G14 AUTOMOTIVE
OPQRS
THE CAR PAGES A virtue wagon that can tempt you to sin
BD
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010
NUTS&BOLTS
2011 Volvo XC60 R-Design wagon
Bottom line: Lesson learned — one of the safest cars in the world is only as safe as its driver. Driving, particularly speed monitoring, is a full-attention job.
Ride, acceleration and handling: You have to drive this one to believe it. The Volvo XC60 R-Design wagon (the all-wheel-drive T6 version XC60 with 20-inch- diameter wheels and sports chassis) gets superior marks in all three.
Body style/layout: The luxury Volvo XC60 is a compact wagon of unitized construction. It has four side doors and a rear lift-ate. For 2011, there are four styles: the front-wheel-drive 3.2 and 3.2 R-Design, the all-wheel- drive T6, and the T6 R-Design driven for this column.
Engines/transmission: The XC60 comes with a 3.2- liter in-line six-cylinder engine — 240 horsepower, 236 foot-pounds of torque. The optional turbocharged 3-liter in-line six-cylinder engine generates a maximum 300 horsepower and 325 foot-pounds of torque. Both engines are linked to a six-speed transmission that can be operated automatically or manually.
VOLVO T
he policeman was right. I was speeding. I have an explanation, which is not the same as an acceptable
excuse.Nor is it meant to be.
But it is the truth. I had slipped into the Joy Zone. It is a hazard inherent in the operation of an
exceptional automobile, which was the case that crispNovember morning when I was driving the 2011VolvoXC60 R-Design wagon heading north on LeeHighway inNorthern Virginia. How ironic! I was driving one of the world’s safest vehicles.
Yet I ran into a speeding ticket that will costme $200. Iamtempted to blame distraction, the cause of
90 percent of our nation’s traffic accidents, especially in urban areas. But seduction is much closer to the truth. I was seduced, snookered, suckered by the smoothness of the newXC60’s turbocharged 3-liter in-line six-cylinder engine—300 horsepower, 325 foot-pounds of torque. That’s 19 more horsepower and 30 foot-pounds more torque than was available in the 2010 version of that engine. But I can’t really blame those power increases,
either.Many cars have high-horsepower, high- torque engines. There is little about them, however, to lure you into the Joy Zone. That zone is a special place, where driver and car become one. Only the finest cars can take you
WARREN BROWN On Wheels
there. You think. Limbs move. The car goes. It is a machine totally in sync with human movement and emotion. The better it performs, the better you feel, until
reality intrudes. Iamlucky that intrusion came in the form of a speeding ticket. Other motorists aren’t as fortunate. Their Joy Zone leads to injury, or death. I’ll take the fine, thank you very much. But the irony remains vexing. TheXC60 R-Design wagon is so rock-solid safe. For example, it is available with an optionalVolvo-patented technology, “City Safe.” At 18mphor below, an infrared detection system automatically slows or stops the wagon if a stationery or slowing vehicle, or human being, is detected in its path. City Safe can be turned off in congested traffic
where automatically stopping to avoid striking a vehicle in front of you can cause another motorist
to slam into your rear end. Nothing’s perfect. But I appreciate Volvo’s effort
to put as much safety into its cars and wagons as possible. OtherXC60 technology, such as an audible lane-departure warning system, represents a successful attempt byVolvo to improve on safety systems introduced by rivals. Ditto theXC60’s available blind-side warning system, which can prevent motorists from swerving into unseen (by the human eye) trailing traffic. It’s all good stuff. But it is absent an important complement—my proposed Joy ZoneWarning Device. It seems only fair that such technology be included in theXC60, considering thatVolvo has gone out of its way to make the wagon accelerate and handle in the manner of a well-engineered sports car. The Joy ZoneWarning Device would detect dangerous fantasy levels, such as when a motorist, lost in the wow-zee of it all, exits a high-speed expressway and enters a more speed-restricted city street. It could issue dumbbell or knucklehead alerts, something like “Hey, knucklehead, slow down! You’re on a city street. Slow down!” I’d happily pay a couple of hundred bucks or
more for that system.Heck, I’mpaying for it anyway.
brownw@washpost.com
Capacities: Seats for five people. Maximum cargo capacity is 67 cubic feet. Fuel capacity is 18.5 gallons of gasoline. Volvo says regular is fine for both its turbo and non-turbo engines. I tried full tanks of regular and premium gasoline in the T6 R-Design I drove. The wagon performed nicely with regular. It did discernibly better with premium.
Mileage: Nothing to cheer about here. You get 16 miles per gallon in the city and 21 mpg on the highway.
Safety: Standard equipment includes front and rear ventilated disc brakes, emergency braking assistance, electronic brake-force distribution, anti-lock braking assistance, electronic stability and traction control, xenon high-intensity discharge lights, tire-pressure monitoring, and side and head air bags.
Price: The 2011 Volvo XC60 T6 R-Design has a base price of $41,550. Dealer’s invoice price on that model is $39,057. Price as tested is $46,950, including $4,550 in options (onboard navigation, backup camera, parking proximity warning system, premium sound system) and an $850 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $44,184.
6 Nextweek: The 2011 Jaguar XF. 3
washingtonpost.com/cars: Search a database of past reviews, plus the latest auto news.
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