2006 Volvo S60 Test Drives

Swede Demons

Thought they only made safe, boring cars? Volvo lights the afterburners on two very fast (and shockingly inexpensive) cars.

Volvo is a company at a crossroads.

For 75 years the Swedish carmaker has been known for building eminently safe, eminently practical cars.

But now Ford Motor, Volvo's owner, has tapped the brand as the strongest in its Premier Automotive Group. (Ford's PAG also includes the Land Rover, Aston Martin and Jaguar marques.) Of these, only Volvo is thought currently profitable--Ford has just begun breaking out financial data for its PAG brands, but first-quarter 2003 numbers will not be revealed until April 16--and Ford believes Volvo sales can grow by a third in the next few years, from 400,000 units worldwide to 600,000.

But in the U.S. last year, Volvo's car sales--not including sales of its excellent first SUV, the XC90--fell more than 15%.

And although the XC90 is bringing new customers into showrooms, 2003 first-quarter car sales alone (again discounting the XC90) are down a further 8%. Add the XC90 back into the mix and sales are up a full 25%, but it's clear that a single SUV cannot lift an entire brand. Acura, for instance, which has depended solely on sales of its MDX SUV for profits, is now seeing more competition in that portion of the market, and first-quarter sales are down 12%, with MDX units falling along with the rest of Acura's cars.

So what will Volvo do to avoid the Acura trap?

Bring out cars like the ones we just drove, the Volvo S60R and V70R. These are much "hotter" versions of the brand's family haulers that will not only sell for under $40,000 but also can blow the doors off of any under-$40,000 BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz.

And that's just for starters.

Really, the R cars are there to provide a little spark to models that, especially in the case of the V70, have been around awhile. Far more important to Volvo's long-term growth will be a completely new version of the decent but not astounding S40 sedan and V40 wagon, and the introduction of both a small VW Golf-size hatch (likely due here in about 18-24 months) and a small crossover, probably called something like the XC50.

And in order to broaden the appeal of Volvo, all-new editions will have to:

1. Introduce more groundbreaking safety technology. This is a Volvo core value, and it attracts family buyers--and differentiates the carmaker from Japanese brands.



2. Build on the XC90's combination of excellent function and warmer luxury than is found in previous Volvos.



3. Add more performance options, i.e., like the R cars that are the subject of this article.

Oh, yeah, how about those R cars? Just how good are they? Well, does 300 hp and 0-60 mph in 5.4-5.6 seconds (the latter time is for the V70) sound appealing? Maybe you'd dig all-wheel drive and a constantly adaptable suspension as well, not to mention R-only interiors that don't look anything like the Volvo your Great-Uncle Olaf drove? Click below for our full report from the road and track.