*My* review of the S60r compared to my 03 A4 3.0... (for people who consider the S4, S60r LONG)
08-07-2003, 01:36 PM
#1
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,838
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
*My* review of the S60r compared to my 03 A4 3.0... (for people who consider the S4, S60r LONG)
Well, some of us who don't only have Audi in mind might or are considering the S60r instead of the S4... Here's my review and btw, my A4 3.0 has the sport package, premium, bose, ... Also, it's IMO a unbiased opinion. I'm not sold to Audi neither to Volvo *but* I own a Audi, wanted to check the S60r car.
First of all, I went for a 1 hour ride yesterday night, ALONE with my girlfriend (Thank's to Volvo for that, no salesman)... I've been able to test several things and I will unfortunatly compare it to my 03 A4 3.0 since I haven't drove the new S4 (several times the "old" S4)... I have a pretty good history in driving fast/sport cars, new to sport sedan but anyway here we go.
Interior: Well, the interior is superior everywhere (not nicer but superior) than the A4 for sure, almost no plastic compared to the A4 3.0. The blue instruments cluster are awesome. I drove the car when it was beginning to go dark and it's really awesome. It also rained when going back to the dealer and the rain sensor is a cool gadget! Xenon also turn on automatically wich I also like. One of the BEST thing is the shifter. It's nice and passing from gear to gear is very short. We say "short throw" I think in english... WAY closer than my Z06 shifter.
Seats: The seats are a lot less "hard" than the A4... They are really comfortable and amazed me how good they were. The downside, the seating position is REALLY higher compared to the A4 and either if they were way more confortable, I prefer to sit "lower" but I give merit to the seats, they are very good.
Steering wheel/Steering wheel feedback: Well, that's one thing I was disappointed. I've done some 50mph slalom in a market driveway (not very fast but anyway, gives a good feel of the steering) in Comfort, Sport and Advanced mode and the steering wheel doesn't give a good feedback at all. (As lot's of people said). The steering feel slow (it is not but feel slow) and it gives you the feeling that you are driving a huge car... I really prefer the feedback of the A4 on this but it's my personnal opinion
Performance: In the past few years, I've never driven any 6 cylinder cars (other than the A4 3.0)... I'm used to V8 so driving the R with the turbo 5cyl and turbo lag told me to wait for the V8 S4... That's the main reason I'm passing on the Volvo... The performance are great, I managed a 5.9-6s 0-100km/h (4 run) (managed from a slip clutch from 3500rpm) wich IMO is excellent do to the fact I was driving the car for the first time but it was measured with a Timex watch and when the 100km mark arrived, the girlfriend was stopping the chrono when I was telling her. Bizarre fact, I haven't been able to reach 100km in 2nd before the fuel shutoff so 0-100km is done in third gear. The lag is really minimal... They say 1950rpm gives you 300lbs torque... I would say 2200rpm... There's not much under 2000rpm but when the turbo kicks, you have almost the same torque all the way up to the redline. Of course, no comparaison with the A4 and for me, this turbo engine is way better than my friend S4 (2001). Also, they already managed good numbers with a chip in the car (between 335 and 355hp) but you will always have a little lag... On the highway, from 100km to 160km the car is strong and ask for more and more.
Sound: VERY nice sound inside AND outside the car. For sure, nothing compared to a nice V8 growl but still, very nice sound.
Exterior styling: (Opinion) I prefer the A4 period but that wouldn't prevent me from buying the car.
Chassis: WOW! Those options really work... Comfort is a real easy ride... Sport is a bit more stiff and advanced gives you almost no body roll, better feedback from the road and it's something I would use both on the street and on the track.
My final comment: I will keep the A4 3.0 for now because there's still some lag (YES, it's my major concern) and I really like V8 engines and will wait for the S4. I was considering the S60r, now it's out of my mind, bring the S4
I have to say that I was not like "Wow, I want this car now" when I left so that says a lot. I really liked my ride in the S60r. The 4C chassis is awesome but the fun to drive is not there for me...
Don't take me wrong, the S60r is IMO closer to the S4 than the M3 is to the S4 !!! It's a really nice car, very well equipped, very good sound system and for the price it's a interesting alternative. It's a 4 door sedan with performance and AWD compared to the M3 wich is 2 doors, RWD...
Sorry for my english, hope you understood everything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here, I may have forgot to give some details but the message is long enough... Hope it will benifits people to have this review either if there have been a lot of talking of the S60r (not even as much as M3-S4 yet but still..)
Sylvain
First of all, I went for a 1 hour ride yesterday night, ALONE with my girlfriend (Thank's to Volvo for that, no salesman)... I've been able to test several things and I will unfortunatly compare it to my 03 A4 3.0 since I haven't drove the new S4 (several times the "old" S4)... I have a pretty good history in driving fast/sport cars, new to sport sedan but anyway here we go.
