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April 3, 2008 http://www.thecarconnection.com/fullreview/volvo_s60_2001

  Eric Peters
EditorEric Peters

You review the '01 S60 T5  

There are sporty Volvos—really! Even four door sporty Volvos, with 247-hp turbocharged engines and—wait for it—five-speed manual gearboxes. It's all true; it's just not especially well-known. You have to be familiar with the lingo. And in Volvo-speak, "sporty sedan" comes out roughly in the following code:  S60 T5.

The $31,800 T5 is the high-performance version of Volvo's midsize sedan, the S60. It replaces the old S70 sedan and looks very much like a new S80 T6, Volvo's larger, luxury-performance sedan. If the S60 looks similar in overall concept and execution to the S80 T6, it's because both cars share a common platform and reflect Volvo's effort to transmogrify its line from safe but stodgy cars to safe cars that are also neat cars.

Like the $40,900 S80 T6, the S60 T5 features a transversely (e.g., sideways) mounted, turbocharged engine—only it's a five cylinder instead of the S80's in-line six—upgraded suspension, wheels, tires, and special trim inside and out.  It has a similar interior and, from a distance of about 20 yards, it's hard to tell the cars apart.

Manual transmission sets T5 apart

However, one can order an S60 T5 with a manual transmission, a feature not available in the automatic-only S80 T6. This fact renders the S60 T5 in some ways more enjoyable from an enthusiast driver's perspective than the S80 T6, even though the S80 has a bigger engine (a 2.8 liter straight six vs. the T5's in-line 2.3 liter five) with significantly more horsepower (268-hp for the S80 T6, 247-hp for the S60 T5).

The presence of the manual gearbox goes a long way toward making the S60 T5 of interest as a serious sport sedan: a car to think about alongside such contenders in the entry luxury/sport sedan niche as the BMW 330i, Lexus IS300, C-Class Mercedes and Audi A4. Those cars are generally more expensive and (excepting the Audi) are rear-wheel-drive, which is an advantage in terms of absolute handling capability. But the front-drive S60 T5 is the first Volvo that could trot onto the field with those machines and not seem completely out of its league.

You review the '01 S60 T5   There are sporty Volvos—really! Even four door sporty Volvos, with 247-hp turbocharged engines and—wait for it—five-speed manual gearboxes. It's all true; it's just not especially well-known. You have to be familiar with the lingo. And in Volvo-speak, "sporty sedan" comes out roughly in the following code:  S60 T5. The $31,800 T5 is the high-performance version of Volvo's midsize sedan, the S60. It replaces the old S70 sedan and looks very much like a new S80 T6, Volvo's larger, luxury-performance sedan. If the S60 looks similar in overall concept and execution to the S80 T6, it's because both cars share a common platform and reflect Volvo's effort to transmogrify its line from safe but stodgy cars to safe cars that are also neat cars. Like the $40,900 S80 T6, the S60 T5 features a transversely (e.g., sideways) mounted, turbocharged engine—only it's a five cylinder instead of the S80's in-line six—upgraded suspension, wheels, tires, and special trim inside and out.  It has a similar interior and, from a distance of about 20 yards, it's hard to tell the cars apart. Manual transmission sets T5 apart However, one can order an S60 T5 with a manual transmission, a feature not available in the automatic-only S80 T6. This fact renders the S60 T5 in some ways more enjoyable from an enthusiast driver's perspective than the S80 T6, even though the S80 has a bigger engine (a 2.8 liter straight six vs. the T5's in-line 2.3 liter five) with significantly more horsepower (268-hp for the S80 T6, 247-hp for the S60 T5). The presence of the manual gearbox goes a long way toward making the S60 T5 of interest as a serious sport sedan: a car to think about alongside such contenders in the entry luxury/sport sedan niche as the BMW 330i, Lexus IS300, C-Class Mercedes and Audi A4. Those cars are generally more expensive and (excepting the Audi) are rear-wheel-drive, which is an advantage in terms of absolute handling capability. But the front-drive S60 T5 is the first Volvo that could trot onto the field with those machines and not seem completely out of its league. You review the '01 S60 T5 There are sporty Volvos—really! Even four door sporty Volvos , with 247-hp turbocharged engines and—wait for it—five-speed manual gearboxes. It's all true; it's just not especially well-known. You ...