it’s always that way in Anton, someone told me later).
Where was everyone? “They’re at the football game at Arickaree (High School),” said a woman at Anton Supers store, and directed me 12 miles northeast. The turbocharged Volvo wasted no time in finding the football field out on the prairie, and we parked just outside an end zone in the third quarter of a six-man contest in which Edison eventually defeated Arickaree, 74-40. The last time I’d seen a six-man game was 55 years ago this fall as a beginning reporter for the Sterling Journal-Advocate. I wrote then about Coach Jack Helmsing’s Ovid high team, led by big backs Cloyd Bailey and Jerry Sanger in their undefeated state championship season.
Also parked in the end zone was Linda Dutton, who, with a little urging, told us of “the good life” out in that part of the state. She’s a ’73 graduate of Arickaree, her two kids finished school there and her dad, Odie Dutton, 85, operates a dairy farm near there. From six-man football, though, let’s turn the subject where it belongs, to the 6-cylinder-powered Volvo. The new Volvo, labeled the S60 T6 AWD R-Design, showed up with a sticker price of $46,875, about where competitive makes from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Cadillac stand. Performance has been enhanced in the turbocharged inline-6-cylinder engine, which is stronger in midrange with a boost in horsepower from 300 to 325 and torque from 325 to 354; it is tied to a quick-shifting 6-speed automatic transmission. Eighteen-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels highlight exterior modifications in the R-Design setup, along with lower front fascia, black grille and rear trunk spoiler. Finely stitched, well-bolstered leather seats with an embossed R-Design logo add comfort to the interior, which continues long use of the floating center stack. Legroom has been increased in the tight rear-seating space. Trunk space is 13.9 cubic feet, about the same as the Cadillac CTS sedan.
The emergence of the upgraded R-Design sport sedan is refreshing, for concern has been expressed that Volvo, now owned by Chinese company Geely, might become a cheaper, high-volume Chinese product. The S60 R is a good handler; the stiffer springs accompanying the performance buildup reacts somewhat harshly in ride quality to highway tar strips.
Ninety percent of torque is apportioned to the front wheels in the Haldex all-wheel-drive system; adverse conditions, though, can draw instant response of the same ratio to the rear wheels. In normal driving, 5000 rpm in 3rd gear brings out the best with the Geartronic transmission, not only in gripping performance, also in sound from the engine and dual exhausts.
An unusually high overall fuel mileage of 25.2 miles per gallon benefited from the drive out east over the flat terrain; a year ago I averaged 22.6 with a 300-hp T6, which is probably more near what to expect. EPA rating for the ’12 Volvo is 18-26.
The S60 is equipped with navigation, rearview camera, power moonroof, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, sport steering wheel and heated windshield-washer nozzles.
The S60 is Volvo’s best-selling model. In September, Volvo sold 5,042 units in the U.S., a 21 percent increase, according to Volvo Cars of North America.
Notes from e-mail
Q: Bud, I have seen all of the Chevrolet yearly models since 1951 (when my grandpa bought a new Bel Air), and in my “expert” opinion, the 1963 split window Corvette Coupe is far and away the greatest-looking Chevrolet ever produced. It is even better looking that the Corvette models produced in the last several years. While the 1963 could not do 200 mph like the current ones, it looks like it could, and looks are much more important than anything else. It even had a 36-gallon fuel tank that let you drive forever, it seemed sometimes. Engineer and later chief engineer and designer of the early Corvettes, Zora Arkus-Duntov, did a truly outstanding job with the Chevy Corvette from its beginning in 1953 to the time he retired from GM in 1975. But I believe his greatest achievement was the truly beautiful and powerful (with the right engine choice) 1963 Corvette Stingray Split Window Coupe. It has never been equaled and probably never will. – M.M.
A: That’s a good choice, Mike, and one that is shared with several other readers. “Best-looking Chevrolet” voting results will be announced in an upcoming special section devoted to the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet.
2012 Volvo S60 AWD R
$46,875
(price as tested)
MPG City 18 Highway 26
Vehicle type: Compact sport sedan
Wheelbase: 109.3 inches
Length/Width/Height: 182.2/73.4/58.4 inches
Weight: 3,875 pounds
Engine: Turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-6-cylinder
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Fuel mileage: 25.2 mpg
Fuel tank: 17.8 gallons
Warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles basic, powertrain
Competitors: Audi S4, Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G37x
Built at Ghent, Belgium
Parts content: Belgium 25 percent, Germany 20 percent, U.S./Canadian 1 percent
THE STICKER
$42,500 base
$2,700 Navigation, premium sound, rearview camera
$800 Heated front seats, heated windshield washer nozzles
$875 Destination
PLUSES
Bolstered front seats
Performance
AWD handling
Braking
MINUSES
Firm suspension
Rear-seat legroom
Where was everyone? “They’re at the football game at Arickaree (High School),” said a woman at Anton Supers store, and directed me 12 miles northeast. The turbocharged Volvo wasted no time in finding the football field out on the prairie, and we parked just outside an end zone in the third quarter of a six-man contest in which Edison eventually defeated Arickaree, 74-40. The last time I’d seen a six-man game was 55 years ago this fall as a beginning reporter for the Sterling Journal-Advocate. I wrote then about Coach Jack Helmsing’s Ovid high team, led by big backs Cloyd Bailey and Jerry Sanger in their undefeated state championship season.
Also parked in the end zone was Linda Dutton, who, with a little urging, told us of “the good life” out in that part of the state. She’s a ’73 graduate of Arickaree, her two kids finished school there and her dad, Odie Dutton, 85, operates a dairy farm near there. From six-man football, though, let’s turn the subject where it belongs, to the 6-cylinder-powered Volvo. The new Volvo, labeled the S60 T6 AWD R-Design, showed up with a sticker price of $46,875, about where competitive makes from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Cadillac stand. Performance has been enhanced in the turbocharged inline-6-cylinder engine, which is stronger in midrange with a boost in horsepower from 300 to 325 and torque from 325 to 354; it is tied to a quick-shifting 6-speed automatic transmission. Eighteen-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels highlight exterior modifications in the R-Design setup, along with lower front fascia, black grille and rear trunk spoiler. Finely stitched, well-bolstered leather seats with an embossed R-Design logo add comfort to the interior, which continues long use of the floating center stack. Legroom has been increased in the tight rear-seating space. Trunk space is 13.9 cubic feet, about the same as the Cadillac CTS sedan.
The emergence of the upgraded R-Design sport sedan is refreshing, for concern has been expressed that Volvo, now owned by Chinese company Geely, might become a cheaper, high-volume Chinese product. The S60 R is a good handler; the stiffer springs accompanying the performance buildup reacts somewhat harshly in ride quality to highway tar strips.