Interior: Well, the interior is superior everywhere (not nicer but superior) than the A4 for sure, almost no plastic compared to the A4 3.0. The blue instruments cluster are awesome. I drove the car when it was beginning to go dark and it's really awesome. It also rained when going back to the dealer and the rain sensor is a cool gadget! Xenon also turn on automatically wich I also like. One of the BEST thing is the shifter. It's nice and passing from gear to gear is very short. We say "short throw" I think in english... WAY closer than my Z06 shifter.
Seats: The seats are a lot less "hard" than the A4... They are really comfortable and amazed me how good they were. The downside, the seating position is REALLY higher compared to the A4 and either if they were way more confortable, I prefer to sit "lower" but I give merit to the seats, they are very good.
Steering wheel/Steering wheel feedback: Well, that's one thing I was disappointed. I've done some 50mph slalom in a market driveway (not very fast but anyway, gives a good feel of the steering) in Comfort, Sport and Advanced mode and the steering wheel doesn't give a good feedback at all. (As lot's of people said). The steering feel slow (it is not but feel slow) and it gives you the feeling that you are driving a huge car... I really prefer the feedback of the A4 on this but it's my personnal opinion
Performance: In the past few years, I've never driven any 6 cylinder cars (other than the A4 3.0)... I'm used to V8 so driving the R with the turbo 5cyl and turbo lag told me to wait for the V8 S4... That's the main reason I'm passing on the Volvo... The performance are great, I managed a 5.9-6s 0-100km/h (4 run) (managed from a slip clutch from 3500rpm) wich IMO is excellent do to the fact I was driving the car for the first time but it was measured with a Timex watch and when the 100km mark arrived, the girlfriend was stopping the chrono when I was telling her. Bizarre fact, I haven't been able to reach 100km in 2nd before the fuel shutoff so 0-100km is done in third gear. The lag is really minimal... They say 1950rpm gives you 300lbs torque... I would say 2200rpm... There's not much under 2000rpm but when the turbo kicks, you have almost the same torque all the way up to the redline. Of course, no comparaison with the A4 and for me, this turbo engine is way better than my friend S4 (2001). Also, they already managed good numbers with a chip in the car (between 335 and 355hp) but you will always have a little lag... On the highway, from 100km to 160km the car is strong and ask for more and more.
Sound: VERY nice sound inside AND outside the car. For sure, nothing compared to a nice V8 growl but still, very nice sound.
Exterior styling: (Opinion) I prefer the A4 period but that wouldn't prevent me from buying the car.
Chassis: WOW! Those options really work... Comfort is a real easy ride... Sport is a bit more stiff and advanced gives you almost no body roll, better feedback from the road and it's something I would use both on the street and on the track.
My final comment: I will keep the A4 3.0 for now because there's still some lag (YES, it's my major concern) and I really like V8 engines and will wait for the S4. I was considering the S60r, now it's out of my mind, bring the S4
I have to say that I was not like "Wow, I want this car now" when I left so that says a lot. I really liked my ride in the S60r. The 4C chassis is awesome but the fun to drive is not there for me...Don't take me wrong, the S60r is IMO closer to the S4 than the M3 is to the S4 !!! It's a really nice car, very well equipped, very good sound system and for the price it's a interesting alternative. It's a 4 door sedan with performance and AWD compared to the M3 wich is 2 doors, RWD...
Sorry for my english, hope you understood everything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here, I may have forgot to give some details but the message is long enough... Hope it will benifits people to have this review either if there have been a lot of talking of the S60r (not even as much as M3-S4 yet but still..)
Sylvain
08-07-2003, 04:04 PM
#7
New Member
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 75
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The wierdest thing about an R...
One of the hardest things to get used to in driving the R hard is that you have to learn to trust the car. I had a C36 and knew pretty quickly exactly what the limits were and what would happen if I passed them. With the R, the limits aren't really defined. It sounds weird, and that's where you have to trust the car. On an auto-x course, I was doing insane things that I thought would unsettle the car. It just held its course with all the electronic wizards adjusting discreetly and subtly as necessary. Once you get over the battle of wills with the car, it's a blast pointing and shooting through maneuvers that sometimes seem to defy gravity. This is how one of the car rags (C&D?) got an 88g on the skidpad. I'm posting this because those of you that like to dominate your car might find an R unpleasant at the limit. For those that don't mind looking at their car as a "partner", the capabilities of the R will blow you away. It takes more than a test drive to discover Volvo's rather unconventional approach to high-end performance.
Trending Topics
08-07-2003, 04:31 PM
#9
AudiWorld Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,838
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I agree on that... Still, the S60r is awesome but, probably not for me since
I like good response from a car. YES, C&D said the car had better skidpad than the M3 and S4 but I prefer better feedback from a car but the S60r will suit most people and for sure it will win several people who are in the market looking at both cars. People are not all enthousiast as here and will consider both and pricing, either at 38k or 45k or whatever price are almost always a concern and if they like the car overall, they won't see why putting a extra 8-9k in the car... If they want performance and they want seats as if they were in their La-Z boy and the S4 seats are like the A4 3.0, they will prefer the S60r...
Sylvain
Sylvain
