Volvo s60r test drive

[schaff]

I've drove the S60r today with the six speed and wow. I didn't go crazy with it as it is brand new but it wants to go. Can anyone comment on the service record with the car? There was an earlier post that was scary about how the car is a maintenance problem. I am ready to buy but am looking any insights.

[rdollie]

The S60R is built off the P2 Volvo platform that debuted in 1998 on the new S80 sedan. As with ALL new platforms it had some teething issues for some cars from about '98 -'00. At this point it is the underpinning for their mid sized sedans and wagons, full sized sedan, and 7-seat SUV. It's quite mature and reliable at this point. It's overall ranking is average to slightly above average for the range of P2 vehicles except for the most recent - the XC90 SUV which of course had some minor nits in its first year in 2003. At this point the S60R is quite reliable. The only reported issues were with a shifter cable that caused a slight buzz in 5th gear for the 6-speed version and some rear-end float in high-speed cornering in some cars. The former issue was solved with a newly designed cable that is swapped out easily at a dealership and the latter issue was addressed through a software download at the dealership (and that's of course assuming an owner actually experienced these issues - they were TSBs not recalls as the problems simply weren't wide spread enough.)

For the money the S60R is a no-brainer. You can get one with all the go fast goodies (turbo 300 HP AWD, 4-pot 13" Brembos, active chassis system), leather, and bi-xenons for UNDER $35k through the overseas delivery program (which includes airfare, hotel, insurance, and shipping) or for $37k at a dealership. It simply spanks similarly priced Audis, BMWs, and Lexus cars and for $1k you can chip it to meet or beat a S4 or M3 in most objective measurements.

Thanks.

-rollie
rdollie@att.net

[irr7]

Quite so.