S60 Series III

Volvo aimed to dramatically increase its presence in the mid-sized luxury class with its all-new S60 sedan.

In true Volvo fashion, it packed plenty of advanced safety technology, including a system that could actively stop the car when it sensed a pedestrian on a collision course.

Electronic stability control was standard on all S60 models, with a sport mode that turned off the traction control element to allow for some spirited driving with a safety net in the background.

The S60 came with a full suite of front, side and curtain airbags and also had a rollover sensor that activated the curtain airbags and pretensions the seatbelts in anticipation of an impact.

City Safety, which used laser radar to counter low-speed nose-to-tail crashes at 30km/h was standard. Adaptive cruise control, using radar to maintain a standard distance between the driver and the car in front. If this system predicted a possible impact with a car in front it could sound an alarm and flash up a red line on the windscreen to warn the driver and brake heavily to try to avoid a crash or at least limit its severity if the driver failed to respond.

New suspension, with MacPherson struts at the front and a fresh multi-link rear set-up was set up with firmer damping and spring rates to aid sportier handling.Volvo also offered an active damper system or R-Design sports suspension as options.

Three engines were offered, starting with the T5, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine, generating 177kW and 320Nm to propel the S60 from 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds. This engine was linked to Volvo’s six-speed Powershift dual-clutch automatic.

The D5 was a 2.4-litre five-cylinder common-rail turbo diesel generating 151kW and 420Nm, with official Australian fuel consumption of 7.1L/100km and a 0-100km/h acceleration figure of 8.1 seconds.

Topping the range was the T6, a 3.0-litre transverse mounted in-line six cylinder turbo offering 224kW and 440Nm. The fuel consumption was 10.2L/100km but the acceleration number from 0 to 100km/h of 6.1 seconds was of most interest to customers.

Both the D5 and T6 ran a six-speed automatic torque convertor type transmission linked to a constant all-wheel drive system, while the T5 was front-wheel drive only.