Introduction

Volvo S60 offers a Swedish-modern alternative to BMW's 3 Series sedans. The S60 combines exciting performance and a stylish shape with Volvo's well-deserved reputation for outstanding safety. S60 feels like a tight European sedan. It rides smoothly, offers good acceleration performance and nice, precise steering. S60 fills the middle range in Volvo's lineup: It's larger than the S40, but not quite as large as the premium-luxury S80. Not surprisingly, the S60 also fits between those models in price, starting at $26,370 but rising to more than $36,000 for a loaded S60 2.5T AWD or a high-performance S60 T5. For 2003, Volvo is offering a less-expensive base model with a cloth interior. At the same time, Volvo has made an in-dash CD player and leather-covered steering wheel and shifter standard on all S60 models. The all-wheel-drive version is more powerful than before, and several popular option packages have been expanded to include more goodies.

Walkaround

Volvo S60 looks like a smaller version of the big S80 luxury sedan. It's handsome in a Lars-in-a-cable-knit sweater kind of way. Not a remnant remains of the "boxy but safe" styling that Volvo championed so doggedly for decades. The S60's design predates the S80, so the bigger car is actually the copy. Volvo crafted this shape back in 1994 but lacked the funds to build both, so they launched the more profitable S80 first. The man who led the S60's design team, a Hungarian named Geza Loczi, likes to say that the mid-range Volvo represents ''the essence of contemporary Scandinavian design," whatever that means. The S60 seems compact at first glance, and there's a hunched-shoulder look to the part behind the rear doors, suggesting a hockey player ready to lead a charge up the ice.

Interior Features

Overall, the Volvo S60 interior is handsome and comfortable. The seats are cushy with the optional pigskin-type leather; however, you tend to slide around a bit in them. The leather looks and feels like quality. There's good interior space up front, more than in the BMW 3 Series or Mercedes C-Class. The dashboard flows in a pleasant shape. Attractive wood trim appears sparingly on the glovebox lid and on all four doors. The quality of the material used to cover other surfaces is good. The gauges are attractive, with their flat gray background, and easy to read, while the switches are intuitive and easy to use. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls are well designed and easy to operate, with big buttons that use Volvo's clever metaphoric design to direct the airflow. Electric window buttons with auto-down are conveniently mounted on the door. Inside door handles are easy to grab. The innovative radio controls take some familiarization to master. Changing preset channels involves turning a knob, rather than pressing a button, for example. Once understood, however, it works very well. The leather-wrapped steering wheel features controls for the audio system that makes operating it easier while driving. The center console storage is awkward to reach as it is positioned rearward. The cup holders, mounted just forward of the console, are covered with a flimsy lid. There's another mini cup holder on the center of the dash. The manual shift lever has a silver-colored plastic cover at its base that looks like silver-colored plastic. A traditional boot would look so much classier, especially with the S60's luxurious leather. Getting into the back seat requires a duck of the head. Once back there, the S60 offers more rear headroom than a BMW 3 Series sedan. An average-sized male will be short of legroom, however. It offers less legroom than 3 Series. To get the S60's swoopy shape, Volvo had to make design concessions that constrict the trunk opening. The trunk itself is roomy and deep, so many smaller bags will fit, but big hard-sided trunks might not go in sideways. Rear seats are split 60/40 and fold down to carry long items. Fold down the right rear seat and front passenger seat, and you can carry something quite long.