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Is the S60 really the “naughtiest Volvo ever,” as the Swedish carmaker has been marketing this snap-crackle-pop executive sedan ever since the completely redesigned second-generation model was unveiled last year? We’ll get to this improbability in a moment. What must be addressed first are the logistics of testing the Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake feature. In a nutshell,...




Is the S60 really the “naughtiest Volvo ever,” as the Swedish carmaker has been marketing this snap-crackle-pop executive sedan ever since the completely redesigned second-generation model was unveiled last year?



We’ll get to this improbability in a moment.



What must be addressed first are the logistics of testing the Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake feature. In a nutshell, if you’re driving down the street and the car’s front-end cameras detect a pedestrian (at least 31 inches tall) in a crosswalk, the vehicle sounds an alarm in the cabin — and if you fail to stop, the car brakes to a stop for you. Automatically.



Realizing the risk of testing this feature with a crosswalk full of complete strangers, I asked my inamorata and frequent traveling companion if she would mind terribly being a guinea pig. She shot me a cold stare.



“We don’t recommend that you try it with an actual person,” Volvo public relations spokesman James Hope cautioned me over the telephone.



Considering the giant horse-head from a Carnival costume went the way of everything else in my garage in the aftermath of Katrina, I was out of luck for a crosswalk prop.



C’est la vie.

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

That said, there is no mistaking that the S60 T6 I test drove this week comes packed with virtually every conceivable, state-of-the-art road safety feature known to humankind — and, quite possibly, then some. In addition to the pedestrian alert there is the alarm that sounds when the vehicle in front of you stops or slows suddenly, as well as the Lane Departure Warning that sounds when your vehicle begins to drift into the next lane, such as when a driver is drowsing behind the wheel. Plus there’s the Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake function. Keep in mind, too, that all of these warnings have their own distinctive alert tones, so you’re not going to confuse one for the other. This means if you happen to be in a situation where there’s a pedestrian in the crosswalk, a car that stops suddenly in front of you and you veer into the next lane, all at the same time, the cabin is suddenly going to sound like the inside of a submarine when under direct attack.



All hands to battle stations!



Third-date cashmere sweater

Perhaps it’s only fitting that its time-tested reputation for unparalleled safety as solid and impenetrable as Fort Knox that Volvo, born in the Scandinavian country whose national motto is “For Sweden — With the Times,” should see fit to indeed move with the times and add a little sexiness to its lineup. And the S60, by Volvo’s own admission, is the automaker’s first attempt to seduce car buyers who might otherwise be flirting with such sporty thrill seekers as the Mercedes-Benz C-class, the BMW 3-series, the Lexus IS350 and the Infiniti G37.

Photo by James Gaffney/The Times-Picayune

Volvo wasted no time slipping into its third-date cashmere sweater for the S60. But will it be enough to help shake the carmarker’s introvert image?



Heralded by the carmaker as “the most dynamic car model Volvo has ever presented,” it’s a breakthrough of sorts but did it really rock your world?



What Volvo is hoping will rock your world in the all-wheel-drive S60 is its 3.0-liter, turbocharged inline six-cylinder powerplant, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, which pumps out 300 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Yes, it’s got some get up and go. Its coupe-with-four-doors styling presents a lean profile with surprisingly subtle bodylines — check out the C-pillar that sweeps

Tags: Volvo, is-featured

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NAUGHTY BY NATURE: Volvo S60 was originally published by New Orleans Auto Reviews: Volvo. Read the full story by clicking here.