Volvo used to be known as the safe luxury brand, but with models like the S60, it's making a name for itself as the practical luxury brand - and the automaker should wave that banner proudly.
The S60 plays in a class with the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and in a rigorous comparison test we conducted recently (check out the $46,000 Sport Sedan Challenge here), Volvo finished in second place out of six, behind only the 328i. That S60, which was a T5, featured the base turbocharged five-cylinder engine that Ireviewed earlier. We follow up that test with this evaluation of the up-level T6 R-Design trim level, which packs a more powerful turbocharged six-cylinder.
This is one of those circumstances where less is more; the unassuming T5 version of the 2013 Volvo S60 delivers just what you need while the T6 is truly too much of a good thing.